The Oyo State All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed readiness to participate in the forthcoming local government council election in the state.

This was disclosed by the publicity secretary of Oyo APC, Olawale Sadare, to newsmen on Saturday 29th, July 2023 in Ibadan. adsbygoogle || []).push({}); adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Sadare noted that the decision was reached at the weekend when its leadership conveyed a stakeholders meeting,  where majority opinion was in support of the party fielding candidates for the council poll.

“The unanimous decision at the stakeholder meeting held at our state secretariat was that we would participate in the election with a view to winning most of the available seats in the local government areas and local council development areas.

“I can assure you that by the time we are done with our final round of consultation on or before Monday, we would roll out schedule of activities since OYSIEC has written to us about the extension of the deadline for the conduct of primary which is now Aug. 31, 2023.

“We are progressives in politics and we are always ready to play our part as democrats. Don’t forget that the main duty of political parties is to field candidates in major elections.

“We have had to face serious pressure from party faithful who want to contest and serve the masses at the grassroots as council chairmen and councilors, “he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission has announced the time table for the council election slated for April 2024.

OYSEIC in the announcement also gave political parties permission to begin electioneering activities including party primaries to produce their respective chairmanship and councilorship candidates.

On Saturday, 22nd July, 2023, the Presidential Candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, has cautioned against any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s democracy.

This is contained in a statement in Abuja by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, alleging plot to intimidate the judges into delivering favourable judgments for the ruling party at the election tribunal. adsbygoogle || []).push({});

He also alleged harassment of judiciary officers to subvert justice in the ongoing litigation on the 2023 presidential election.

He said that reports in the media about some heinous plots to harass justices sitting on the petition would not be good for the nation.

Abubakar said that Nigeria’s democracy should not be undermined by using the judiciary to serve the interest of the ruling party.

“Our laws are very clear about the prerequisite of separation of powers as a guarantee of an independent judiciary.

“The idea behind that concept of an independent judiciary is to insulate that branch of government from unholy fraternity between its hallowed members and the rest of the society – especially the political actors.

“Our democracy gives the people of Nigeria the powers to choose their leaders, and our laws demand that our judiciary must be allowed to act independently without harassment and intimidation by the government or powerful interests.

“To compromise the workings of our democracy and seeking to compromise the workings of our judiciary is an open call for anarchy.

“As a party in the litigation that is currently reviewing the outcome of the last presidential election, we wish to express our intentions to do all that is within the law in resisting any attempt to undermine our fragile democracy,” he said.

Abubakar urged Nigerians to abide by the golden rule of eternal vigilance.

He also appealed to all security agencies in the country to remain professional in the discharge of their duties and resist being used as an instrument of oppression and intimidation against the judiciary.

He also called on the international community to watch what is happening in Nigeria with keen interest.