•‘Wike indulging Fayose at PDP’s peril’
• Bamidele optimistic of credible APC primary
• Famuyibo dumps party, picks Accord’s ticket
Protesters, yesterday, stormed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national secretariat, Abuja, over alleged manipulation of the Ekiti ward congress.
Before the protests, the party had cancelled its peace meeting with Ekiti stakeholders scheduled for same day. The protesters, with different placards, claimed that the Senator Iyorchia Ayu-led National Working Committee (NWC) has failed in its first assignment.
But Ayu, represented by the Deputy Organising Secretary, Senator Ighoyota Amori, assured the aggrieved members that justice would be done.
AS PDP attempts to resolve the bungled congress in Ekiti, PDP Partners for Progress (PDP Partners) has appealed to Governor Nyesom Wike not to indulge former Governor Ayodele Fayose any longer.
The group was worried that the failure of the PDP to manage the prospect of winning Ekiti with a sellable candidate and united front could negatively affect the party’s chances in Osun State and the 2023 general elections.
In a statement signed by its coordinator, Mohammed Giwa, the group urged the Rivers governor and PDP leadership to reflect on the past and future of the party in handling the Ekiti matter.
The group stated: “We wish to draw the attention of Wike to the allegation in the public domain that Fayose is double-dealing, including having a secret pact with the APC in Ekiti, to produce a weak candidate for the PDP, and he is yet to deny it.”
BUT the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has declared that the transparent screening of contestants is a pointer to a credible primary election on January 27, 2022.
The senator representing Ekiti Central, who chairs the Southern Senators’ Forum, hailed the party’s screening exercise conducted in Abuja on Tuesday, January 19, saying the process portrayed APC as truly democratic.
Fielding questions from newsmen in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, the governorship hopeful described the screening by the seven-man committee, led by Senator Domingo Obende, as fruitful, interactive and indicative of a level-playing ground for all the aspirants who appeared before it.
He revealed that the committee also demonstrated concern for the development of the party in Ekiti by raising issues germane to the successful conduct of the June 18 election and the rescheduled primary of January 22.
MEANWHILE, another governorship aspirant, Chief Reuben Famuyibo, has dumped the party to contest the June 18 governorship election in Ekiti on the platform of Accord Party (AP).
The former Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential aspirant said his decision to dump the APC and pursue his ambition in Accord was borne out of the desire of the stakeholders within and outside the state for him to be on the ballot.
Speaking with journalists in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, the aspirant accused the leadership of the ruling party of not providing a level-playing field for all aspirants, which he said necessitated the call by his admirers and supporters to pursue his aspiration in another platform.
The Ado Ekiti-born politician said processes leading to the APC primary had been skewed in favour of the alleged anointed aspirant of the governor.
Famuyibo explained that he has developed a well-researched and practicable blueprint for the transformation and rescue of the state; hence the call by the stakeholders for him to contest the June 18 poll.
