Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Friday took over the party’s secretariat located at Iyana Mortuary Area of Abeokuta, the state capital.
This follows confusion caused by many months of anxiety over the authentic faction of the party in the state. This is after the party’s national working committee (NWC) appointed a Caretaker Committee to oversee party activities before the 2019 elections.
The committee led by its chairman, Yemi Sanusi, his committee members, party chieftains and security operatives, arrived at the compound of the secretariat around 10.am, and headed for the offices within the complex.
Addressing newsmen after inspecting the facilities, Sanusi, explained that his members were at the secretariat to assess its condition, saying it would start to function immediately.
Prior to the take over on Friday, the APC secretariat had been under the control of the sacked state executive led by Derin Adebiyi.
But speaking with journalists, Sanusi, said the authentic caretaker exco put in place by the NWC of the party had legally taken over the party structure.
While expressing displeasure over the present condition of the secretariat, the chairman assured that the party would give the secretariat a befitting facelift, in preparation for the forthcoming local government elections.
He emphasized that the take over was in order as the party was expected to swing into action since the election was over and new government was already in place.
But in a swift reaction on Friday evening, Adebiyi said the take over of the secretariat by the Sanusi-led caretaker committee was “a forceful invasion and illegal occupation by loyalists of Governor Dapo Abiodun”.
He accused the committee members of storming the party secretariat in war-like manner.
“It is a forceful invasion by the loyalists of Ogun governor. They illegally occupied our secretariat.
“They stormed the offices, drove away our staff and locked the place up. The action is condemnable”. Adebiyi stated.
He said the matter of the dissolution of his exco was currently before an Abuja High Court, wondering why the caretaker committee could not wait for the outcome of the case, which he noted would come up for hearing in October.
Adebiyi, who insisted his exco was a product of a state congress of May 2018, declared he and his members would explore all legal means to reclaim the party secretariat.
It will be recalled that the Sanusi leadership of the party was installed after the former executives were accused of hobnobbing with and fielding candidates in another political party.
