As the direct primaries exercise of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) continues to elicit reactions across the country, some party stakeholders from Ekiti State have called on President Bola Tinubu and the national leadership to urgently intervene to save the party’s soul in the state.
This was, even as, the most formidable support group for the President in the state, Ekiti Network of Asiwaju Youths (ENAYo) decried gross malpractices in the conduct of the party’s primaries across the state, especially, in Ekiti North Federal Constituency II, where they argued elections were not held in some wards but results were written and declared.
Ekiti North Federal Constituency II is one of the six Federal Constituencies in Ekiti State, comprising Ido-Osi, Ilejemeje, and Moba local government areas, and currently being represented in the 10th House of Representatives by Hon. Akinlayo Davidson Kolawole.
In an open letter to President Tinubu on Wednesday, the Concerned Ekiti APC Stakeholders bemoaned the activities of some state actors, describing them as “undemocratic and unprogressive”.
In the letter signed by the Coordinator, Alhaji AbdulRaman Agboola, and Secretary, Hon. Daniel Fatoriji, the APC Stakeholders condemned in totality, the act of “writing election results and declaring same, even when glaringly the blind could see that, elections were not held in those areas”, stressing that such act was dangerous to the very peace, unity and tranquility that existed in the party.
“We are raising this alarm because we are the nucleus of the party in Ekiti state. We did not join the party; we formed it, and we were the foundation members before others came in. And no matter what, we shall still be the ones here to save the soul of the party during the general elections, after angry party members would have left, courtesy of the misdemeanours of the party leadership in the state.
“That is why we are calling on our dear President, His Excellency, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, and our indefatigable national Chairman, His Excellency, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe, to address this issue before it gets out of hand quickly.
“Take, for instance, in Ekiti North Federal Constituency II, the young man whom we all elected in 2023, and agreed to return him in 2027, due to his contributions to the party and his laudable achievements in the constituency, the state actors ganged up against him with all manner of machinations.
“First, his Media Aide, who went home for the primaries, was arrested by the Nigerian Police, a day before the election, and accused him of staying in the same hotel where some hoodlums were arrested with guns. As we speak, the young man is currently being held by the Police, even in the face of the glaring fact that those arrested have no business with the Media Aide. Even the arrested suspects testified that they didn’t know him. The Police are currently holding him with the motive to tie him to his boss, whom they are all working against.
“Even on the day of the direct primaries, there were no elections in Usi ward 6 and Ward 5 of Ido-Osi LGA, same in other wards and strongholds of Hon. Akinlayo Davidson Kolawole, like Ifaki ward 1 and 2, and so many other wards in Ilejemeje LGA, where no election was held. And where elections were held, and genuine results showed he had won, the returning officers would go to Ado Ekiti and announce another person. This is not the original ideology of our party. This very act is alien to us. We must halt it before it hurts us in the general elections”, the stakeholders added.
Also in a statement released on Tuesday and signed by the Spokesperson, Comrade Joseph Olaitan, the Ekiti Network of Asiwaju Youths (ENAYo) called on the national leadership of the party to roundly reject any result emanating from Ekiti North Federal Constituency II, saying the people are currently angry for refusing to allow them to vote for their preferred candidate.
According to the statement, “party supporters, elders, youths, turned out in their numbers to exercise their rights as party members, but those who believe they are more powerful than the masses, hijacked materials in some wards, leaving the people stranded and wailing till night”.
The Asiwaju group alleged that, in most places where elections were genuinely held and results announced, the returning officers would return different results in the state collation centre.
“We have video evidences and result sheets showing that the current Member representing Ekiti North Federal Constituency II, Hon. Akin Kolawole actually won the election overwhelmingly, where results were actually collated, but getting to Ado Ekiti, it is Alhaji Ibrahim Olanrewaju’s name we are seeing, even places like Ward 5, Ward 6 and other places where the people were not allowed to vote, we saw them allocating figures on the result sheets. How did we arrive at this shambolic stage in our party?
“To worsen the situation, one of our youth in the land, a gentleman who has been working with Hon. Akinlayo Kolawole as a media aide, Ibitola Babatope (Sugarito), was arrested by the Police on the eve of the election, in a manner believed to be a set-up by the power that be. As we speak, the boy is still being held.
“We are not violent people in Ekiti; we are peace-loving people. Those who think they can introduce militancy into our body polity should reexamine their steps. God Almighty is watching everybody on earth. No one will be Governor, chairman or Commissioner forever. Everything on earth has an expiry date!
“We are fully ready to deliver our dear President and other APC candidates in Ekiti come 2027, but we will not be responsible for anyone who tries to force his way into power against the popular will of the people. Let the party leadership do the needful before it degenerates into something else”, the statement reads.
