The Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday proceeded with its State Congress despite the absence of officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and a subsisting court injunction restraining recognition of the exercise.
INEC had earlier declined to monitor the congress, citing the lack of a directive from its national headquarters and an existing interim order issued by a Federal High Court sitting in Akure.
The electoral body’s spokesperson in Ondo State, Yinka Ogunseye, explained that the commission could not act without authorisation from its headquarters and would not disobey a valid court order.
A day before the congress, the Federal High Court granted an interim injunction restraining INEC from recognising or validating the Ward and Local Government Congresses allegedly conducted by the APC in February, as well as the proposed State Congress, pending the hearing of a Motion on Notice. The court also directed parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum.
Despite these legal hurdles, the APC went ahead with its congress at the International Centre for Culture and Events, Akure, where a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Kolawole Gabriel Babatunde, emerged as State Chairman alongside 35 other members of the State Working Committee through consensus and affirmation by delegates.
Addressing party faithful at the event, Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa described the congress as a reaffirmation of the party’s unity, discipline and internal democracy.
“Today’s congress is more than a routine political exercise. It is a reaffirmation of our shared commitment to party supremacy, unity, inclusiveness and discipline,” the governor said, urging members to subordinate personal ambitions to the collective interest of the party.
He commended aspirants who stepped down to allow consensus to prevail and charged the newly elected executives to strengthen grassroots mobilisation and consolidate the party’s structure across the state.
In his acceptance speech titled A New Dawn of Unity and Progress, Babatunde pledged transparent, disciplined and inclusive leadership, declaring that there was no winner or loser in the exercise.
“There is no winner or loser. I am for all, and against none,” he said, promising to energise grassroots structures, empower youths, promote women in leadership positions and uphold party unity.
He also assured Governor Aiyedatiwa of the party’s support for the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Meanwhile, aggrieved party members challenging the legitimacy of the earlier congresses have continued their legal battle in court, with the matter adjourned for further hearing later in March.
The development has therefore placed fresh legal and procedural hurdles before the Ondo APC, as the emergence of new executives without INEC’s monitoring could become a focal point in the ongoing litigation.
