The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has strongly condemned the National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held in Ibadan over the weekend, describing the exercise as a charade and “a condemnable carnival of shame, lawlessness and impunity.”
The APC noted that despite multiple court orders directing that the convention be suspended, the faction led by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde went ahead with the event.
According to the party, delegates purportedly drawn from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory converged on Ibadan to elect new national executive committee members for the PDP.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Ibadan, the APC Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, criticised Governor Makinde for allegedly subjecting residents to hardship throughout what the opposition party termed an “ill-fated show.”
Sadare accused the governor of forcing commercial transport operators to withdraw their services and gather at the convention venue to create an impression of a massive crowd and “sell a false narrative to the outside world.”
“PDP has been synonymous with impunity, and this played out again when a group within the party ignored the judiciary to stage an illegal procession in Ibadan which they tagged a national convention,” the statement read.
“The host governor, Engr. Makinde, has now justified the suspicion that he intends to ruin the umbrella party completely through his latest display of naivety and desperation for national leadership, even when he has failed woefully on the home front.”
The APC further faulted Makinde for allegedly neglecting protesters who were expressing grievances over the demolition of their properties along the proposed Ibadan Circular Road corridor. Instead of addressing the concerns, the party claimed, he worsened residents’ suffering by removing commercial vehicles, motorcycles, and tricycles from major roads “to paint a picture of a successful convention.”
The opposition party also alleged that a significant portion of the September allocations to the 33 local government councils in Oyo State was used to fund what it labelled “the jamboree,” noting that many PDP governors reportedly declined to make expected financial contributions.
The APC warned that “every kobo of public funds used on the failed PDP project would be accounted for sooner than later.”
According to the statement, “no soothsayer is needed” to see that the “kangaroo convention” signifies “the beginning of the burial of the PDP,” adding that Makinde and “his few co-travellers have now chosen cremation over interment for their party upon its inevitable death.”
The APC, however, advised the warring PDP factions to reconcile and “prepare for possible relevance in the 2031 general elections since they have already lost 2027.”
VANGUARD.
