Fear grips Ondo APC guber aspirants over NWC dissolution

– Kekemeke faults Nigeria’s constitution on the defection

The dissolution of the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) by President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, no doubt, heightened tension among the APC fold, especially the Ondo State governorship aspirants.

While speaking with journalists in Akure, one of the aspirants, who pleaded anonymity, raised serious concerns that the governors had finally taken over the party.

He said that the intervention of the President would jeopardise the chances of the aspirants, saying they would be denied a level playing ground to confront the incumbent governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who is seeking re-election.

“From the look of things, the governors have, at last, taken control of the APC.

“We know that the governors were up to something when they made frantic efforts to save Obaseki but failed.

“The Appeal Court ruling that caused this crisis did not come from nowhere, as the governors reactivated it to embarrass Oshiomhole when they could not persuade him to forgive Obaseki.

“With this development, we doubt if there will be a level-playing ground because these governors are like a fraternity,” he said.

Also, the sequel to the crisis over the alleged impeachment of Ondo State Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi, the pioneer state Chairman of the party, Isaac Kekemeke, has identified lacuna in the Nigerian constitution.

Kekemeke, who is also a governorship aspirant, said: “The truth of the matter is that our constitution only asks that members of the legislature who decamp without a division in their party should lose their seat. Our constitution is silent about those in the offices of governor and deputy governor.”

The former attorney-general and lawmaker, who stated that Nigeria’s constitution does not speak on how Ajayi can be removed from office since he left for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), added: “But for governor and deputy governor, our constitution is silent and does not provide that such people should resign. It is left for the deputy governor to elect between honour and law; it is his choice.”

He said that the defection of the deputy governor to the major opposition party would not have a damaging effect on the fortunes of the party in the forthcoming governorship election, promising that he would work hard to consolidate on his efforts that brought APC to power in 2016.