Oni, Ojudu want Ekiti APC gov’ship primary probed
Two of the governorship aspirants in the botched primary election in Ekiti State, Engr. Segun Oni and Senator Babafemi Ojudu, yesterday advised the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to investigate the issues that led to the inconclusive poll on Saturday.
The duo expressed their minds at different times with journalists while reacting to the crises that marred the exercise.
Oni, a former APC Deputy National Chairman (South), who spoke at his Ifaki-Ekiti country home, said the way some people who were discovered to be friends of a particular aspirant were nominated into the committee that conducted the primary put the integrity of the party’s national leadership to question.
The delegates from five of the 16 council areas had voted before the exercise was disrupted by thugs, following reports by some agents against the agent to the minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi.
Oni, who commended the Nasarawa State Governor Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura-led committee for doing a thorough job, however described the violence as very unfortunate.
Oni said: “How would one feel to get to the field of play and find out that the referee was nominated by one of the teams? We found out that the secretary of the committee, Aliyu Mogaji, was nominated by an aspirant and Governor Al-Makura later got to know about this and dropped him from functioning as the returning officer.
“Even the fraud festered to the ranks of the security agencies. I quite appreciate the fact that violence was not the right way, but it was caused by anger.
“That is why the NWC led by Chief John Odigie-Oyegun owes all of us a thorough explanation about how Mogaji found himself in the committee and how to prevent such in future, except that we are hiding under democracy to fool ourselves.
“Whether I will be governor or not or hold political office in the future, I think enough is enough about people being desperate to get positions, because we must give confidence to our people.”
Ojudu, in his reaction, denied allegation in a statement signed by Fayemi’s media aide, Yinka Oyebode, shortly after the primary that Ojudu and Hon. Bimbo Daramola were responsible for the attack.
Ojudu said: “They said I was desperate, let us ask ourselves, who among the aspirants took delegates to Igbara Oke and Owo in Ondo State to camp?
“All these antics will not work. The primary will be conducted and it must be free, fair and credible.”
Daramola, who denied the allegation against him, challenged anybody to show evidence of his involvement in the unfortunate incident.