Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has been urged to intervene in the nomination of a chairmanship candidate for the upcoming Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government election, following allegations of manipulation.

In a bid to ensure a selection process devoid of manipulation, Governor Abiodun was said to have directed the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state’s 20 LGs to set up a committee to identify credible candidates for chairmanship roles.

In Ado-Odo/Ota, a 13-member committee was set up in August to oversee the selection process.

The committee chaired by Senator Akin Kamardeen Odunsi, has Jimoh Ojugbele; Senator Gbolahan Dada; a House of Representatives member, Tunji Akinosi; Kasim Salako; Durojaiye Aiyedogbon; Chairman, Ogun State House of Assembly Commission, Lai Taiwo; Jide Ojuko and the state Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Sesan Fagbayi as members.

Other members included Ogun West Senatorial District Chairman, Azeez Mohammed; House of Assembly members, Musefiu Lamidi, Abiodun Yusuf, and the local government party chairman, Jimoh Akeran.

At the end of the screening, Odunlami Muritala reportedly emerged as the candidate with the highest rating of 92%, followed by Segun Ojolowo-Ojuko who scored 82%.

According to a party member, who preferred anonymity, 15 aspirants from Ota contested for the chairmanship position.

However, after the screening of the candidates, the committee called for another meeting to adopt one candidate who would represent the party in the upcoming LG election.

“After the screening had been conducted, the committee, in a subsequent meeting, settled for the top seven but decided to put the process to a vote to determine the best candidate but the majority of them suggested that the candidate with the highest score be picked,” the source said.

The meeting, held on September 1, 2024 at the state Deputy Governor, Noimot Salako-Oyedele’s residence in Ota, was inconclusive as the majority of the committee members’ suggestions did not favour others who wanted their candidates as the party’s standard bearer.

This sparked allegations of political favoritism against the committee, as some party members accused some chieftains of the party of manipulating the selection process.

While Wasiu Lawal, who scored 52% in the screening, is said to be the deputy governor’s candidate, Gbolahan and Taiwo are believed to be backing Kamar Aina and Segun Ojolowo-Ojuko respectively.

Although the deputy governor is not a member of the committee, her elder brother, Kasim Salako, is allegedly working to protect his sister’s interest to ensure Lawal emerges as the party’s candidate.

Through his relationship with the Salakos, Lawal is said to have held several political positions including the caretaker council chairmanship and the governor’s liaison officer positions. He is also said to be on the list of new liaison officers to be appointed by Governor Abiodun.

Another allegation against the committee was the marginalisation of seven out of the eight wards in the Ota constituency – three candidates who were allegedly handpicked by Dada, Salako-Oyedele and Taiwo are from Ota Ward II — where the ruling party reportedly lost to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last governorship election.

Reacting to the allegations against the committee, one of the aspirants, Taiwo, said since the screening was conducted, the committee has not released the names of the top seven or top three candidates it shortlisted.

“All I know is that the leaders that screened us did not come out with any particular result at least officially, some of what we’ve heard are rumours.

“There have been claims that they shortlisted seven candidates, but the names of the seven were not released. Later, we heard it had been reduced to three, the names were also not released officially. We are just hearing rumours from corners and I don’t take that as official. I even heard three names have been sent to Abeokuta, the three names I don’t even know them,” Taiwo said.

He, however, maintained that the allegation of favouritism against the committee cannot be ruled out as the political leaders refused to release the names of the shortlisted candidates.

“I can’t rule out the claim that some candidates were favoured by some committee members but not knowing the names is the issue. For instance, at a point, I heard I was one of the three but I can’t believe that because there was no official statement from the committee,” he said.

Taiwo further stated that some candidates’ names have already been submitted to the governor for approval.

Speaking on the matter, the LG party chairman and member of the screening committee, Akeran, said he was not aware of any allegation of imposition of candidates by the party leaders.

When asked how the candidates whose names were submitted to the governor emerged, he said he was not authorised to speak on the selection process.

Corroborating Taiwo’s comment, another party member, Adewale Adesegun, alleged that some members of the committee are mounting pressure on Odunsi not to release the aspirants’ screening scorecards, which according to him, has Muritala as the top candidate.

Adesegun, who described himself as a strong member of the APC in the LGA, called on the chairman of the committee to emulate his counterparts in Ifo and Ipokia Local Governments by releasing the authentic screening reports to the governor.

“If the party fails to do the needful, we are going to mobilise our members in all the 16 wards to vote against anybody the party presents for the election,” he threatened.

However, the committee chairman, Odunsi, debunked the allegations against the screening committee while interacting with journalists.

Odunsi confirmed that all 15 applicants were initially part of their group, adding that after the screening, the selection was narrowed down to three candidates, emphasizing that this concluded the matter.

As the issue continues to generate controversy among party members, Governor Abiodun has been called upon to prevail on the committee and party leaders to review the selection process to ensure no candidate is imposed on the people of Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area. (THISDAY)

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