[size=14pt]Oyo ACN members protest alleged imposition of Ajimobi[/size]
News Jan 23, 2011 By OLA AJAYI, IBADAN

HUNDREDS of aggrieved members and aspirants of the Action Congress of Nigeria yesterday staged peaceful protest round major streets in Ibadan metropolis over alleged imposition of Senator Abiola Ajimobi and other candidates of the party.

The protest brings to three that the group would organise in the last one week, adding that they would not leave the party for anybody because it belongs to all of them.

Ajimobi was last week announced the party’s flagbearer for the April poll which other aspirants said they would not take lightly.
Though, Ajimobi had earlier appealed to them to support the party for the realisation of their goal, they went to the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission, State Broadcasting Station and their party’s state secretariat at Yemetu.

According to them, since the choice of the candidates was not a popular decision, the party had not got its candidates for the election.
The protest which attracted more members of the party has been hinged on reversal of the decision of the leadership.

They stated that though, they still respect the leaders of the party headed by Chief Bisi Akande, they insisted that there must be review of the decision which they said was antithetical to democratic principles.

The governorship aspirants who gathered at the residence of Professor Wale Oyemakinde are Chief Olufemi Lanlehin, Dr. Adebayo Adewusi, Professor Wole Akinboade and other aspirants to the Senate, House of Representatives and House of Assembly.

While reading the stance of the angry aspirants to the visibly enraged supporters, they said the way it was carried out was highly insulting.

All the four aspirants spoke one after the other with each saying the decision must be re-visited.

While Lanlehin alluded to the Electoral Act 2010, saying since all of them(aspirants) did not agree to the choice of Ajimobi and that it negated the principles of consensus, Adewusi called on all the supporters not to desert them because they were fighting for them.
Akinboade and Oyemakinde said, up till now, none of the leaders sent any message to them to feel their pulses on the action.
They gave the conditions through which the stalemate could be amicably resolved.

The chieftains of the party maintained that the party should organise direct primaries or conduct a special primary that would be widely acceptable.

Rather than the party leadership to ask about the opinion of each of them, the representatives of the party led by Mr. Kolawole James only, “gave us the name of Ajimobi which eroded the result of the screening exercise. We are still waiting for the results of the screening. We have the responsibility to  strengthen the party for this election and beyond by fielding the best general for the battle for the Executive Governor of the state”.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/01/oyo-acn-members-protest-alleged-imposition-of-ajimobi/