The Unity Forum, one of the political groups within the Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) seeking to unseat Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu is in turmoil.
The Unity Forum headed by Alhaji Ali Olanusi had in March set up a seven-man Ad hoc committee headed by Senator Yele Omogunwa with a mandate to interviewing and collating report on all the governorship aspirants in the group.
It was for the Unity Forum to present a single aspirant against Governor Akeredolu at the party primaries.
Some members of the Unity Forum who tagged themselves Unity Group Foot Soldiers at a press briefing in Akure accused the committee members of collecting money from all the aspirants.
They alleged that some of the committee members were staunch supporters of some of the aspirants like Chief Olusola Oke and Chief Bukola Adetula.
Other allegations were that Alhaji Olanusi single-handedly picked all members of the committee with a view to producing a report that would favour a particular aspirant.
They further said Chief Olanusi collected the sum of N50m from a former Senator in Osun State to do the bidding of an aspirant they termed “not consistent politically”.
Reading the resolutions reached at end of the meeting, Alhaji Faust Kazeem, said the seven-man committee has failed to submit a coordinated report as directed and therefore its activities expires on March 31st, 2020.
Alhaji Kazeem said the Senator Omogunwa’s led committee has been dissolved and called for the setting up of a new committee to with a mandate to screen aspirants who bought the governorship nomination forms.
He stated that it is only by purchasing nomination forms that showed signs of seriousness in running for the governorship race.
According to him, “That the newly constituted committee would be set up by the leaders of the Unity Forum in the next 72 hours after due consultation with the leaders, members and aspirants.
“The composition of the new committee members would show an equal spread along local governments, federal constituencies or senatorial districts.”
But Alhaji Olanusi described the allegations as baseless and untrue.
Alhaji Olanusi said the names that signed the statement were unknown to the Unity Group.
According to him, “They are disgruntled element. We don’t know them in the Unity Forum. The Committee has finished its work but they have not submitted it because the of corona virus. I have not read not their report so I will not know what it contained.
“On that N50m. I have not seen such money and so it is not true.