The Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC), Professor Adeolu Akande has commended the leadership and stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State for taking the resolution to grant control of the party to the true owners of the party at the grassroots.
Akande, in a statement in Ibadan, stated that the decision by the Stakeholders asking party members to go back to their wards to determine the members of executive committees of the party is historic because it amounts to handing the control of the party back to the true owners of the party.
It will be recalled that the stakeholders of the APC in Oyo State rose from a meeting in Ibadan on Monday with a resolution that all members of the party should return to their respective wards to elect members of the party executive by consensus or by election.
Prior to the stakeholders’ meeting, there had been speculations of divergent formulae for sharing party offices among the contending groups within the party even while an earlier stakeholders meeting has resolved to abolish the groups in the party.
The NCC boss noted that the decision that members should return to their wards to elect members of the executive committees has established the APC in Oyo State as a true Progressives party whose control is in the hands of the members at the grassroots rather than few individuals who will manipulate the party against the wish of the majority.
He added that history will be kind to the leadership of the party and the other stakeholders who took the decision.
“We may not all know the impact of the decision we took at the meeting in Ibadan. I have no doubt that when the history of the rebirth of APC in Oyo State is written ,history will be kind to us for this decision.
“The decision has established the importance of the grassroots in our great party and democracy. The ward is the foundation of the party and returning power to the grassroots will result in a leadership that represents the different tendencies within the party. When no one feels left out in the affairs of the party,this will release the enormous energy that we need to reposition the party for victory in future elections”, he stated.
Professor further admonished members of the party to put the party first in their consultation at the ward level to generate party leaders.
“This is a new beginning for our great party. We should open the democratic space to ensure that every tendency within the party is given a sense of belonging in the new leadership that will emerge”, he counseled.
