The All Progressives Congress APC in Oyo state has faulted the reports in the media which claimed that the party had picked its gubernatorial candidate for the next year general election describing the orchestrated publication as speculative, false and unnecessary.
A national newspaper (names withheld) and some online media outfits reported on Tuesday that some named individuals had been handpicked as the consensus gubernatorial candidates of the APC in Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states even as the reports did not mention details of the personalities involved in the purported selection and the rationale behind it.
In a statement issued on Wednesday and made available to journalists in Ibadan by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, Oyo APC appealed for calm among its members and supporters promising that “constitutional and democratic procedures would be strictly followed when it is the appropriate time for all its 2027 election candidates to emerge.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we have no knowledge of any individual’s ambition as far as 2027 elections is concerned. Our party has not started receiving letters of intent from willing contestants because it is not yet time. We are a party that conducts its activities in strict adherence to the rule of law as specified by the nation’s Constitution, Electoral Act as well as the Constitution of our great Party. We do not put the cart before the horse because we understand the terrain and we shall not do anything capable of undermining democracy in the land.
“Therefore, we urge members of our great Party and the general public to disregard the publication in its entirety. The story was the making of its author(s) as it did not emanate from us. INEC has released its guidelines for the 2027 polls and we are being guided by it. The task before us at the moment is the successful completion of the Party’s congresses as we set for the National Convention coming up this weekend in Abuja.
“On a final note, the only decision already made is the endorsement of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu as our sole presidential candidate and there is no going back on that. However, all eligible and competent members of our great Party who have the intention to vie for political office in 2027 will be given equal chance to pursue their ambition while we assure the citizenry that our candidates will be ones who can serve their best interest and deliver on their campaign promises.” APC stated.