Oyo: Senators Abdulfatai, Folarin in supremacy battle, attempts to highjack APC membership registration

Senator Abdulfatai Buhari representing Oyo north Senatorial district and his counterpart, Teslim Folarin representing Oyo Central Senatorial district have attempted to highjack materials meant for the ongoing All Progressives Congress (APC) registration and revalidation.

In what appears to be supremacy battle among the two lawmakers who are currently serving on the APC platform, both on Wednesday approached the national revalidation/registration membership committee sent to the state at a highbrow hotel in Jericho area of Ibadan for allocation forms, an action that is against the agreed modalities by stakeholders.

Both Senators participated in the APC stakeholders’ meeting at the new secretariat, Oke-Bola, Ibadan on Monday, where it was resolved that two persons per Local Government would be leading the registration and revalidations exercise across the 33 LGAs in Oyo State.

However, the Registration Committee reportedly declined their request and expressed disappointment at the two Senators’ desperation to take control of the exercise.

A party stalwart who pleaded not to be named revealed to our.correspondent at a hotel in Ibadan that the two lawmalers were planning to pocket the leadership of Oyo State APC ahead of 2023 which has already triggered crisis in the party.

“The committee chairman told them that the fresh registration was necessitated by the crises that engulfed the party, adding that it would be stupid of them to now cause another round of crises. They were told that they were for peace.

“Imagine the two lawmakers asking that the materials for the registration be given to them to keep in their respective constituency offices. Is that not absurd? I wonder what they want to achieve with that. Why can’t they allow everybody to register and go afterward to canvass support from people ahead of the congresses? I am not sure we have learnt our lessons,” the source added.

The source said APC in Oyo currently has been factionalised with each Senator heavily funding their loyalists ahead of 2023, but wished that the party should return to negotiation table to avoid losing election to PDP that is governing the State.