By Damilola Origbemisuyi, Akure
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State is set to proceed with its State Congress for the emergence of new party executives despite a court order restricting the exercise.
Leaders of the party on Monday night during a stakeholders meeting insisted that preparations for the congress were ongoing, with accreditation of delegates scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. across the 18 local government areas of the state.
Chairman of the National Working Committee panel overseeing the state congress, Comrade Ogonna Obiekwe, assured stakeholders that the exercise would produce 36 state working committee members who would pilot the affairs of the party for the next four years.
He described the assignment as serious business, pledging that the committee would conduct a free, fair and credible congress in line with the party’s constitution, the 2026 Electoral Act as amended, and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The committee secretary, Hon. Shittu Bamayi, disclosed that all candidates had been cleared by the screening committee and that no petitions were received.
Bamayi added that the congress would adopt a consensus mode of election with voice vote.
”The congress will be done via a voice vote since we are adopting the consensus mode of election. I want to assure you that we are going to be very impartial. We are going to do our job as stipulated by the party constitution and also the electoral act,” he said.
However, the planned exercise is coming under the shadow of a court which restricted the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from conducting the party state election.
Recalled that earlier on, LEADERSHIP had reported that the Federal High Court sitting in Akure, the state capital, has halted the planned state congress of the APC. Justice Toyin Bolaji Adegoke granted an interim injunction restraining the APC and the INEC from proceeding with the congress.
Responding to questions on the legal development, the APC National Vice Chairman (South West), Isaac Kekemeke, said he was yet to receive any official communication from the party’s National Secretariat regarding such an order.
“The National Headquarters of the party is yet to notify me as a zonal chairman or to notify those people they have sent that they are in receipt of any document, and neither is there a directive from the National Headquarters,” Kekemeke said.
When asked whether the congress would proceed as scheduled, he maintained that no contrary instruction had been issued.
“These are very serious matters. If the national secretariat of the party sees what you are talking about, they will issue the appropriate directives. The state chapters and the others that are here will have no choice other than to comply,” he added.
Kekemeke stressed that the APC remains a party of law and order and would obey any directive from its national leadership, but insisted that, as of the time of speaking, no official instruction had been communicated.
In his remarks, Governor Aiyedatiwa expressed confidence that the State Congress would surpass the ward and local government congresses in success, noting that earlier challenges were resolved through dialogue.
The governor described the ward congress, which covered 203 wards, as initially challenging but ultimately successful, while the local government congress across 18 councils was conducted without rancour.
Aiyedatiwa assured party members and visiting officials of adequate security and safety, reaffirming that Ondo remains peaceful and committed to sustaining its political culture of consensus and unity as the congress unfolds.
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