Ekiti: Fayose’s deputy, Eleka, emerges PDP guber candidate

…APC insists on Al-Makura, orders fresh primaries Friday
…Gov Ajimobi, Minister in war-of-words over Oyo primary
Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Prof Kolapo Eleka, on Tuesday, emerged Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) governorship candidate for the July 14, 2018 gubernatorial election in the state.

Out of the 1968 votes casted, Eleka polled 1,191 votes to defeat former Works minister, Dayo Adeyeye, who polled 770 votes while seven votes were voided.

The third aspirant, Senator Abiodun Olujinmi, had earlier in the day stepped down for Adeyeye when she asked her supporters to vote for Adeyeye, noting that she sacrificed her ambition for peace, progress, and stability of the party.

The rancour free election was conducted by the Electoral Committee headed by Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

Accreditation of Delegates started at about 10am at the Eagle Event centre, Ajilosun area of Ado-Ekiti, the state capital,

The party had commended all stakeholders, particularly, the aspirants for the spirit of sportsmanship displayed in their commitment towards a peaceful and free credible process.

The party further applauded the stakeholders in the state for keeping to their resolve to work together to ensure the victory of the party at the main election, irrespective of the outcome of the primary elections.

The leadership of the party restated its stand to continue in the highest level of transparency and to ensure an all-inclusive playing ground for all aspirants in all the processes leading to the governorship primary.

Governor Okowa while announcing the results, hailed the contestants and delegates for displaying maturity, pointing out that the development had again confirmed that the PDP was truly a democratic party.

He said: “By the power vested in me as the Returning Officer, I hereby return Prof Kolapo Olusola Eleka as the duly nominated gubernatorial candidate of the PDP for Ekiti State governorship election, having scored the highest number of votes cast in this election.

“I want to congratulate Prof Kolapo Olusola Eleka for his victory. I wish him well”.

He thanked Governor Ayo Fayose for his support, particularly for the security men and members of the panel, saying this accounted for success of the poll.

Governor Okowa commended Fayose for playing a fatherly role, urging party members to immediately bury the hatchets elicited by the scramble for the governorship ticket by rallying support for Eleka for the PDP to be able to retain Ekiti State.

He thanked the party members for their patience and heads of security agencies for doing a good job, saying that , “we thank you for doing a good job”.

Responding, Eleka said he would continue to display loyalty to the party and he thanked those who facilitated his victory.

“I humbly thank all our party stalwarts who made this victory possible, particularly , Governor Ayodele Fayose.

“I want to thank the doggedness of my co-contestant, Prince Adeyeye. History will have it that he put in his best for a better Ekiti.

“I am determined to move Ekiti forward by sustaining those legacies that were started by our amiable governor.

“We are aware of the plans of the interlopers who wanted to grab power through the backdoor. Whether they like it or not, we shall give them another 16-0 again with the support of Ekiti people.

“I thank Governor Fayose for standing firm behind me despite all odds. I shall eternally be grateful to you for this love”.

Fayose in his response, jokingly recommended Okowa to the APC for the conduct of the rescheduled primary in Ekiti, saying that “APC is worse than the PDP in every aspect”.

He said he will reach out to Adeyeye and Olujimi to assure them of relevance in the party.

The election was conducted under a peaceful and well arranged atmosphere unlike violence that disrupted the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election last Saturday.

The delegates and security agents comported themselves in a peaceful manner and this substantially helped the outcome of the election the people expected would be violent.

The security around the venue was tight as combined forces of the Police, men of the Department of State Services(DSS) and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) cordoned off all roads leading to the Eagle Event centre in Ado Ekiti.

The security agents led by Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr. Chijoke Ndu, prevented some journalists from entering the venue, as they were chased away with sniffer dogs.

Meanwhile, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has cancelled last Saturday’s gubernatorial primary election in Ekiti State, and has consequently fixed Friday for the conduct of fresh primaries.

The NWC, which took the decision after a meeting last night however suspended the agents of aspirants who were identified to have disrupted the process from further participating in the primary election in whatever capacity.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, in a press conference at the National Secretariat on Tuesday in Abuja said: “Perhaps, more importantly is that the exercise of Saturday is cancelled and would now be conducted this Friday, 11th May, 2018”.

Insisting on Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura conducting the fresh primary, Abdullahi said, “The existing primary election committee is maintained, except the secretary who will now be substituted”.

Abdullahi said the committee secretary was never indicted for compromising the process but that ” virtually all aspirants complained that the secretary has a close relationship with one of their colleagues and so we decided to drop him in order to guard the integrity of the process and not because he was found to have compromised”.

He said: “All identified unruly agents that participated in the suspended primary election of 5 May 2018 are disqualified from participating In the rescheduled primary as agents. Accordingly, the following persons are hereby disqualified from participating as agents or partaking in the rescheduled primary in whatever capacity; Ayodeji Omowaye, Rotimi Faleye, Kayode Afolabi, Oladele Ademola Samuel, Oyetunde Ojo, Akintade Olayisade and Temitope Adewumi.

“All agent tags must bear the name of aspirants they represent. All agents in the rescheduled primary election are hereby barred from coming to the voting arena with their mobile phones”.

Other decisions reached by the NWC are: “Security agents from other states will be mobilized to secure the venue and officials in the rescheduled election.

One person would be appointed subject to the consensus of all aspirants to assist persons with disability and illiterate voters.

All aspirants must not leave their sitting position unless with the approval of the primary committee

“All aspirants would be held vicariously liable for the conduct of their agents and names of aspirants would be written in the following order as stated below: Ajayi Olatunji Olowo and Olubunmi Kayode.

“The NWC condemn the disruption of the Primary of 5th May and resolved that all found culpable, directly or indirectly will be punished in accordance with the relevant provisions of the party constitution”, Bolaji declared.

In a related development, Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi and the Minister of Communications, Chief Adebayo Shittu, are now at each other throats over the recent APC primary in Oyo State.

While the minister is threatening to jail the governor if he becomes the next governor of the state, Governor Ajimobi said the minister is the one that should be afraid of going to jail in view of his conduct and refusal to pay his aides

Shittu has declared that he will ensure that the incumbent governor of Oyo State is jailed when he eventually becomes governor of the state in 2019.

Shittu also declared that he was not desperate to be governor, but Governor Ajimobi knew he was too principled for him when it comes to issue of morality.

Speaking to newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja after a closed door meeting with the APC National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun, where he (Minister) complained about the disruption of ward congresses in Oyo State, the mood minister accused Governor Ajimobi of desperation to stop his governorship ambition.

He said: “I want to say that if anybody is desperate in the Oyo political firmament, it should be Governor Ajimobi who believes that if Barrister Shittu succeeds him he will be in jail.

That is what he is reported to have always told people who mentioned me to him.

“He thinks that I am too principled, firm, un-bendable and uncompromising when it comes to the issues of morality. It is he who is desperate to stop me not me being desperate to become governor.

“The rules are clearly there and like somebody who believes in the rule as a lawyer and man of law and order, if I follow the rules to contest the primaries in a free, fair and credible poll and did not win, I will take up something else.

I am not desperate to become the governor of Oyo State. It is the other way round because the governor is desperate to stop me for whatever reason”.

When asked whether he has taken advantage of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s APC reconciliation panel to bring about solution to the disagreement between him and the governor, the Minister said:

“I can say straight away that I am like any other Nigerian that heard that a committee was constituted. No invitation was extended to me for any purpose of discussions, negotiations, reconciliations or whatever. Nobody can blame me for that”.

On what he wants to correct as governor, Shittu said: “He (Ajimobi) has failed in so many things including human relations and others I cannot say openly in the media.

Why is he afraid of going to jail if another Buhari like me comes to power in Oyo state? Why is he afraid of primaries”, he queried, saying;

“For seven years, he has been running the Local Government alone without elected officers. What it means is that the LGA funds come directly into his pocket.

He committed so many atrocities and that is why he is afraid of a Buhari coming to power in Oyo State”.

But Ajimobi has advised Shittu and aggrieved stakeholders in the just concluded ward congresses of the APC to explore the party’s internal organs for seeking redress rather than engaging in actions capable of further sowing the seed of discord within the party.

As leaders and stakeholders in the party, the governor said it would be counter-productive to engage in actions and utterances that tend to further divide the party, adding that he would on his own part continue to do the best for Oyo State.

A statement issued by the Special Adviser, Communication and Strategy to the Governor, Mr. Bolaji Tunji, said the advice became necessary in view of the utterances credited to the Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu and his cohorts in the aftermath of the ward congresses held on Sunday.

The governor said that the minister should be the one to be afraid of going to jail in view of the damaging allegations made against him by all his aides who resigned en mass following his refusal to pay their emoluments.

The Governor said: “In any case, Shittu should be the one that should be afraid of going to jail in view of many allegations made against him as minister.

Few of these are his alleged illegally-acquired property in Ibadan and Abuja and sudden unexplainable and stupendous wealth not commensurate with his emoluments.

“In addition, his recent attempt to convert and appropriate a parcel of land belonging to Saki community, which was stoutly resisted by his own people, has shown his level of greed, avarice and penchant for appropriating what does not belong to him.

“Governor Ajimobi remains a distinguished Senator of the country who had successfully traversed the corporate world and got to the peak of his career as the Managing Director and Chief Executive of a multinational; a position that requires a high degree of integrity, ability and capability.

“All these attributes have reflected in the way he has successfully managed the affairs of the state in the last seven years, which has transformed the face and fortunes of the state and had attracted unmatched number of investors to the state.

“Similarly, Governor Ajimobi’s track record in his first term earned him an unprecedented second term, a feat for which he would forever remain grateful to the good people of the state.

“Something that cannot be taken away from Governor Ajimobi is his unrepentant commitment to the assurance of peace, safety and security across the length and breadth of Oyo State, which had hitherto been under the control of some erstwhile garrison commanders.

“Having consistently won elections over the years, Ajimobi remains a man to be rivaled by politicians who are known to be serial election losers and now desperate to become the governor of Oyo State where governance has been raised beyond the limit of people with mediocre ability.

“In the last seven years, Ajimobi has managed the affairs of Oyo State prudently and with the fear of God, and will not be distracted from his well-articulated programmes of security, safety and peace as well as the developmental strides which the administration has been known for; until May 29, 2019 when he will hand over to a worthy, capable, seasoned and tested successor.

“Ajimobi remains the leader and father of the APC and will continue to work towards the success of the party at the state and national levels, and the progress of the state.