Some aggrieved aspirants of the All Progressives Congress in the forthcoming Ekiti State governorship poll said on Wednesday that they would not defect from the governing party despite their grievances over last Thursday’s primary election.
National Assembly members, Opeyemi Bamidele and Femi Bamisile, said that they would stay back in APC and teach the party a bitter lesson over the alleged electoral fraud perpetrated during the primary using political and legal means.
The aspirants, who spoke at Bamidele’s campaign office in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, where they formally rejected the outcome of the primary which produced former secretary to the State Government, Biodun Oyebanji, alleged that the breach of APC constitution perpetrated by Governor Abubakar Badaru-led Primary Committee would be addressed politically and legally.
Bamidele said, “None of us is contemplating defection from APC, this is our party. We have contributed so much to it from the days of Alliance for Democracy. All we are asking for is justice. We are waiting for the national leadership to take the right step.
“So, APC still has means to do the right thing. And as far as we are concerned, the name that has been taken to INEC in Abuja is a dummy name. I can be quoted that the name that has been submitted to INEC is a dummy name. Those who are celebrating that Mr Biodun Oyebanji has won the election should celebrate with moderation because it is a dummy name.
“If it is part of their calculation that we will leave the party for them, they are making a mistake. We are still waiting for the national leadership on our collective position. We have filed petitions and if they endorse that impunity they called primary, it will be clear that we have exhausted all the internal mechanisms for crisis resolution and we can from there return to the court of law”.
Bamidele alleged that the Badaru-led Committee hijacked the process by distributing materials a day before election, changing collation centres and arbitrarily appointing those that would do Oyebanji’s biddings to compromise the process and subvert the will of the people.
In his submission, Bamisile warned the security agencies against threatening people with arrest over the APC governorship crisis, saying such will not work, adding, “This is our state, we are fighting for what we believe in.
The federal lawmaker said, “This is a democracy where everyone has the right to support whoever he likes. The police shouldn’t threaten us with arrest. Nobody can stop this, the only thing they can do to stop us is to allow justice in our party.
“Whatever votes they have allotted to us will reflect on the day of election. We won’t leave this party, but not leaving does not mean that APC will not be taught a lesson.
“This is not a threat, but a prophecy that will come to pass. We are not going anywhere, but if the party doesn’t do it right, they will be taught a lesson they will never forget.”
Credit: punchng.com
