Politics
Ekiti Primary Crisis: Bamidele, Bamisile, others Awaits APC National leadership for Redress
…Says they won’t dump the party
All Progressives Congress governorship aspirants in Ekiti State, including the Senator representing Ekiti Central, Opeyemi Bamidele and a House of Representatives member, Hon Femi Bamisile have said they are waiting for the national leadership of the party to address the crisis that characterised the January 27, 2022 primary.
Addressing his campaign team across the 16 local government area in Ado Ekiti, Senator Bamidele, at the joint press briefing with Bamisile, formally rejected the outcome of the primary that produced Biodun Oyebanji, after due consultations with supporters and called on the leadership of the Party to cancel the primary.
“The leadership of the party must take the right step and this must start by them submitting a dummy name to INEC and use the two weeks window available as contained in the Electoral Act to do what is right in this matter. I can be quoted that the name that will be taken to INEC in Abuja will be dummy name, so those celebrating should do that in moderation”.
Senator Bamidele said there are no intension to dump from the ruling party while they are seeking for justice
They said as much as they won’t dump the party, the aspirants posited that they won’t hesitate to stay inside the party and teach it a bitter lesson over the alleged electoral fraud perpetrated during the primary using political and legal means.
“If it is part of their calculation that we will leave the party for them, they are making a mistake. We are still waiting for the national leadership on our collective position. We have filed petitions and if they endorse that impunity they called primary, it will be clear that we have exhausted all the internal mechamisms for crisis resolution and we can frim there return to the court of law”.
The Senator added that all the alleged shenanigans and breach of party’s constitution perpetrated by Governor Abubakar Badaru-led Primary Committee will be addressed politically and legally to teach APC a lesson it will never forget.
Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele and Hon femi Bamisile
Reeling out how the election was allegedly manipulated, Bamidele stated that the Badaru-led Committee hijacked the process by distributing materials a day before election, changed collation centres, and arbitrarily appointed those that would do Oyebanji’s biddings to compromise the process and subvert the will of the people.
“The Ad hoc staff were to be adopted for the conduct of the poll, because it was assumed that every member in Ekiti would have taken position. When you talk of ad hoc staff, it means those that would be brought from the national Secretariat of the party or APC members from other states.
“The process was totally hijacked by Badaru committee. What we saw was seeing people who were campaign managers, sponsors and promoters of Biodun Oyebanji being appointed and saddled with the responsibility of being Returning Officers in the 16 local governments.
“The election materials were to be distributed early on Thursday before the start of the primary and to be distributed in the presence of agents of aspirants , INEC, security chiefs and monitoring teams. But materials, both sensitive and nonsensitive, were distributed the previous night. We got calls that as of 11pm, Governor Badaru had handed over materials to Returning Officers from the 16 councils.
“Out of the 16 Returning Officers appointed, 11 of them were with Oyebanji when he collected his expression of interest form at the party Secretariat in Abuja.
“In several of our local governments, the venues of our collation centres were changed. At the appropriate time, we will give evidence that will put all of us in public court and that will be useful in the court of law. Available INEC report shows that there was no voting, no valid primary election in Ekiti.
“One thing I can assure you is that the last is yet to be heard about the Ekiti governorship primary. We will not stop at anything seeking for justice. We should take every step that will challenge this political misbehaviour from repeating itself in future, so that politicians can learn how to take caution and be civil.
“Majority of Ekiti people are seriously disappointed with the way the election went. I thought the election would be free and fair, because I thought Dr. Kayode Fayemi won’t get involved in things that will deprive the party of free and fair process and that he will provide for a level playing ground. Only history will judge me whether I was right or not . I thought I knew him, but I didn’t know that I did t know him quite enough”.
In his submission, Bamisile, warned the security agencies against threatening people with arrest over the APC governorship crisis, saying such will not work.
“This is our state, we are fighting for what we believe in , this is a democracy where everyone has the right to support whoever he likes. The police shouldn’t threaten us with arrest. Nobody can stop this, the only thing they can do to stop us is to allow justice in our party.
“Whatever votes they have allotted to us will reflect on the day of election. We won’t leave this party, but not leaving does not mean that APC will not be taught a lesson.This is not a threat, but a prophesy that will come to pass. We are not going anywhere, but if the party doesn’t do it right, they will be taught a lesson they will never forget”.
…Residents hail Governor for restoring power after 10 years blackout
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, has said the forthcoming governorship election offers the people of the state an opportunity to use their votes to cement continuity of good governance and defeat politics of retrogression.
Governor Oyebanji also urged the electorate to cast their votes massively for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the January 2027 presidential election in appreciation of his immense support for the government and people of Ekiti State.
The Governor who is the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the June 20 governorship election in Ekiti State said no Nigerian leader has done as much as President Tinubu had done for Ekiti State, hence the state must contribute a high tally of votes that would contribute to his re-election.
Oyebanji who spoke on Thursday while addressing rallies in Ekiti East and Ayekire Local Government Areas in continuation of his campaign tour round the state, said frequent changes of ruling parties at election cycles negatively affected the growth and development of the state.
Oyebanji also restated his call for peaceful and violence-free election. He enjoined APC members not to be provoked into violence before, during and after the election for the victory to be sweet and remarkable.
The rallies which were turned into carnivals by party members and residents saw the Governor receiving a rousing welcome in Omuo Ekiti and Ode Ekiti, the headquarters of the two council areas in appreciation of the projects implemented and restoring electricity to the axis after a blackout of over ten years.
The Governor told the crowd that his administration has succeeded in fulfilling promises made to the people of the two council areas including putting an end to more than ten years of blackout expressing readiness to work harder to consolidate on the gains achieved if he wins re-election at the polls.
He spoke just as residents of the community through their spokesperson thanked the Governor for restoring power supply in several communities in the area, after over ten years of blackout. They said the restoration of power supply has boosted local economy of the communities.
A massive crowd of party supporters, community leaders, teachers, local government workers, artisans, market women and non-indigenes welcomed the Governor during the rallies and pledged their support for his re-election on June 20.
Speaking in Omuo Ekiti, Oyebanji identified lack of continuity in good governance occasioned by the single term syndrome, said the forthcoming election offers the people of Ekiti an opportunity to elect a governor back-to-back and put a stop to retrogression caused by instability in governance.
He said: “In less than a year, Ekiti State will clock 30 years since it was created and no government has won election back-to-back. If one government comes, it will introduce some policies within four years and when another government comes, rather than building on what is on ground, it will introduce something new and the state will have to start all over again.
“The problem of Ekiti State development has been lack of continuity in good governance, so June 20 offers us a platform to change that narrative once and for all. On June 20, Ekiti will rise up as a mass army to say enough is enough.
“Through our votes for APC, we must say no to politics of retrogression, to politics of underdevelopment, to politics that does not advance the cause of women, to politics that will take ten steps forward and 50 steps backward, all those will stop on June 20.”
The Governor further emphasised the need for a high voter turnout at the Ekiti poll in favour of the APC which he believes would rub off positively on the fortunes of the party in neighbouring Osun State where another governorship election holds in August.
According to him, an impressive showing for the party in both Ekiti and Osun States would set the stage for an overwhelming victory for Tinubu at the January presidential poll saying “the governorship poll results in the two states should prepare the groumd for the re-election of the President.
Two prominent party leaders in Ekiti East, Senator Biodun Olujimi and Rt. Hon. Femi Bamisile canvassed support for re-election of Oyebanji on the strength of the impact of his administration in the axis.
Olujimi, the immediate past Senator for Ekiti South Senatorial District urged voters in the axis to repay the good done by the Governor on election day and be faithful to the covenant to re-elect him back to office.
Bamisile, the incumbent member of House of Representatives for Ekiti South Federal Constituency 2, said the Governor has become an adopted son of Ekiti East who must be re-elected because he has done well for the people.
A youth leader, Mayowa Ogundana, commended the Governor for creating jobs through the Bring Back the Youths into Agriculture with many beneficiaries in the area and also reconnecting communities back to the national grid after over ten years of being in darkness.
Oyebanji also met with traditional rulers in the two local government areas and used the forum to solicit their support for his aspiration and administration.
The Governor was joined during the campaign by his Deputy, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye; Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Adeoye Aribasoye; Deputy Director of the Campaign Council / Senator representing Ekiti South , Senator Yemi Adaramodu among others.
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