• Jittery Aspirants Behind False Allegations, Says LACO
• Why I Wrote An Advisory To APC Against Gov –Edema
Ondo Vanguards for Good Governance has accused Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, of printing fake membership cards and slips ahead of the party’s primary on April 20.
According to the group, the purported move was geared towards manipulating the outcome of the party’s primary in favour of the governor.
The Chairman of the group, Evangelist Tade Ojo, who spoke in Akure, claimed that some non-members of the APC had been recruited to vote during the primary in a bid to allegedly rig the shadow election.
The group, however, appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the national leadership of the party to ensure credibility during the primary by thwarting any activities aimed at jeopardising the integrity of the election.
He said: “It is important to stress that the leadership of appropriate security agencies has been alerted to this devious act of the governor that has feigned and simulated popularity through procured fickle endorsements.
“The second in line of the escapades of the governor and his desperate partners, particularly some senior appointees to the state government, is the generation of fake membership registers and the printing of fake membership slips to people who are not members of the APC.”
Reacting to the allegations, the spokesperson for the Lucky Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organisation Foot Soldiers (LACO-FS), Kayode Fasua, dismissed the claims as baseless.
He said: “The primary election is an internal affair of the APC, and the party leadership is independent of the government. Before the party, all aspirants, including the governor, are treated equally regarding campaigns and the internal electoral process.
“Therefore, Governor Aiyedatiwa or his supporters are far removed from this lie of printing fake membership cards, as alleged by jittery aspirants hiding behind fingers.
“Again, the allegation of the governor unleashing terror or destroying billboards is trite and unappealing to the public because the police have never once heard of such a complaint, much less arrested anyone. They should go drink some water and sleep for their enviously frayed nerves. Hardworking Governor Aiyedatiwa has overtaken them.”
Meanwhile, Ondo State Governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Olugbenga Edema, has explained why he wrote what he termed an “advisory” against Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
Speaking to reporters after he was screened at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja, yesterday, he said the measure was aimed at saving the party from losing the governorship seat to opposition political parties in the state.
Edema, who questioned the genuineness of Aiyedatiwa’s educational qualification, expressed the fear of the repeat of the loss of the Bayelsa governorship seat won by Mr. David Lyon to Douye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following the decision of the Supreme Court.
“I have stated my own on the matter. We knew what happened in Bayelsa State regarding David Lyon victory. It is left to the party to take their own position,” he said.
Edema, who expressed optimism that he would emerge victorious at the party’s primary on April 20, promised to create an enabling environment for investment and industrialization of the state.
