The choice of who will be the standard bearer of the Labour Party in Oyo State in the coming general elections has put the party leadership and followership in disarray.
This was due to the inability of the party members to organize themselves to pick the party flag bearer.
The party Primary Election Screening Committee allegedly felt reluctant to carry out the exercise by affirming one Alhaji Tawfiq Akinwale as the candidate.
According to a source, the Aspirant, the party’s primary election screening committee, and some party members were at the venue with the INEC officials led by the Administrative Secretary, Alhaji Biodun Onikate-Amosu.
It was learned that the INEC officials left the location after waiting for long hours for the procedure to start and couldn’t commence as it appeared that the party’s rank was not in unity.
However, in an interview with Alhaji Ganiyu Salami, the Chairman of the Screening Committee and Vice Chairman of the party in the state, Mr. Tawfiq Akinwale was the only candidate examined and approved by the screening committee.
In his reaction to the development, Mr. Akinwale said “In Oyo State there was no split or crisis inside the party.”
Meanwhile, the state Chairman of the party, Sadiq Atayese, whose name had appeared on the list of candidates for the 2023 general elections published by INEC last month was absent at the purported affirmative exercise.
In a telephone interview, Mr. Atayese, he insisted that he was the party’s governorship candidate in the state, claiming that what transpired at the party’s secretariat on Thursday was just a political gathering.
Confirming the development, the Head, Publicity Unit, INEC Oyo State, Olayiwola Awolowo, maintained that status quo remained, indicating that Sadiq Atayese, whose name is on the list of candidates is the recognized Oyo Governorship candidate of labour party.
