Wale Oluwo, Lagos state
commissioner for energy and mineral resources, has quit the All Progressive
Congress (APC), vowing to work for Jimi Agbaje, candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in the next governorship election.
Oluwo has also quit the cabinet
of Akinwumi Ambode, governor of the state.
In his resignation letter, Oluwo accused the leadership of the ruling party of being
anti-democratic in the process through which Babajide Sanwo-Olu emerged as the
flagbearer of the APC in the 2019 governorship election.
Sanwo-Olu, who enjoy the support
of Mandate Movement, a group loyal to Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the
party, made history by beating a sitting governor to the ticket of the party.
Oluwo said the governorship primary
has diminished the reputation of the APC in the state.
He alleged that a powerful group
in the APC had been violating the principle of separation of powers and
“intimidating critical institutions of democracy in the state”.
Below is the letter he sent to
the chairman of the APC in the state:
A few hours ago, I submitted to
His Excellency, the Governor of Lagos State, a letter of resignation of my
appointment as the Honourable Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources.
Consequently, as a registered member of the All Progressives Congress, I have
deemed it necessary to formally notify you of my intention to reconsider my
membership status.
My decision to resign is not
unconnected with the events of the last few weeks, which have created a heavy
moral burden for me. I have found it rather difficult to come to terms or
rationalize the party’s conduct of the October 2018 primary elections, which
were largely characterized by massive voter disenfranchisement, intimidation,
violence, undue influence and non-compliance with all known principles of
democracy. In the particular case of the gubernatorial primary, which was
conducted using the “open ballot” option in violation of the guidelines of the
APC that specified the “open-secret ballot” option, it is clear to me that the
core principles of merit, competence, justice and fairness have been sacrificed
by the APC on the altar of political expediency.
The integrity-deficient nature of
the primary has significantly diminished the hard-earned reputation of our
State as a reference point for free and fair democratic practice. Ihave
struggled for weeks to understand the rationale for the apparent desperation
and brigandage brazenly displayed by the party apparatchik in the various
elections. Ihad never thought such vicious attack could be unleashed on the
progress that the state had made in its steady democratic journey.
The indifference of the APC to
the continued use of an arm of government by a powerful group within the party,
to intimidate critical institutions of democracy in the State, undermines the
doctrine of separation of powers, creates an atmosphere of uncertainty and
impairs government’s ability to implement policies and programmes that will
benefit the majority of the people. This is in conflict with my strongly held
belief that group interest, no matter how powerful, must be subordinated to the
interest of the majority.
I am convinced that the present
atmosphere of encirclement will not abate anytime soon. I therefore resign my
membership of the All Progressives Congress, immediately.
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