Real Reasons Ambode’s Commissioner, Oluwo Resigned

Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, Lagos State has reacted officially to the recent resignation of Mr. Olawale Oluwo, the erstwhile Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources.

In a statement on Thursday by the party state spokesman, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, he stated that while APC wishes Oluwo well for his decision, the party also salute the vigilance of the party apparatus and leadership which have put Oluwo on the watch on account of his antecedents in party politics and succeeded in checkmating his rabid opportunism.

The party stated; “It is on record that Oluwo first made an attempt to reap from the challenges of internal party democracy in our progressive movement when he teamed up with one of the losers in the 2007 primaries of the Action Congress to stop Mr. Babatunde Fashola’s sure victory at the polls. The unfortunate political adventurism failed woefully.”

“However, in the conventional demonstration of mercy and forgiveness, Oluwo’s principal, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi was accommodated in the second term cabinet of Governor Babatunde Fashola as the Commissioner for Tourism.

“A similar milk of mercy and kindness led to the consideration Of Oluwo as a member of the Lagos State Executive Council under Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in the hope that he has purged himself of opportunism, disloyalty and vaulting desperation for power.

According to the party, Oluwo had hardly resumed as the Commissioner when “he began his plot to use that office to advance his quest for political fiefdom. The object of his ambition was the positioning of his wife as the chairman of a local government.

“However, alert party men and women raised alarm about his anti-party antecedents wondering why someone who recently joined the party would want to use his position as commissioner to impose his wife on the constituency. The party rank and file aborted this abuse of power and reckless peddling of influence and everybody thought the lesson had been learnt. He, apparently,  had not. As soon as the procedures for the general elections began, Oluwo once again became the only commissioner to seek his wife as the member of House of Assembly for Eti- Osa.

“By now the pattern of his ambition had become clear.  The intrigue that enabled him to make his wife the first-term commissioner’s wife to become the chairperson of the committee which organised the annual National Women Conference became clear.  It was meant to achieve undeserved visibility. This obnoxious attempt to  deceive party members was again foiled and it is the aggravated frustration that has led to this defection.

“It has been necessary to put this in true context so as to dismiss the false and capricious insinuation that his resignation was in principled objection to the party’s last primaries. Far from it. He was only playing true to type, seeking as he had done in 2007 to reap from the primaries. He has further showed that he has been a mole of the PDP and has been working to undermine the APC.  His exit is a signal to other like minds who may wish to follow his trail.

“The party machinery knows everyone and their inclination. We encourage all genuine APC members to remain firm and committed to loftier and greater ideals of taking Lagos to a higher level of  excellence. The party remains unshaken.

Oluwo had on wednesday resigned from the State Executive Council, citing anomalies and irregularities that characterised the outcome of the governorship primaries.

Oluwo, who contested governorship election with Afikuyomi on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in 2007, also announced his defection to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), expressing support for the PDP candidate, Mr. Jimi Agbaje in the forthcoming election.

This was contained in two separate letters he addressed to the state governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, and the Chairman of Lagos APC, Mr. Babatunde Balogun, announcing his resignation and his defection from the APC to the PDP.

In the letters, Oluwo accused the leadership of the ruling party of being anti-democratic in the process through which former Commissioner of Establishment, Pensions and Training, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, emerged as the APC governorship candidate for the election scheduled to hold on March 2, 2019.

Oluwo said the governorship primary had diminished the reputation of the APC in the state, alleging 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.