Two governorship aspirants in the just-concluded primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary in Ekiti State, Senator Dayo Adeyeye and Kayode Ojo, have said they would challenge the emergence of the former Secretary to the State Government, Biodun Oyebanji.
Adeyeye, a former Minister of Works, said on Friday that the results of the primary which held on Thursday had been concocted before the exercise.
He said he was still consulting with his people on the next line of action following the protest embarked upon by seven aggrieved aspirants including him, demanding that the exercise be suspended.
He said, “I am consulting, I am getting my people together and see what they think. I am in that process. It is going on fine. There was no election; they just concocted results among themselves. All the people that conducted the election were members of Oyebanji’s campaign team. We have the list. That was the basis of our petition.
“On Wednesday, we complained to Governor (Abubakar) Badaru (of Jigawa State) that there was no way all the electoral officers could be members of Oyebanji’s campaign team. He said each of the seven of us should bring 20 names to make 140 whereas Oyebanji’s team had 531 names and he did not use any of the names. He just stuck to the list that Oyebanji’s team presented.
“We were supposed to meet Governor Badaru by 9am and he cancelled the meeting – what a display of arrogance? Don’t we have the right to complain as contestants? All those who conducted the purported election and took results to the collation centre were all Oyebanji’s people. Which kind of primary was that?
“The figures were written and concocted. In some of the places, they tore the result sheet and rewrote it that evening. Whatever was purportedly done anywhere was not true. They had already written the results.
“One of the sources in the government told me on Wednesday that they would put me in the fourth position. They wrote the result. How could Oyebanji have scored over 101,000 votes? In Ekiti State, votes have never been more than 300,000 for all parties combined, so where did they get that over 101,000 for one aspirant? Are they not deceiving themselves?”
Another governorship aspirant, Ojo, on Friday called on the party’s national leadership and the Presidency to intervene and conduct “a legitimate primary” to replace the exercise he described as a fraud.
He said, “I can confirm to you that the APC has no legal and credible candidate in Ekiti. From the results, you can attest to the fact that those figures were fake and concocted by the elections committees to suit their purpose.
“The Jigawa State Governor, Abubakar Badaru and chairman of the APC Primary Committee for Ekiti State came to this state to validate fraud and not for the conduct of any credible primary. We (seven aggrieved aspirants) have resolved to stand against this injustice.
“We are seeking every peaceful avenue to ensure that we have a process that would produce a credible candidate in Ekiti. It will be a disaster for the APC to approach this election in this disgraceful manner.”
However, Oyebanji, who was returned as winner of the primary by the Badaru-led committee, sought support of the aggrieved aspirants to ensure the party won the June 18 governorship election.
Presenting his acceptance speech, Oyebanji said, “I humbly ask for your support as we begin the task of campaigning for the Saturday, June 18, 2022 general election. We have a huge mission ahead of us to retain the governance of our dear state under our great party and to ensure the continuity of our progressive programmes and policies as established by our leaders.
“I will be reaching out personally to seek an audience with every one of you in the coming days. I want to listen to you, so that together we can fit in our respective parts of the big picture and run a wholesome campaign that connects with the hearts and minds of our people.
“During contests such as this, tensions are understandably high, and tempers rise in all quarters. This is all normal in the course of democratic expression. I hereby promise my fellow aspirants that together, we will work towards victory and a bright future for our people.”
