Barely a week after the interim national executive committee of the newly- registered All Progressives Congress (APC) was inaugurated in Abuja, a major crack appeared in the Oyo state chapter of the party on Friday as some party chieftains and members distanced themselves from a rally slated for Sunday.
The state chapter of the APC had through an advertorial in a national newspaper on Friday, announced the scheduled rally, a development said to be contrary to the directive from the National Headquarters of the party.
The opposition party inaugurated its national executive early in the week where Bisi Akande, former National Chairman of the defunct ACN, emerged the chairman.
Operating under the aegis of All Progressives Congress (APC) Stakeholders, the group, in a release signed by 10 members, including Senator representing Oyo South Senatorial District, Olufemi Lanlehin, Chairman, Odu’a Investment Company Ltd, Sarafadeen Alli, a former governorship aspirant Mr Kazeen Adedeji, among others, described the planned rally as unwise.
According to the release made available to journalists in Ibadan, the group decided to distance itself from the said rally in obedience to the directive of the National Headquarters of the party.
The release said, “following the directives from the National Heaquarters of the APC that no APC rally should be held in the meantime in any state of the Federation and a stake holders meeting held in Ibadan on Wednesday, 7th August, 2013 by the representatives of the merged political parties, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), wherein it was unanimously agreed that any such rally at this period may likely be counterproductive;
“We, the undersigned, on behalf of our teeming members of APC in Oyo State wish to unequivocally dissociate ourselves from a purported rally slated for Sunday, the 11th day of August, 2013 by a section of APC.
“We further ask; what is the wisdom in scheduling a political rally for Sunday when many party leaders and faithful, who are Christians will be in Churches seeking the face of the Lord?
“We also wish to advise our numerous supporters all over Oyo State to discountenance any call for participation in the so-called rally”, the release stated.
