The Ondo State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Tuesday, defied a restraining order of the Federal High Court of Nigeria sitting in Akure, holding its State Congress and producing former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Kolawole Babatunde, as the new party chairman.

Babatunde, alongside 35 other members of the State Working Committee, emerged through consensus and affirmation at a peaceful State Congress held at the International Centre for Culture and Events in Akure, conducted without the presence of the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

While speaking on the absence of INEC, the commission spokesperson in the state, Yinka Ogunseye, said officials of the commission abstained from the Ondo APC Congress because there were no directives regarding the congress.

Ogunseye said INEC officials did not monitor the election because of the order of the Federal High Court order, which restrained the party from conducting the congress, saying attending the Congress will amount to disobedience of the court.

Ogunseye said, “the commission did not receive any directive from its headquarters to monitor the Congress and could not act in defiance of a court order.

“There was no instruction from our headquarters for us to monitor the congress, and we cannot disobey a valid court injunction.”

But the newly elected State Secretary of the party, Alex Kalejaye, expressed surprise over the absence of the INEC at the congress, insisting that the party’s National Secretariat had formally communicated its plans to the commission ahead of the exercise.

He maintained that the party acted in good faith and in line with internal directives, stressing that no court order was served on the state chapter prior to the congress.

Kalejaye said the leadership would not have proceeded if it had been officially notified of any restraining order.

“To the best of our knowledge, the National Secretariat duly informed INEC about this congress,” he said. “We were therefore surprised not to see their representatives present.”

Responding to questions on the implications of the absence of INEC on the congress or whether the party defied a court injunction, he said: “As at yesterday night, I was at the party’s secretariat till late in the night and we were not served with any court injunction. There was no official communication to that effect.

“It was on the strength of that the National Vice Chairman (South West), Dr. Isaacs Kekemeke, directed us to proceed with the process. We cannot act on speculation or media reports; we can only respond to documents properly served on the party.”

“We cannot act on social media, rumours or unserved orders. As far as we were concerned, there was no legal barrier to holding the congress, and we followed the guidance of our national leadership.”

It was gathered that based on the court order, the ministers from Ondo state, the three senators, as well as seven out of the nine House of Representatives members from the state stayed away from the State Congress.

However, while speaking after the congress, the state governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, described the exercise as more than a routine political event, stressing its significance in consolidating the party’s structure.

Aiyedatiwa, who urged party members to uphold unity, discipline and internal democracy, said, “today’s congress is more than a routine political exercise. It is a reaffirmation of our shared commitment to party supremacy, unity, inclusiveness and discipline.

“The APC remains a party built on structure, order and collective responsibility, which aligns with the first point in our seven-point agenda addressing order, security and the rule of law,” he said. (Nigerian Tribune)