CHANGING Nigeria is a MARATHON!

Good day,I must first and foremost thank everyone who has been a part of our campaign for
the councillorship seat in Ward 10, Ilesha East LGA. I have gotten the most gracious support
from friends, elders and believers in the notion that young people should quit lamenting and
indeed come forward to participate. I am grateful for this immense support and do not take it
for granted.

As the people of Osun State prepare for the elections tomorrow, I have the most unfortunate
news. Our party will not be participating in the electoral process after what was a
back-and-forth engagement with INEC, IPAC and OSIEC since December 2017

OSIEC had insisted on recognizing a state chairman for our party who had been suspended
from the party since 2013 on the basis that his details was what was sent by IPAC. This
person attended OSIEC meetings, continued to collect monies from the state government
via IPAC and also kept insisting that KOWA PARTY had no candidates in the election.

IPAC Osun which operates more as a cult group than as a political party coalition insisted
that the said impostor was the person whose details were given to them by INEC even
though two letters from May 2017 and September 2017 on the subject were acknowledged
by INEC HQ in Abuja. Whether this was deliberate considering that the governor of the state
also resides in our ward is still an issue we can’t say much of at the moment.

As soon as this was resolved in December of 2017, the party began engagements with
OSIEC which finally gave a conclusion as to the impossibility of participating in the process
on the 23​rd​ of January, 2017.

When this process began, our campaign team had to decide whether to end the campaign
and stop all activities or strive to resolve the issues while the campaign continued. We chose
the latter.

Our reason was predicated on the two objectives of our campaign. To run and win the
councillorship seat in the ward and offer an alternative political platform to the people outside
of the two major establishment parties. Our work so far as regards popularising the party and
our candidacy is without doubt. Up till the 23​rd​ of January, we hoped for a favourable
response on our engagement but failed to get one when we got a final verdict from the
OSIEC Chairperson.

I am deeply embarrassed by this situation and seek forgiveness from those who believed in
our campaign. This was not the end we envisaged. The SDP which also campaigned in our
ward will also be left out of the ballot in the elections due to another matter entirely leaving
the APC candidate to contest unopposed in our ward.

For now, we will get back up and learn the bitter lessons where we erred and could have
done better. The movement for an alternative political platform that our campaign has birthed
in our local government will continue unabated.Possible legal actions are also being
considered against the person(s) involved in ensuring we were systemically excluded. I
sincerely apologize once again.

May God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Adejuwon Jude Feranmi Kolawole

Ilesa East Local Government/ Ward 10