A Chieftain of ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Tunde Oladunjoye has raised alarm that he was put under pressure by the party leadership in conjuction with Governor Ibikunle Amosun to move motion for the adoption of Hon Adekunle Akinlade as the Governorship Candidate of the party.
Oladunjoye made this known in a press statement on Saturday night, explaining that the directive to move the motion at Government House, Abeokuta caught him unaware and had to carry out the order under duress
The statement was captioned, ‘Purported endorsement of Hon. Abdulkadiri Adekunle Akinlade as Ogun State APC “Consensus Candidate” by Ogun East Senatorial District APC: I was threatened to move the funny motion’.
He said, he was invited alongside other leaders of Ogun East Senatorial District of All Progressives Congress (APC) to an emergency meeting at the Government House, and did not occur to him that, he was assigned and to be forced to carry out an hatchet job
‘Myself and other leaders of Ogun East Senatorial District of APC invited to an emergency meeting at the Government House Oke Igbehin this morning for 10am. On getting there the Governor decided to have a meeting with the Senatorial District Executives. Since I was not a member of the Senatorial executives, I was outside waiting along with others’.
The journalist turned politician added further that, at a point, the Governor sent the Party Secretary, Hon. Dare Ogunde to call him in, lamenting that, he was surprised and became suspicious why he was invited when the meeting was rounding up.
‘At a point, the Governor sent the Party Secretary, Hon. Dare Ogunde to call me in. I was surprised and as I got in I wondered why I was invited as I met the meeting rounding up to go to the underground hall of the Government House Okeigbein’, he said.
Hear him further, ’When the issue of Ogun East having to endorse the “Yewa Consensus Candidate” was raised by the Senatorial Chairman, Alhaji Yakubu, I raised my hand to speak after few speakers have spoken’.
‘As I stood up to speak, and in the open, the State Party Chairman Chief Derin Adebiyi called me in the presence of everybody to come to the other side of the table where he sat with other leaders and whispered into my ears that I must praised the Governor and move motion of endorsement, else dire consequences await me’.
‘It was a threat I never expected and right there at the Government House, I had no choice than to do so-called endorsement under duress, as my life was under threat. As a trained journalist, I was taught of”safety first.”
‘As I left the venue, I realized that I have to first secured my safety before making any clarification. Arriving at my new location now, I want the whole world to know that I NEVER made any intentional endorsement but was threatened to do so. This clarification became necessary to put the records straight’, Oladunjoye emphasised.
He challenged the Governor and the party leaders to produce a raw video of the meeting, if he was privy to the earlier meeting with the Senatorial leaders, where he was part of those who agreed that, he should move such motion
‘I challenge the party leaders and Governor Ibikunle Amosun to bring out the raw video of the meeting. Even when I said it was the Governor who called the meeting, Chief Derin shouted back at me and insisted openly that I should change it that it wasn’t the Governor that called the meeting. All these were on tape, even as the Commissioner for Information, Chief Dayo Adeleye, was ditching out orders that no one should take photographs or record video’.
He added further that, in a situation like this, he considered safety first, calling on the general public to kindly disregard any purported moving of “motion” by him, pointing out that it was a set-up backed with the force of threat.
Oladunjoye declared that, following this ugly development, he resolved to resign from the party, and face his journalism career, adding that he cannot continue to endure with political shenanigans.
His words, ’I am also announcing my resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC), to face my professional calling fully as I have a second office address and cannot continue to endure with political shenanigans’.
‘The charade of a motion was witnessed by nothing less than 15 print, broadcast and online journalists, including State Correspondents of leading national dailies and I call on them all as witnesses’.
