Soji Ajibola, Ibadan
APC threatens to expel Akintola over Alleged Anti-Party
The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has threatened to expel Chief Niyi Akintola, (SAN) over alleged anti-party, especially his alleged directives to his followers to vote for the opposition party in 2023 general elections.
Oyo APC made the allegation in a statement signed by APC Ward 9 Chairman – Ido LGA, Hon. Ismail Babatunde on behalf of the party executives and members, and made available to journalists against the backdrop of an interview granted by Chief Niyi Akintola while featuring on a radio programme in Ibadan on Saturday.
Akintola was criticised for deliberately demarketing the party through his comments.
The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to the series of unguarded utterances made by Chief Niyi Akintola disregarding the Oyo State All Progressives Congress (APC) and its 2023 governorship candidate, Senator Teslim Folarin while featuring on a radio programme in Ibadan on Saturday.
“It is despicable that Chief Niyi Akintola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria whose conduct should be guided by his enduring experience and professional practice went on air to unleash denigrating remarks on a party that breathed life to his dying political career because he lost the bid to secure the party’s 2023 gubernatorial ticket.
“While he should have realized that he flunks every contest because of his lack of political will and acceptance, he blames everyone but himself for his shortcomings. This is not Chief Akintola’s first instance of moral turpitude.
He adopted the same strategy in 2019 by eventually lending his support to Engr. Seyi Makinde. It comes as no surprise that he is once again playing the spoiler game.
“Akintola has a long history of betrayal dating back to his short-lived reign as Deputy Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly.
But one is tempted to believe that he has outgrown petulant emotions until he speaks and reinforces the fact that he is still bound by his natural instinct of peddling emotive assertions and telling barefaced lies. Decency has never been Akintola’s strong suit.
“He only gets animated during election season to source patronage for his usual transactional politics. His loyalty has always been up for auction and it tilts toward the highest bidder”.
“His disregard for the party and President Muhammadu Buhari which has always been in the full glare of the public was also on display throughout the radio programme. Akintola deliberately feigned ignorance of the President’s directive that all party members must work assiduously for the emergence of all candidates fielded by the APC across board because of the personal gains he seeks from his PDP dalliance.
“Akintola’s contemptuous outburst, urging his supporters to vote for opposition parties in the upcoming polls only lends confirmation to the slew of unholy deals he has entered with Gov. Seyi Makinde. Akintola’s APC membership is merely a smokescreen for double-dealing and divisive tendencies while he rolls over for crumbs at the table of the PDP. It is however shameful that someone of Akintola’s pedigree who prides himself on being a political gatekeeper lacks the courage of his convictions by constantly seeking public validation as an APC stalwart when he truly belongs to the PDP.”
“Chief Akintola’s anti-party acts, in addition to his documented unholy transactions, are enough to recommend his expulsion from the party; nonetheless, we will not rush to initiate the process. Instead, we are strongly warning him to retrace his missteps”.
“If Akintola does not maintain decorum and heed this warning, we will not hesitate to recommend his expulsion from APC before he causes irreparable harm to the party and its candidates” the statement concluded.
