Seven aggrieved All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirants in Ekiti State have withdrawn from the party’s primary election over alleged foul play in the selection of the primary election committee.
They are claiming that members of the committee were loyalists of incumbent Governor Kayode Fayemi.
The aspirants include Kayode Mojo, Demola Popoola, Femi Bamisile, Bamidele Faparusi, Dayo Adeyeye.
Others are Opeyemi Bamidele and Afolabi Oluwasola.
According to them, Fayemi is allegedly making attempts to impose Biodun Oyebanji, a governorship aspirant and the party’s governorship standard-bearer in the state.
The aspirants, therefore, called on the party to reconstitute the primary election committees across the state.
In a statement on Thursday, they said that there was no way the exercise would be fair with the calibre of people sitting on the primary election committees.
“The seven aspirants herein received with rude shock and dismay the purported list of local government election committee and ward election committee made up solely by party members and political appointees that had before now openly endorsed the candidacy of Biodun Oyebanji the immediate past secretary to the state government,” they said.
“It is on record that the government of Governor Kayode Fayemi has given its unwavering support to the candidacy of Biodun Oyebanji, it is common knowledge that the Governor and most appointees of the governor are openly rooting for and supporting Biodun Oyebanji’s aspiration to become the flag bearer of our great party.
“What is more disturbing is the fact that a simple glance at the names of the persons appointed as members of both committees would reveal that it is made up of appointees of government who are all supporters of a candidate in the primary election they are appointed to superintend on.”
“The seven candidates herein are loyal, faithful and committed party members who are sincerely concerned about the chances of the party in the forthcoming 2022 governorship election where an imposition is allowed to override a democratic primary election for determining its flag bearer”.
“We request that both the local government election committee and ward election committee was constituted on the list already in circulation be disbanded and replaced with names that would reinforce internal democracy and uphold the aims and objectives of the party,” they added.