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Tag: Ekiti PDP primary

  • ‘Why I rejected result of Ekiti PDP primary’

    Former Minister of State for Works Prince Dayo Adeyeye has quit the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), following his failure to secure its governorship ticket. His next point of call is unknown. Adeyeye spoke with reporters in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, on why he rejected the outcome of the primary. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA was there.

    Are you foreclosing any reconciliation with Governor Fayose, following your decision to leave the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) after the July 8 primary?

    There can be no reconciliation with the devil. Can you reconcile with the devil? I have said it that there is no meeting point between light and darkness. Fayose represents very deep darkness in Ekiti politics which we need to clear away. That is the truth, every Ekiti person must join hands together to chase away this monster. He doesn’t even behave like an Ekiti person, he is just a conman and we need to chase him out of Ekiti State. I thought that winning the PDP primary will enable me to chase him out because we know him to be a complete devil. I can never cooperate with him any issue.

    Having agreed to accept the result of the primary, at what point did you change your mind not to remain in the PDP?

    I have accepted the result of the primary, that does not mean I will work with the person. It’s a different thing please. Am I protesting now? If I  don’t accept the result, I will say I am protesting. I will go to Abuja. There is an Appeal Panel, I will go before them. I will do all those things. No. About the results, I have reasons to be angry because when Governor Okowa came on the eve of the primary, I told him some things that needed to be done. This is because in a confinement like this, like a hall, gives room for people to be able to whisper, talk to people and doesn’t really give the secrecy. We know that we were not allowed to campaign openly by Fayose because anywhere you go, if they associate you with Adeyeye, he is going to deal with you. After removing you from the government post you are holding and if you are holding a party position, he is going to remove you from that position. Because of those threats, people were so scared and afraid, we couldn’t even g to the local governments but we were working through the nights. People were seeing me secretly and that what the situation we found ourselves; so under that kind of situation, it was necessary to guarantee absolute secrecy. If you were there during the counting, you would see that those that voted almost wrapped their ballots, they didn’t want people to see them. With the kind of situation we had in that hall that day, some of them had been told ‘you must not oppose our person.’ If it had been inside a stadium, that wouldn’t have been possible and we would have been able to guarantee total secrecy. That was the number one thing. They said they didn’t want to use the stadium. Fayose convinced them that the place was porous, that that was why the APC primary failed, that he did not want that of PDP to fail, he said that he is the chief security officer of the state, that he will not open the stadium for them for use. Number two thing was that I complained to Governor Okowa and (Senator) Olujimi joined me in complaining that people should not be forced to wear uniforms, “aso ebi” or “aso and co.” Because it was decided by Fayose, days before the primary that if you don’t wear it, you are his enemy and they should mark you down immediately, that you are working for his enemy, Adeyeye. I coma/plined to Governor Okowa that he cannot stop it as long as they are not waering the picture of Eleka (Olusola) there, then I cannot force them not to wear it beause no law is against it. But I told him that it was a form of intimidation, it was a form of harassing the people, that ‘this is where you should go.’ I was even surprised to have such large number of votes despite the uniform, the camping (of delegates), the intimidation inside the hall where we were. Fayose came there, standing up at a stage. If you watched him, monitoring and people were very afraid. After the primary, many of the delegates called me. They apologised. Some of them were crying that they were forced to vote for Eleka simply because Fayose was there and they thought that he was going to see them. That is the truth, you know, I am a man of my words, I am telling you facts. The result could have been completely different, but I am not complaining because to complain means I want to be part of the whole thing. Maybe they will say, okay we will address so, so issues for you. I have said it that I don’t want to be part of it, I cannot work for Fayose’s evil continuity, that’s it.

    Will you say you were disappointed that Governor Okowa did not address the two vital issues you raised at the PDP primary?

    I was disappointed, but I can understand the man; he came here not that he was pandering to Fayose. You know the way these things work; he doesn’t want to appear as if he came to do one thing against him like that. Okowa is a fantastic person. We worked together. He conducted two of our conventions. He is a fair minded person, but I know his hands were tied, he refused to grant the request of (Senator) Olujimi and myself that people should not wear clothes of identification to the primary. If they want to camp them, let them camp them; Fayose camped them so that we wouldn’t have access to them but to wear uniform made the process not to be fair. He even forced many of the elders to wear uniform, including former Deputy Governor Paul Alabi. Shamelessly, all of them were forced to wear those uniforms. People like former state PDP Chairman, Bola Olu-Ojo, didn’t you see them that day? People like Senator Duro Faseyi, all of them. He forced them to wear it, not to talk of ordinary people, he forced them. You know he is a dictator and he surprised me; when we were inside that hall, the first things that occurred to me was that would these people ever have the courage to vote for me? For me to score 771 votes showed the heart of the people; they were wearing the uniform and yet, they were voting for me. That is why I appreciate them. It shows that we have the real support at the grassroots, and Fayose told people that he didn’t expect me to have 50 or 100 votes. He camped people. We couldn’t meet with them openly, we can’t associate with them openly. In one local government they told me that if they see two people talking together, they will say they are for Adeyeye and that would put them in trouble. That was the atmosphere in which we contested, the playing field was not level, all the advantages were against me. Do you know that all the ward excos were picked by him way back in 2016? Fayose in his characteristic manner personally put them in position in all wards in Ekiti. He installed all the council chairmen personally, you know the process, they were coming to the Government House contrary to the party constitution. He installed all council chairmen and the vice chairmen, and they are all voters (at the primary). He controlled one of the senators, Duro Faseyi, and five of the House of Representatives members. They contributed money; millions for him to do this primary, all the council chairmen brought money to him for this primary. He also used government money. Against a Dayo Adeyeye, who has no position, who has no money, no money, nothing. And these people were not allowed to associate with me at all; any executive they see around me or around any of my supporters, he will deal with them. Even to talk to people became problem. This is why Fayose is in trouble; for 771 to still vote for me, honestly it shows that he doesn’t enjoy any support. He is just sitting on a thread and he is going to fall by the grace of God.

    We want to know your next point of call. Is it the SDP or the APC.

    We have not made up our minds, one decision that is sure is what you have heard over there now (that I am leaving PDP). I am a democrat, we won’t just announce to the whole world like that. The people you see here are our representatives from the grassroots, women are represented, we told them in each local government area to send representatives to this forum. We have youths, we have elders, you can see that it’s a mixture of all the people; we selected them, it’s not a rally. Just key representatives to come here so that we can jointly take a decision. The resolution was passed but we have not decided, our next move will be known very soon.

    How soon because you don’t have much time going by the INEC timetable?

    Look, as we speak, five parties have approached me, five; they have approached me saying ‘come and take our ticket.’ It’s now left for me to meet with my inner circle to decide which one we are going to pick and once we pick that one, we just tell them put the name there. At this point, I don’t want to mention any party.

  • Ekiti PDP primary: Counting in progress

    Counting is presently in progress at the Ekiti State People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary election.
    The counting is being done by the chairman of the Electoral Panel, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.
    Sorting of ballot papers ended at 7.00 pm while counting commenced at 7.15 pm.
    Tension has gripped the Great Eagle Event Centre whee the primary is holding.
    The two contestants are Deputy Governor, Prof. Kolapo Olusola and former Minister of State for Works, Prince Dayo Adeyeye.
    Total number of delegates accredited to vote was 1,968 and all of them voted.
    Total number of void votes recorded was seven.
    Expect more updates as events unfold.
  • ‘We won’t allow Fayose to manipulate Ekiti pdp primary’

    ‘We won’t allow Fayose to manipulate Ekiti pdp primary’

    Ambassador Dare Bejide, who hails from Ilawe-Ekiti, is a former Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State. The  former High Commissioner to Canada (between 1999 and 2002), Secretary to the Government (between 2007 and 2010) and governorship aspirant tells ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, why he wants to succeed Governor Ayodele Fayose in the Fountain of Knowledge. 

    Why do you want to the governor of Ekiti State?

    I am qualified to be governor of Ekiti State based on number one, you are aware of this agitation on Ekiti South agenda. We have had two governors from Ekiti Central, two from Ekiti North and since the creation of the state, we from Ekiti South have not been given the opportunity to serve as the chief executive of the state. Since that agitation has been on, people are beginning to say fairness is fairness and I am from the South, I am qualified. Apart from the issue of zoning, within the PDP, I am the most senior in the party in terms of membership. I was there when the party was founded in 1998, I am not sure any of the aspirants in the PDP can boast of that record. I was the pioneer secretary of the party (in Ekiti) and I have been around for a long while to understand the feelings of the people.

    Apart from the three years I spent as Ambassador outside the country, I have always been around. I had my primary school education in Ekiti State, I also went to secondary school in my local government area. I would probably have gone to the state university if there was one at the time I went to the university and I have always been here since my graduation. I have my law chambers here, so I see myself as a homeboy and I believe that for the first time, we need a homeboy as governor in Ekiti.  We need somebody who had the opportunity of living, staying and working in Ekiti. Again, I have the required experience, I was the pioneer secretary of the party, I was the first deputy governorship candidate of the party. I secured my first political appointment of the party as (Nigeria’s) High Commissioner (to Canada). When I came back, I was appointed SSG by the Oni Administration and when the mandate was set aside by the Court of Appeal and during the interim administration headed by Tunji Odeyemi, I was also reappointed as SSG and when Oni won the rerun, I was again appointed SSG. I believe I have paid my dues in the state, I was the secretary of the elders that agitated for the creation of more local governments when we were in Ondo State; I was the secretary of that committee. When Isokan was created from Ekiti South, Ado-Ekiti was created from Ekiti Central and that created the foundation for the new administration. I have paid my dues in terms of contribution to the development of the state. In my local government area, I have assisted lots of people, I have assisted in provision of amenities in my immediate community and I believe that within the PDP, I deserve the ticket.

    Can you unfold your development agenda for the state, those things you hope to do if you are elected governor in the 2018 poll?

    I believe the most important issue in Ekiti today is this issue of poverty. Poverty is so endemic in the state that government should be able to bring out programmes to tackle it, if not removing completely I believe it can be reduced. I believe one of the ways we can reduce poverty is to promote agriculture; agriculture has the potentials of providing food and apart from providing food to feed the people, it is also capable of generating employment. What our people need is the encouragement, once the government encourages our farmers, we will be able to produce more food. Agriculture will be provide livelihood for over eight per cent of our people; we need t encourage our farmers to stay more on the farms and also make agriculture more attractive to our youths. If an average graduate knows that going into agric will fetch him more money as he can get from government jobs, he will be interested. In other words, what we are going to do is to do away with hoes and cutlasses and introduce modern ways of doing farming to encourage the young ones to go into farming. Our farmers are getting old and it is difficult to produce more with bare hands; government will also encourage young ones by establishing farm estates in each of the local governments. In these farm estates, we will provide amenities like water, electricity and hostels for young graduates; we will also train them and give them specials skills to use modern equipment and new farming methods. If they are sure that through farming, through can buy new cars build houses on their own, they will rely less on government. We will also encourage farmers to be able to produce crops that can attract industries; this will allow investors to buy from them. One or two industries will be attracted because they will get raw materials from farmers; those are the three things agric will give us, food, employment and attraction of investment through the production of crops in large numbers. We also work on establishing cottage industries in each of the sixteen local governments; we will look at the products each local government area has comparative advantage in producing. You are aware that in Ekiti Southwest local government, we can produce plantain in large quantity; you also know that in Ise/Orun local government, we have water melon. You know that in Irepodun/Ifelodun local government, in Igbemo, we have this long history of rice production. We are going to ensure that we have small industries to produce plantain products and water melon juice; the advantage is number one, the farmers will get value for their products and there will be markets waiting for these products. Those are the things we want to do in agriculture. Again, we want to encourage our civil servants because the civil service is the engine room of any government. We will ensure that we pay their salaries as and when due, we will make sure that will elect their officers without government interference so that those officers will agitate for their welfare. We will also ensure that we train and re-train them for them to improve on what they do every time and allow for fresh intakes into the service. We bring in fresh graduates on yearly basis to reduce unemployment; those are new things we believe we can do than the present government. We will also open more roads in the rural areas so that farmers can bring their produce to the urban centres to get value on what they sell. We will also make sure that we provide amenities in the rural areas, we believe the present government is trying it best in the state capital but government does not end in the state capital.

    We will make rural areas more attractive for our young ones by providing amenities that will reduce rural to urban migration.

    When you were the SSG, what were the achievements you recorded in that office that have prepared you and made you qualified than other aspirants?

    I thank God that I was able to serve as the Secretary to the Government. Apart from my own immediate constituency as a PDP member, I was able to make my impact in terms of contributions to my party. I took it upon myself as the former PDP Secretary in the state, I believe the party should not be allowed to suffer. When I was SSG, allparty members had access to the government because I provided that opportunity when I was in government. My office was open to everybody and I was in charge of the welfare of party and party members.

    Although I won’t be able to access myself but all our party members agreed that I did very well; in my local government, I want to say that it was a glorious period for party members. We had the highest number of political appointments in my time, two of the roads leading to my hometown were rehabilitated: Ilawe-Igede Road, Ilawe-Igbara Odo Road and a new road was opened up in my local government, that is Ilawe-Erijiyan Road. At the same time, we also did the road between Ogotun and Ipole; so, all the three communities (in Ekiti Southwest LGA) benefited when I was in government, Ilawe, Ogotun and Igbara Odo in terms of road construction and rehabilitation. We also did our best in other areas in terms of human empowerment; we were able to empower individuals and at the state level, all the achievements we had while I was in government by virtue of my position as the officer in charge of implementation of government programmes. I did my best and the record is there for everybody to see; that is why it is possible for me to come out to contest. I am very proud of my achievements when I was in government because if I did not do well, I wouldn’t have been appointed three times. I was appointed by the Segun Oni administration, another administration came, I was re-appointed, another one came, I was re-appointed. That tells a lot of story because if I didn’t do well, I wouldn’t have been appointed. I believe I did my best as SSG and I believe as the governor of the state I will do more in the areas of health, education and so on and so forth.

    Few months ago, Deputy Governor Kolapo Olusola was adopted by Governor Fayose and his group. Don’t you think that this may affect your chances and other aspirants? Don’t you think that it may shut you and others out of the race?

    I have spoken on this several times, but since you have raised it again, I will speak on it. One, I want you to look at it from this angle; if an individual is saying that he would nominate a governor for the state, the person so nominated should know that that is a minus for his aspiration. If an individual can say, ‘this is your governor’ to the people of the state, the person so nominated should consider himself as a failure and that he has lost the election.

    Democracy is about the people and it only means that the person who would lead us has to be elected by all of us and the process of getting the flag bearer in the PDP is clearly spelt out. It is through an election that will be conducted at a particular time by delegates from all the wards and until that is done, we are yet to get a flag bearer. The governor has the right to support anybody but we also have the right to accept or reject the person so nominated. Until Prof Eleka (Olusola) became the deputy governor, we didn’t know him in this state; we didn’t know him, in fact he was not a registered party member until he became the deputy governor. As a matter of fact, he had no voter’s card in Ekiti State before he became the deputy governor. For somebody now to say that he would succeed him is not only ridiculous but also immoral; I am ready to challenge him because the party is our party. The nominator and the nominee met me in this party, I mean the governor and his deputy, they all met me in this party and nobody can hijack our party.  All the leaders of the party have resolved that we are going into primary election and I am ready;

    I have advised my supporters to ignore the nomination or adoption because it is illegal, it is immoral and unacceptable.

    If Olusola is imposed, are there ways you can scale through with your ambition?

    One, I can assure you that it will be very difficult for anybody to manipulate the primary. It was very easy in 2014 because we had people in Abuja supporting us but at the moment, there is no godfather again.

    We don’t have any Federal Government, we don’t have President (from our party) now so it is not easy for anybody to manipulate the system because if you manipulate the system, that is another way of giving mandate away to the APC. The last time the system was manipulated, we all agreed to vote for the PDP, all us when we knew that the system was manipulated. We still voted for PDP because we felt that the person that benefited was a party man but now, you can’t try that again. We have resolved to resist it, we won’t allow it and the idea of somebody doing it again does not arise. We have been going round the local government areas to allay the fears of our members on this issue and we believe that power resides with the people and that’s why we have been moving round to assure them that all shall be well. There are no two ways about it, they should be prepared for primaries.

     

  • Ekiti PDP primary: Mu’azu insists on payment of N10m by aspirants

    Ekiti PDP primary: Mu’azu insists on payment of N10m by aspirants

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, may have insisted that all aspirants to the Ekiti State governorship on the platform of the party, must pay a N10 million nomination fee, it was learnt yesterday. The amount was fixed by the party.

    Mu’azu, who met with the aspirants at the party’s secretariat in Abuja yesterday, was said to have declared that none of them would be recognised as the party’s aspirant without paying the stipulated nomination fee.

    The PDP Chair was reported to have given the aspirants 72 hours within which to pay for the nomination forms, if they were truly interested in the race.

    The meeting with the party chair was said to have deadlocked, owing to disagreement among the aspirants over plans by a majority of them to pick a consensus candidate among the about 16 aspirants.

    Specifically, former Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, who is also an aspirant, was said to have opted out of the consensus option, insisting that the party must conduct a primary election for all the aspirants.

    Apart from Fayose, other aspirants that attended the meeting with the party chair included Mr. Gbenga Aluko, Abiodun Aluko, Dayo Adeyeye, Senator Ayo Arise and Bisi Omoyeni among others.

    Speaking with reporters shortly after the meeting, Arise admitted that majority of the aspirants favoured the consensus option.

    He also confirmed Mu’azu’s insistence on the payment of N10 million nomination fee by each of the aspirants.

    Arise said: “We almost all agreed on consensus. At least, 90- 95 percent of us have agreed that we will be coming up with a consensus candidate for Ekiti.

    “Any person who disagrees with the consensus option, is free to go and face every other person that has agreed to the option.

    “We feel it is better to work together and come up with a candidate that will be acceptable to majority of the aspirants hoping to become governor in Ekiti State. The system is very clear; all of us cannot become governor of the state”.

    Under the PDP guidelines for the Ekiti election, sale of nomination form is expected to begin on February 24.

    The party fixed March 15 for the primary election to elect a flag bearer for the June 21 governorship election.

  • 26 aspirants for Ekiti PDP primary

    The list of the 26 aspirants for the March 15 governorship primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State has been released.

    The candidates are former Police Affairs Minister Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (rtd.); former Governor Ayodele Fayose; Senator Gbenga Aluko; Mr. Biodun Aluko; Mr. Femi Bamisile; Mr. Tunji Odeyemi; Prince Adedayo Adeyeye; Chief Bode Olowoporoku; Mr. Bimbo Owolabi; Chief Ropo Ogunbolude and Mr. Bisi Omoyeni.

    The rest are Mr. Peter Obafemi; Mrs. Bola Oloyede; Amb. Dare Bejide; Mr. Femi Olaosebikan; Mr. Reuben Famuyibo; Mr. Bodunde Adeyanju; Dr. Kunle Afolayan; Mr. Ayeni Biodun; Mr. Wale Aribisala; Mr. Tunde Ajayi; Mr. Mayowa Aluko; Otunba Segun Olarenwaju; Mrs. Cecilia Dada Bamisaye; Mr. Deji Ajayi and Mr. Ogunleye Israel.

    PDP State Publicity Secretary Pastor Kola Oluwawole said the sale of nomination forms begins on Monday.

    Oluwawole said: “The National Executive Committee (NEC) has not decided what the cost of the forms will be, although people have been saying it will be between N10 million and N11 million.”

    On calls for a consensus candidate, he said: “I do not think anyone should take advocates of a consensus candidate serious. The NEC has clarified its position many times that the only constitutional thing that will ensure transparency and fairness is to conduct a primary.

    “Even the national chairman has said he would do everything to ensure the sanctity of the constitution and that a well coordinated primary shall be conducted for aspirants. Aspirants should be on the field now canvassing for peoples’ votes.”