Bamidele asks APC to cancel Ekiti primary election, says it will be manipulated

January 27, 2022 9:15 am

Opeyemi Bamidele, senator representing Ekiti central, has asked the All Progressives Congress (APC) to cancel the primary election scheduled to take place in the state on Thursday.

The party is expected to pick its standard-bearer ahead of the June 18 governorship election to be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In a statement, Bamidele alleged that those on the primary election committee are aides of Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti governor, who are working to ensure that Biodun Oyebanji, a governorship aspirant, gets the party’s ticket.

Oyebanji is believed to be backed by Fayemi and Niyi Adebayo, minister of trade.

The senator said the exercise will not be fair if the party goes ahead and conducts it.

“I hereby make an additional statement to place on record that it is quite disheartening to realize that some leaders of the party such as Otunba Niyi Adebayo and Governor Kayode Fayemi have anointed a candidate at the detriment of other gubernatorial aspirants whereas they have on several occasions denied the accusation of anointing a candidate ahead of the primary election,” the governorship aspirant said.

“Even the blind can see and the deaf can hear that the Fayemi administration is clearly working towards manipulating the primary election in spite of Governor Fayemi’s promise to create a level playing field for all aspirants during the governorship primary.

“From the foregoing developments, the proposed APC governorship primary in Ekiti State is already bedeviled with reckless irregularities, serial violent attacks on innocent party members, the unlawful hijack and manipulation of the entire exercise by government functionaries, falsification of party membership register as well as illicit racketeering of results to favour Biodun Oyebanji, the anointed candidate of Governor Kayode Fayemi, Otunba Niyi Adebayo and Erelu Bisi Fayemi.

“Without mincing words, I vehemently berate and condemn the kangaroo governorship primaries scheduled to hold on Thursday, 27th January, 2022 given the perceived irregularities, high handedness, intimidation and state-induced violence characterizing the exercise.

“To this end, I, therefore, call on the National leadership of our party to discontinue the process of the election before it leads to another round of embarrassment to the party in the courtroom because of gross misconduct and deliberate contravention of the party’s constitution.”