Ekiti gov’ship: Anger over outcomes of APC, PDP primaries

• I’ll challenge it legally – Bamidele

• ’PDP result predetermined’

Some aggrieved contestants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have expressed their anger over the outcome of the parties’ primary elections held a few days ago ahead of the June 18 governorship election in Ekiti State.

The Chairman, Southern Senators’ Forum and an All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has said he would take all necessary legal actions to test the viability of the Ekiti State governorship primary of the party.

The APC held its primary election on January 27 ahead of the Ekiti State governorship election slated for June 18, where Chairman of the APC Electoral Committee for the exercise, Governor Badaru, declared Hon. Biodun Oyebanji as the winner of the poll.

The Jigawa State governor announced that Abayomi polled a total of 101,703 votes to defeat seven other aspirants including Bamidele.

The seven aspirants had earlier announced their withdrawal from the poll over an alleged plot to manipulate the exercise in favour of Governor Kayode Fayemi’s anointed.

But announcing the results, Badaru said Sen. Michael Opeyemi Bamidele scored 706 votes, Sen. Dayo Adeyeye, 691 votes, Hon. Femi Bamisile, 400 votes, Mr. Kayode Ojo, 767, Hon. Demola Popoola, 239, Hon. Bamidele Faparusi, 376 and Hon. Olu Afolabi, had 47 votes.

However, Bamidele who is Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters in a statement yesterday said there was no election.

“It is public knowledge that no primary election took place on Thursday, 27th January 2022 but yet, rather disappointedly, results were announced based on concocted and fictitious vote counts.

“The underlining level of impunity, desperation and perfidy which characterized the entire rigging process was so much and thought beclouding that I was allotted 700 plus votes in a statewide gubernatorial primary election in a state where I had scored over 90,000 votes in just one out of three Senatorial Districts to emerge as a Senator.

“More specifically, the breakdown of the votes allotted to me indicated that I got 150 votes in Ado Ekiti, my beloved second home where I had recorded Twenty Eight Thousand votes out of the 42,000 votes that gave me the House of Representatives mandate way back in the year 2011 to represent Ado / Irepodun-Ifelodun Federal Constituency.

“But we will remain resolute, strong, focused and faithful in the face of this impunity, total lack of regard for the electoral due process and executive rascality by a chosen few who were elected to represent the interests of Ekiti people,” the lawmaker said.

Meanwhile, a governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the just concluded primary poll of the party in Ekiti State, Engr Segun Oni, has said the outcome of the poll was influenced by a former governor of the state to sell the party to the APC.  

Oni in a statement yesterday by the Director General of his Campaign Organisation, Hon. Yemi Arokodare, said the result of the election was pre-determined.

Oni challenged Ayu to explain why he allowed Governor Udom Emmanuel to come for the second exercise in Ekiti after midwifing the process for the botched ad-hoc delegates’ election that was nullified.

“Chairman Ayu must tell the world why he cannot trust any other PDP governor except Governor Udom Emmanuel to conduct the two exercises in Ekiti State when it is evident that Fayose had conducted Governor Udom’s 2019 primaries,” he said.

Fayose’s anointed, Bisi Kolawole, had emerged as candidate of the PDP for the governorship poll.