Olusegun Ariyo
The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has introduced new disciplinary measures aimed at sanitising the party ahead of its governorship primary elections scheduled for next year.
The resolutions were reached on Thursday at a crucial meeting of the State Working Committee, SWC, held at the party’s secretariat in Osogbo, the state capital.
Urban Express News gathered that the session was presided over by the state chairman, Tajudeen Lawal.
The committee expressed concern over verbal attacks by supporters of various governorship aspirants against fellow aspirants, party leaders, and supporters, describing such behaviour as damaging to the unity of the party.
The SWC, in a communique released after the meeting and signed by Chairman Lawal, stated: “The untoward development has been causing avoidable cataclysm, rancour and disharmony within the opposition APC in the state.
“To address the situation, the committee outlawed the involvement of party executive officers at all levels, including reinstated council chairmen and councillors, from acting as coordinators for any governorship aspirant.”
The SWC further resolved that spokesmen, supporters, and aspirants must refrain from using abusive or derogatory language during campaigns, warning that any violation would attract sanctions in line with the party’s constitution.
“The leadership of the party shall frown at any aspirant, supporter or leader who causes a derogatory message, article or news story against any fellow aspirant either in print, broadcast or social media,” the statement noted.
The committee also prohibited the use of names of revered party leaders or groups to endorse aspirants, stressing that violators would face stiff penalties imposed by a monitoring committee.
Coordinators were warned against spreading unverified claims about financial support from party chieftains, which the SWC said could fuel division and animosity within the ranks.
“In addition, the committee discussed an ongoing programme requiring the generation of 1,000 names from each ward, reportedly managed by a non-governmental organisation. It directed the state chairman to investigate the authenticity of the initiative in Abuja.
“The SWC instructed local government APC chairmen to be engaged through proper channels to ensure that the programme, if genuine, would be rooted in the party structure,” it asserted.
The committee also tasked state executive officers to intensify efforts in the ongoing Continuous Voters’ Registration exercise, noting that the current level of engagement was not encouraging enough.
The Osun APC Chairman reminded aspirants and their supporters that the ultimate goal was victory in the 2026 governorship election, not internal conflict.
“It is needless to turn fellow members of the same party into arch-enemies because of a primary election,” he added.
