Fayose emerges PDP Ekiti guber candidate, as other aspirants kick

A former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, was on Saturday declared winner of the Peoples Democratic Party governorship primaries in the state.
Fayose emerged winner with 462 votes out of a total of 477 votes cast.
Leader of the PDP panel, which conducted the primaries, Dr. Peter Odili, announced that the immediate past Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade, scored seven votes.
Odili said that Prince Dayo Adeyeye came third with three votes, while Modupe Ogundipe came fourth with one vote.
He said a total of 544 delegates were accredited for the exercise, out of which four votes were voided.
Shortly after his announcement as candidate of the party, Fayose said he would justify the confidence reposed in him by “wrestling power from the incumbent Governor Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress.”
He called on other aspirants, who contested, to join him in the task ahead and forget their differences.
Reacting to Fayose’s victory, some aspirants dissociated themselves from the exercise and called on the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, and the national leadership of the PDP to declare the primaries as illegal, null and void.
Senator Gbenga Aluko, who spoke on behalf of Olubolade, Chief Abiodun Aluko, Ogundipe and Adeyeye, claimed that Fayose was not qualified to contest.
They further claimed that the list of delegates was doctored in favour of Fayose.
The entire Ado-Ekiti township went agog as soon as Fayose was announced as the winner of the primaries.
Many supporters came out in a carnival like procession along major roads to mark Fayose’s victory at the primaries.
Hundreds of people, including market men and women, okada riders, transporters as well as school children trooped to the streets to catch a glimpse of Fayose singing songs of praise.
Voting commenced at 12:05pm amidst tight security by combined team of regular and mobile policemen, the Department of State Security and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
Addressing the delegates before the exercise, Odili commended security agents for providing adequate security at the venue.
He said that primary option became necessary because President Goodluck Jonathan and the new National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, believed in internal democracy and the voice of the people.
He said that a total of 544 delegates from the 177 wards were to vote in the primaries while 15 aspirants were recognised by Abuja as qualified to participate in the exercise.
The state Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Alhaji Halilu Pai, led the team of INEC officials to monitor the primaries.
The Police Commissioner in the state, Felix Uyanna, led men and officers of the command to provide security for the exercise.
Meanwhile, 13 out of the aspirants who boycotted the primary election held in Ado-Ekiti have vowed that Fayose will never by the party’s candidate.
Aluko, who addressed party supporters at the campaign office of one of the aspirants, said: “The fraudulent primary they are holding is an exercise in futility.
“It will not stand, it cannot stand.”
They maintained that Fayose was not a member of the PDP, saying his readmission into the party did not satisfy Chapter II, Section 8 (17) of the party constitution.
They said: “Chapter II, Section 8 (17) PDP Constitution states that: ‘Any member who loses his membership for reasons other than non-payment of annual subscription may be readmitted on the recommendation of his Ward Executive Committee, through the Local Government Area Executive Committee, to the State Chapter of the party, and ultimately made to the National Working Committee, subject to ratification by the National Executive Committee.’
“From the provisions of Chapter II, Section 8 (17) of the PDP Constitution, Mr. Fayose’s readmission into the party required the ratification of the National Executive Committee, which has not been done.
“Therefore, an appropriate candidate for the party, not Ayo Fayose will be chosen by our party. That candidate will go ahead and win the June 21 election by the grace of God.”
On the primary, the aspirants said: “A supposed primary is said to be going on now. But we all know that a primary election is not done by only one person. A primary is done by at least two people.
“Thirteeen out of the 14 governorship aspirants of the PDP in Ekiti State are here present.
“It is only Ayo Fayose, a non-member of the PDP, that is at the Eagle Centre doing the fraudulent primary.
“Our State Chairman, Chief Makanju Ogundipe, all the three senatorial chairmen and other major members of the State Exco are not in the so-called primary.
“Our party member should therefore know that the fraudulent primary they are holding is an exercise in futility. It will not stand, it cannot stand.
“We shall take our case to our President, who is the leader of our party. We believe the President does cannot be part of the charade going on here in Ekiti.
“We should not worry, we should stay calm and be assured that justice will be done.”