Ekiti LG polls: Ex-Buhari campaign DG counsels APC on how not to underrate PDP

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has assured that the party will avoid the temptation of imposing candidates on party members for the forthcoming local government elections in the state.

Giving the assurance,  former Director-General, Buhari/Osinbajo Campaign Council in the last presidential poll, Olusegun Osinkolu, said the party must allow the candidates to emerge through  credible and transparent ways.

Osinkolu said imposing candidates on the party might cause disaffection that would give the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) an edge in the December 7, 2019 elections.

The APC will on Saturday, September 28, conduct its primaries to elect the 16 chairmanship and 177 councillorship candidates that will fly the party’s flag in the elections.

In a statement in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday, Osinkolu commended Governor Kayode Fayemi for stating unambiguously that he had no preferred candidates for the polls.

Osinkolu said such clarity would give the party members the freedom to field their preferred candidates that would represent the interests of the people at the local government level.

He said the fact that the PDP had indicated interest to participate in the polls was enough signal that the APC must put its house in order to be able to win a landslide.

 “It would be wrong for us to underrate the opposition parties in these elections, because there could be surprises and the reason why such could happen is when we fail to do the right thing in the primary.

“Even if we have foreclosed the possibility of the opposition making a  tremendous impact  and that APC remains the party of the people in the state because of the performances of the Fayemi-led government; we have to be mindful of the fact that our party must always avoid crisis and do what is right at all times.”

Setting agenda for the party, Osinkolu said: “In the choice of our candidates, APC must focus on competence and the zoning convention already adopted by communities in each of the councils to avoid inter-communal clashes that can destabilise the party and the state in general.

“In some of the local governments, there were silent understandings on the distribution of local government positions and our leaders must lay these bare before the party to guide our actions and prepare us ahead of major future elections.”