Just In: “ Our National Chairman Spoke With Two Sides of His Mouth, Deputy National Secretary Is a Spare Tire to Ajaja” — Oyo Accord Faults Oriyomi’s Declaration
The Oyo State Secretary of the Accord Party, Hon. Olayinka Dairo, has accused the national leadership of the party of inconsistency in the handling of the party’s internal crisis, particularly regarding the alleged emergence of Oriyomi as winner of the disputed primary process.
Speaking during an interview hosted by Ace Broadcaster, Mazi Chike Ogbogu on Dominion Television, Dairo alleged that the National Chairman of the party contradicted himself in the management of issues surrounding the party’s primaries and reconciliation efforts among aspirants.
“The National Chairman of our party spoke with two sides of his mouth,” Dairo said.
He also dismissed the declaration of Oriyomi as winner by Abdulraman Muhammed, the party’s National Deputy Secretary, insisting that the official lacked the authority to make such pronouncement.
According to Dairo, the party’s National Secretary, Ajaja, remains the principal officer empowered to speak officially on such matters, while describing Abdulraman as subordinate in the party hierarchy.
“Abdulraman Muhammed, the party’s National Deputy Secretary who purportedly declared Oriyomi winner, is a spare tire to the National Secretary, Ajaja,” he stated.
The Accord Party chieftain maintained that the authentic screening and primary exercises were conducted by the recognized state executives in the presence of officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He insisted that the process monitored by the state leadership remained the legitimate exercise recognized by party stakeholders in Oyo State.
Dairo further alleged that some members of the rival faction attempted to disrupt the official screening exercise organized by the state executives, claiming that properties were damaged during the incident.
“We communicated the date for the screening exercise, but they came to disrupt the process and destroyed several items. We have evidence and pictures of what happened,” he said.
The party secretary also alleged that Oriyomi attempted to influence candidate selection in some constituencies by pushing for preferred aspirants.
“He came to us insisting that a particular candidate should emerge in one constituency because the person was influential and powerful. We made it clear that no aspirant could dictate to the party executives,” Dairo added.
He further maintained that the certificate of return being circulated by Oriyomi’s faction was not authentic and did not emanate from the duly recognized process supervised by the state executives.
Despite the lingering crisis within the party, Dairo expressed confidence that the dispute would eventually be resolved in the interest of the Accord Party ahead of future elections.