A group within Ondo state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Unity forum, on Sunday reaffirmed the suspension of the state governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, from the party, the party faction called on the National Secretariat of the party to expel the governor from the party.
The group led by the former deputy governor in the state, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, also called on the National leadership of the party to dissolve the state executives of the party, saying they are working against the interest of the part in the state.
Speaking after the meeting of the group, Olanusi said the call for Akeredolu suspension became imperative following his anti-party activities during the last general election, saying the party is yet to recover from the shock of its loss in the last election.
Reacting, the State Information and Orientation Commissioner, Mr Donald Ojogo, described the claim by Olanusi and his group as unfounded and lies from some attention seekers, saying the governor is never under suspension.
Ojogo said: “On whether or not the governor is still under suspension, we are yet to be informed that the former deputy governor is now the mouthpiece of the APC NWC, NEC or even the state chapter of the party. We are very much unaware of what he is talking about.
“It is not in the character of the Ondo state government to join issues with elders, however repulsive their views appear.
“The art of governance goes beyond providing good governance. It includes tolerating every view whether such is irritating or exposing some form of imposed challenges on the part of anyone who expresses the same.
“We will not go the way of abusing anyone for such expressions. Politics is loaded with such. Your management and tolerance of views of such manner make you a leader. Akeredolu won’t go that low to abuse anyone.”
However, Olanusi maintained that Akeredolu remains suspended from the party, just as he said: “I am confirming it here that he (Akeredolu) has been suspended. The letter to that effect is with us. His reply is also with us. So there is no doubt about his status in the party. He has been suspended.
“The problem we are having is that many people have been compromised. The people that surround Ondo state are the major problems we have as a party.”
Olanusi noted that Akeredolu’s anti-party activities greatly affected the fortunes of the party’s candidates in the 2019 presidential and National Assembly elections in the state.
The former deputy who is a member of the APC Board of Trustees (BoT) said that more than 80 per cent of APC in the state have pitched their tent with the Unity Forum, saying the governor is not popular within the party in the state.
He, however, appealed to the National Secretariat to urgently put measures in place ahead of the 2020 governorship election in the state in order not to turn to an embarrassing outing for the party.
Some of the party members present at the meeting included leaders of the party in the state which included, Senator Yele Omogunwa, Rt. Hon. Taofeek Abdulsalam, Mr Banji Ajiloge, Mr Idowu Otetunbi, among others.