Governor Ambode’s Commissioner For Energy Resigns Following Undemocratic Party Primary

👤 Adenike Lucas, DENISAURUS News

Olawale Oluwo, the Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources has resigned his post over the undemocratic governorship primaries held by the All Progressives Congress in Lagos.

Mr Oluwo who walks away from the ruling party to join the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP immediately threw his weight behind Jimi Agbaje, the opposition candidate.

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In his letter of resignation addressed to Akinwunmi Ambode, the state governor and the Chairman of the APC in Lagos, Babatunde Balogun, Mr Oluwo said the primaries which “were largely characterised by massive voter disenfranchisement, intimidation, violence, undue influence and non-compliance” was in “violation of the guidelines of the APC that specified the open-secret ballot option.”

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Consequently, the Commissioner whose wife lost her bid for Ikoyi/Obalende local government chairmanship noted “the integrity-deficient nature of the primary has significantly diminished the hard-earned reputation of our State as a reference point for free and fair democratic practice.”

He said, he found it rather difficult to come to terms or rationalise the party’s conduct of the October 2018 primary elections.”

“I have struggled for weeks to understand the rationale for the apparent desperation and brigandage brazenly displayed by the party apparatchik in the various elections. I had never thought such vicious attack could be unleashed on the progress that the state had made in its steady democratic journey.

“The indifference of the APC to the continued use of an arm of government by a powerful group within the party, to intimidate critical institutions of democracy in the state, undermines the doctrine of separation of powers, creates an atmosphere of uncertainty and impairs government’s ability to implement policies and programmes that will benefit the majority of the people.

“This is in conflict with my strongly held belief that group interest, no matter how powerful, must be subordinated to the interest of the majority.”