We’ve not postponed Ekiti APC governorship primary- Election committee

By Emmanuel Adeleke

The Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Primary Election Committee has said the governorship primary election in the state will hold as scheduled.

The state primary election is slated for today.

In a statement, Victor Olabimtan, secretary of the primary election committee, said the exercise will take place as scheduled in all the 177 wards in the state.

“The Ekiti State APC governorship primary election Committee wishes to assure the general public that a level playing field that will guarantee fairness, openness and transparency has been adopted by the Committee.

“It is an incontrovertible fact that every member of the appointed Electoral Officers for today’s primary election is a bonafide member of Ekiti State APC.

“You will recall that during the stakeholders’ meeting between the Committee, aspirants and others yesterday, this issue was raised and exhaustively discussed, and to reinforce confidence in the process, it was agreed that each aspirant should nominate 20 people each to be part of the process. All the aspirants took advantage of this window of opportunity and submitted the list of their nominated electoral officers.

“All the submitted lists have been added to the existing arrangement, assigned into various wards and local governments. They have all been incorporated,” he said.

The committee urged APC members in the state to go to their wards and exercise their voting rights “without fear or intimidation.”

“The adopted option A4 is the most transparent form of election,” Olabimtan added.

Earlier, Opeyemi Bamidele, the Senator representing Ekiti Central, asked the party to cancel the primary election, alleging irregularities, high-handedness, intimidation, and state-induced violence.

Bamidele alleged that those on the election committee are aides of Govenor Kayode Fayemi, who are working to ensure that Biodun Oyebanji, the immediate past Secretary to the State Government picks the party’s ticket.

Oyebanji is believed to have the backing of Fayemi and Otunba Niyi Adebayo, the Minister of Trade and Investment.

Seven governorship aspirants on the party’s platform had also withdrawn from the primary election over allegations that the committee is made up of Fayemi’s loyalists.