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Tag: Ekiti

  • Ekiti PDP aspirants ‘vandalise party’s secretariat’

    The secretariat of Ekiti State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was vandalised yesterday by angry National Assembly aspirants protesting alleged imposition by Governor Ayo Fayose.

    The aspirants and their supporters staged a violent protest at the party’s secretariat at 11.25 a.m.

    They chanted war songs and demanded the conduct of a free and fair primary.

    The protesters allegedly smashed the louvre windows of the secretariat, saying the party’s leadership denied them the right to get the tickets for the six House of Representatives seats.

    They also alleged that the appeal panel sent by the PDP national headquarters was compromised as it allegedly imposed Fayose’s aspirants on them.

    During the protest, the aspirants and their supporters beat up the Appeal Committee members, led by Mr. Kareem Oladipupo, and the State Working Committee (SWC) members, who attempted to hear their complaints.

    They urged the party’s National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, to overrule the screening committee which disqualified some of them to allegedly pave the way for Fayose’s anointed aspirants.

    They also accused members of the PDP Screening Committee, led by Mr Seye Shonuga, and deployed by the national secretariat to screen the aspirants, of subverting the process to give way for automatic tickets for Fayose’s close allies and incumbent occupants of the seats.

    The chairman of the Screening Committee was said to have been spirited away from the venue by party men and security agencies to prevent him from being wounded by the irate party members.

    The aggrieved House of Representatives aspirants are: Mr Segun Olanipekun, Ademola Salami, Temitope Oluwatosin Ajayi, Goke Omidiran, Chief David Arowolo, Adekunle Ojo, Ibrahim Mumini Adewale, Mr. Victor Alale and Mrs Kemi Adewumi.

    Speaking on behalf of the aggrieved aspirants, Olanipekun accused the screening committee of doing Fayose’s bidding to edge them out of the primary.

    According to him, the panel allegedly screened them out of the contests with the excuse that some of them defaulted in the payment of taxes when such did not happen.

    Olanipekun said it was wrong for the committee to have allowed an individual to  impose his candidates on the party.

    He said: “It was bad for the PDP that just lost the governorship election to be behaving in this manner. We were supposed to be given the opportunity to test our popularity in the primary rather than resort to imposition.

    “Governor Fayose had held a meeting with the aspirants and told us to withdraw from the race. He made it clear that the candidates would be handpicked, but we insisted that the primary must be held.

    “Our intention then for insisting on the primary was that Ekiti voters are very sophisticated. If they see the PDP as being unserious through imposition, we may not make any remarkable showing in the elections.

    “But we were taken aback to see the screening committee disqualifying us on flimsy excuses that we didn’t pay taxes or have primary school certificates when we presented same to the committee.

    “What they did is to ensure that the present occupants of the seats emerged through consensus, without challengers.

    “Even in Ekiti Central Constituency 2, where Olamide Oni had defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), they technically edged other aspirants out of the primary to give way for the Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Bisi Kolawole, to be selected automatically.

    “We are not happy with this. The NWC must intervene in the crisis to ensure that we approach that election with a united house.”

    Contacted, the State Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Jackson Adebayo, said he was not in Ekiti to witness the outrage and that he had not been briefed by the party’s Chairman Gboyega Oguntuase.

    He said: “I don’t want to comment on an issue I have not been adequately briefed. I don’t want to join issues with them because they must have told lies.

    “But let me clarify that the party has not held its primaries. The primaries for the House of Representatives, Senate and House of Assembly will be held on September 30, October 1 and 3.”

  • EU to the rescue

    Since it is part of a development partner’s structured programme, to fill a certain void, the announcement that the European Union (EU) is to fund the construction of public toilets  in 14 small towns in Ekiti West and Gbonyin local government areas of Ekiti State, should not come as too much of a surprise. It is under EU’s Water Supply and Reform Programme III,  a development assistance programme entering the third phase. This particular phase is titled: “Farewell to open defecation”.

    Yet, given the rotten statistics about how Ekiti has fared in the provision of public toilets, it is both a developmental shame, and an inability to turn open adversity into advantage, either by the government directly building public toilets to be later commercialised; or by putting in place policies to attract private sector investment in that area. That way, the Ekiti people’s dire needs could be turned into a job provider.

    According to EU’s own survey, as revealed by Babatope Babalobi, team leader of this new public toilet initiative, Ekiti lugs 68 per cent (almost seven out of every 10) of open defecation in Nigeria’s South West, from the EU’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene  (WASH) policy.

    It also has only 32 per cent safe sanitation coverage in its rural and small towns. That the hyper-populated and hyper-urbanised Lagos could even post better stats on open defecation just shows how deep Ekiti has fallen in a key development index.

    Another UNICEF 2014 survey showed that in Gbonyin Local Government Area, 92 per cent of the communities — that means practically none — had no public latrines. From that same survey, 124 communities in Ekiti West had no form of public latrines. Perhaps these local governments are largely rural? Even then, the surveys showed a huge health and sanitation gap that any alert government should have been filling, over a period of time.

    Therefore, between October 2018 and May 2019, Ekiti settlements, Iluomoba, Agbado, Egbe, Imesi, Ijan, Aisegba and Ode (all in Gbonyin) and Erio, Ido-Ile, Ipole-Iloro, Aramoko, Oke Imesi, Erinjiyan and Ikogosi (in Ekiti West) would be beneficiaries of these new public toilets.

    The toilets, tagged “Integrated Sanitation Demonstration Units” (ISDU) are made up of three units of pour flush toilets, urinals, hand-washing facilities, bathing room, laundry, car wash and a sanitary centre. Water would be supplied by a solar-powered motorised borehole, with three pre-paid meter public water standpoints.

    Located in the market place, bus stop, garage or motor park, these facilities would also act as hub for Pulitzer enlightenment on the environment and sanitation. Sanitation task groups, in the two local governments, would use these facilities as base for their advocacy and people’s enlightenment.

    As conceived, the EU ISDUs are public sanitation hubs that also double as job opportunity hubs.  When car washes are integrated into public toilets, laundries and baths, there could be endless opportunities there for citizens to make respectable living.

    That is the positive the Ekiti government, and indeed, other state governments nationwide, should take from the Ekiti EU initiatives. It is bad enough that it is a foreign donor agency or development partner that is doing the thinking. That should be the forte of state governments, pushing local governments to implement such.

    From public sanitation to an economic hub. That is the way to go. It holds the key to both improving health and sanitation, and providing jobs. Such economic hubs could also help to boost the government’s internally generated revenue (IGR).

     

  • Two killed in Ekiti bank robbery

    Residents of Igede, headquarters of Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area, are in panic following a bloody attack on an old generation bank in the town by suspected armed robbers Wednesday evening.

    The seven-man gang swooped on the bank located on Ado-Aramoko-Ilesa Highway at about 5.50 pm and shot sporadically into the air.

    Residents disclosed that human and vehicular traffic were halted by the hoodlums who positioned themselves within and outside the bank premises.

    The attack caught bank workers and locals living nearby unawares as the bank had officially closed for the day at the time the robbers stuck.

    Two workers of the bank, including a security guard were shot dead by the robbers during the operation that latest about 20 minutes.

    The robbers, during the attack, blew up the Automated Tellers Machine (ATM) with bullets, which caused panic within the vicinity of the bank.

    Igede was the latest Ekiti community to taste the bitter pill of bank robbery.

    Other communities that had witnessed bank robberies in recent times are Ado, Ikere, Ilasa, Ikere, Ifaki, Otun, Okemesi and Ilawe.

    A visit to Igede on Thursday showed residents wearing mournful looks gathering in groups to discuss the bank robbery.

    Police spokesman Caleb Ikechukwu who confirmed the incident said men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) were deployed to the scene who exchanged gunfire with the robbers.

    Ikechukwu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said the robbers later fled the scene and were pursued by the SARS men until the they escaped into a thick forest at a location between Igede and Ilawe.

    Read Also: 2019: APC governors insist on indirect primaries

    He disclosed that the guard, who was shot in the head died within the premises of the bank, while the injured staff died in the hospital.

    According to him, the forest has been rounded up by the police and his men are combing the bush in search of the robbers.

    Ikechukwu said: “The robbers would have done more havoc than they did, but for prompt action taken by our men. There was exchange of gunshots between the bandits and our personnel. They tried their best to manage the
    situation.

    “It is true that two persons were killed during the bank operation The operation was regrettable and the death of the two persons was painful .

    “The command is stepping up its intelligence gathering skill and operation. As a temporary measure, we are going to deploy more men in banks to make the place safe for staff and customers.

    “If you are on ground in Igede now, more men have been deployed, particularly the mobile police unit. We are doing same across the state.

    “As we speak, our Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) and Stat Intelligence Investigation Department (SIID) have drafted their men for intelligence gathering while mobile policemen are on road and other critical areas”.

    The police image maker urged members of the public to go about their normal
    businesses, assuring that the police are on top of the situation.

    An eyewitness revealed that the robbers actually gained entry into the banking hall before being resisted by the police, saying no one could ascertain whether money was carted away or not.

    He said: “The bank was close to the bank and owing to its proximity, people were really affected by the gunshots. They had to run in different directions for their lives.

    “We know a bank staff and a guard were killed, but we can’t say much about their identities.”

  • Robbers attack bank in Ekiti

    A gang of robbers on Wednesday evening  attacked a branch of Union bank PLC in Ekiti state.

    Details about the robbery were sketchy at press time but it was learnt that the robbers killed a security guard and another staff of the bank.

  • Ekiti tribunal moved to Abuja

    The Election Petition Tribunal hearing the dispute arising from the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti State has shifted its venue to Abuja, the nation’s capital.

    The tribunal, chaired by Justice Sulaiman Belgore, on Monday, ordered the relocation of its sitting from Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, due to insecurity at the Ekiti State High Court, the former venue.

    The action followed alleged violence by some party members at the inaugural sitting, which the chairman said put the lives of lawyers, litigants and court workers at risk.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, are challenging the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate and governor-elect Dr. Kayode Fayemi, before the three-man jury.

    Lawyers to the parties at the tribunal demanded the change of venue to Abuja but the panel, in its ruling, promised to communicate a new venue to them within 48 hours.

    Fayemi’s lawyer Rafiu Balogun and Ekiti PDP Legal Adviser Mr. Sunday Olowolafe confirmed the change of venue in a telephone chat yesterday.

  • Ekiti tribunal chooses Abuja as sitting venue

    …BEGINS WORK ON TUESDAY

     

    The Election Petition Tribunal hearing the dispute arising from the July 14 governorship election has shifted base to Abuja, the nation’s capital.

    The tribunal chaired by Justice Sulaiman Belgore had on Monday ordered the relocation of its sitting from Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, on Monday owing to insecurity at the Ekiti State High Court, the former venue.

    The action followed alleged violence by some party members at the inaugural sitting which put the lives of lawyers, litigants and court workers in jeopardy.

    People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, are challenging the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, before the three-man jury.

    Lawyers to all parties at the tribunal demanded the change of venue to Abuja but the panel in its ruling promised to communicate a new venue to them within 48 hours.

    Read Also: Ekiti: APC elders urge Oni to withdraw suit against Fayemi

    Counsel to Dr. Fayemi, Chief Rafiu Balogun and Ekiti PDP Legal Adviser, Mr. Sunday Olowolafe confirmed the change of venue in a telephone chat on Wednesday.

    The Nation reporter saw a copy of the hearing notice communicating the change of venue to Abuja on Wednesday which was signed by the Tribunal Secretary.

    Although the date on the hearing notice read September 24, a member of the Tribunal Secretariat who asked not to be quoted said pre-hearing will commence on Tuesday, September 25.

    It reads: “Take notice that the above-named petition is slated for pre-hearing and will be heard at High Court No 17, Apo FCT High Court, Abuja, before Shoprite Apo, FCT Abuja on Monday, the 24th day of September, 2018 at the hour of 9.00 am forenoon or soon thereafter on such other day as the Tribunal may determine.”

    Balogun had disclosed that the change of the date of commencement of pre-hearing might have been necessitated by the fact that it falls on the day of the opening of a new legal year and swearing-in of the new Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs).

  • Fayemi raises 37-member inauguration committee

    Ekiti State Governor-Elect, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has set up a 37-member Inauguration Committee, charged with the responsibility of organising a hitch-free ceremony to usher in the new administration on October 16.

    The Committee is to liaise with officials of the outgoing administration and relevant agencies and stakeholders for proper coordination and execution of a successful inauguration ceremony.

    A statement on Wednesday by the Special Adviser on Media to the Governor-Elect, Mr Yinka Oyebode, said members of the committee come with ample experiences from the public and private sectors.

    Members of the committee include Erelu Bisi Fayemi, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, Mrs Kemi Olaleye, Mr Akin Osho, Mr Yinka Oyebode, Mrs Funke Falodun, Mr Ayodeji Ajayi, Mr Tade Aluko, Mr Akin Rotimi, Mr Ayo Adegbite, Mr O’Seun Odewale, Mr Hakeem Jamiu and Mr Tolu Ibitola.

    Others Major Tajudeen Awe (rtd), Mrs Sola Salako-Ajulo, Mrs Bolaji Olagbaju, Dr Opeyemi Ogunsakin, Mr Kola Amire, Mr Kunle Dada, Mr Sanmi Omiata, Mr Tokunbo Adeparusi, Mr Oluremi Ajayi, Alhaja Mariam Ogunlade and Mr Jaiye Opayemi.

    The rest are Mr Gbenga Agbeyo, Chief Folorunsho Olabode, Hon Biodun Omoleye, Mr Shittu Olajide, Mr Biodun Fasakin, Princess Teju Okuyiga, Hon Oladapo Karounwi, Mrs Moni Afuye, Hon Adekunle Adeniyi, Brig-Gen Ebenezer Ogundana (rtd), Mr Gbenga Atiba, Mallam Akeem Bello and Mr Seyi Aiyeleso.

    Read Also: My father’s pedigree will work for me, says Idiagbon’s son

    The Terms of Reference for the committee members include: develop a framework for formal communications with relevant government agencies and stakeholders for a smooth inauguration ceremony; design and implement programmes for the inauguration ceremony; carry out a comprehensive assessment of facilities and venues for various events; ensure thorough supervision and excellent delivery of outlined events and activities leading to a successful ceremony.

    Other tasks include guest management, media coverage, crowd control, security and general entertainment.

  • Lawyer writes Fayose, demands unpaid N600m fee

    A lawyer based in Ado-Ekiti, Mr. Owoseni Ajayi, has urged Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose to pay him professional fee amounting to N600 million for legal services rendered in the past.

    Ajayi, who was Fayose’s personal lawyer for many years before he was appointed Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice twice, listed thirteen high profile cases handled for the governor which had not been paid for.

    In a letter he wrote to Fayose which was made available to newsmen in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday, Ajayi said he made a moderate demand of a sum of N600 million at the rate of N50 million per each of the cases listed subject to accruable interest.

    Ajayi said the cases were not handled free but were not paid for by Fayose because he was financially handicapped then noting that the governor is now buoyant enough to pay for the services rendered.

    The cases include a defamation case: Ayo Fayose v Independent Communications Network Limited with suit number HAD/8/2004 and the appeal case emanating from the same suit marked CA/AE/58/2010.

    Federal Republic of Nigeria v Ayo Fayose with charge number FHC/C/179C/2006 which was a criminal case heard both in Lagos and Ado-Ekiti Federal High Courts until he (Fayose) was discharged and acquitted in October 2014 in which Ajayi appeared in all the cases.

    Another case was Peter Ayodele Fayose v Comptroller General of Prisons Suit Number: FHC/AK/CS/08/2008, which was about Fayose’s ‘controversial’ release from Ikoyi Prisons to face murder charge in Ekiti.

    Other cases listed by Ajayi include Peter Ayodele Fayose v EFCC appeal marked CA/I/144/2011, Peter Ayodele Fayose v the State marked HAD/16/2007 to stop his arraignment for murder by the Segun Oni administration, the appeal case that arose from it marked CA/14C14/2007 and the Supreme Court that emanated from it still pending marked SC449/2011.

    Ajayi listed Peter Ayodele Fayose v EFCC and Inspector General of Police with Suit No: FHC/A14CS/85/2006 following his illegal removal from office and the appeal case that followed it IGP & AG Federation v Peter Ayodele Fayose marked CA/B/44/2007.

    The last case mentioned by Ajayi, who is also a former Chairman of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ado-Ekiti Branch, was E-Eleven v Peter Ayodele Fayose and 2 Ors filed to frustrate his swearing-in to office after winning the 2014 governorship election.

    Ajayi said: “You will recall that you never paid our chamber, Owoseni Ajayi & Associates for the services rendered throughout the time because of your financial incapacitation despite numerous demands because you were already out of office at the material time.

    “It should be stressed that we never acted free because we are legal practitioners working for our legal fee nor offered you “pro bono” service because you were not a pauper to be qualified for such a service.

    “We merely showed understanding up till now because of the prevalent circumstances verily known to you. And now that you have served another term as Governor of Ekiti State, you are financially strong enough to pay the said sum as demanded.

    “Sir, you will agree with us that a labourer deserves his wages. We thank you for your patronage and we also deserve commendation for having discharged our professional responsibility with diligence and without compromise.

    “And also for saving Your Excellency from several legal embarrassments.”

  • Ekiti 2019: APC must not go near imposition, Osinkolu warns

    Dr Olusegun Osinkolu, is a Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress(APC) in Ekiti State. In this interview in Ado Ekiti, he expressed confidence that the party has a good chance in the 2019 election but warned against imposition. Excerpts.
    Q: The 2019 general elections are around the corner. What is the chances of  your party in Ekiti State?
    The chances are very bright both at the State and national levels. President Muhammadu Buhari is doing well in virtually all the sectors, including those ones that were damaged during the 16 years of PDP misrule in Nigeria. The July 14 governorship election confirmed vividly that the APC is strong and command large followership in Ekiti. Before the election, Governor Ayodele Fayose’s boasts had convinced the public that it would be an uphill task for APC to win the election, but Dr Kayode Fayemi in spite of all odds and stumps erected on his way by the governor won the election. You could see the campaigns  of calumny against him going by the highly vindictive white paper released by government that indicted the governor elect; but all these did not stop Ekiti from believing in us. They have seen the APC and PDP ruling Ekiti and they could know who was the best. Our people have known the bad from the good and they made a wise choice by electing Dr Fayemi. So, I am confident that we have a good chance.
    President Buhari will be reelected through a resounding victory and the APC in Ekiti will win all the 26 State and nine National Assembly seats, because our records speak for us. Just go to the streets of Ado Ekiti and anywhere in Ekiti, people are already tired of the contraption called PDP. They are tired of one man tyranny of Governor Fayose and the last governorship election had ended that
    government of holocaust  in our dear state.
    Q: You are contesting for Senate in Ekiti North and your people said you are from the same Local Government with Dr. Fayemi. Can this pose a challenge to your ambition?
    Absolutely no. The victory of Dr Kayode Fayemi can’t stop my ambition, it would serve as a catalyst to my ambition rather than dimming it. The fact that I came from the same local government with Fayemi  shouldn’t serve as impediment to  my senatorial aspiration, so I want to urge those sharing such sentiment to bury  the thought.
    Dr Fayemi and my ambitions are two different things, so one can’t disturb the other. I am still pursuing my aspiration with vigour and I have a good prognosis to  get the party’s ticket and win the election based on my acceptability among the members of the party.
    The constitution of the APC doesn’t foreclose people’s aspiration based on territorial location for any elective position provided such aspirant is acceptable to his party and the electorate. Let me say this expressly that Dr  Fayemi’s victory in the last election will help in propelling my victory if given the party’s ticket. Our party members are ready to give me their nods to get the ticket, having laboured so hard to launder  the image of the party in the past. I was one of the few heroes that fought the party’s course during the long drawn legal battle culminating in Dr Fayemi’s first coming as a governor of this state. I contested for Senatorial seat twice in Ekiti North and lost narrowly to Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi in 2011 and 2015 respectively. In spite of the shortcomings in the primaries, I never betrayed the party by rocking the boat. I still committed my resources to ensure the party won in 2011 but lost in 2015 when Senator Adetumbi was represented as the candidate of our party.
    Putting it succinctly, I have always been a committed and unwavering party man. I believe in party supremacy and that accounted for why I have been spending personal resources to put the party together since the APC lost in 2014 in Ekiti North. I offered myself as the rallying point during the trying period. I gave them a sigh of hope that we have not lost everything after the 2014 catastrophic defeat we suffered before the light came after the tunnel with the enigmatic victory recorded by our leader, Dr Fayemi on July 14.The National Executive Committee of the party at a meeting presided  over by President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Chairman of the Party, Com. Adams Oshiomhole and other party’s top notches like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja said whoever will get the party’s ticket must emerge through Direct or indirect primary, not imposition. So, if I become the preference of the party members based on convictions about my unblemished past records , nothing can change that, because the sovereignty lies in the people when it comes to election. Instances abound, where top elected official and Senator came from the same constituency. In 2011, the late Deputy Governor, Mrs Funmilayo Adunni Olayinka and Senator Babafemi Ojudu, who represented Ekiti Central senatorial district were from Ado Ekiti Local Government., among other innumerable similar  political situations across the country. Whether I come from Dr. Fayemi’s local government or constituency can’t take preeminence over the 1999 constitution, APC guidelines and Constitution and the power of the people. This can only apply to appointive positions not elective.
    Q: Rumour was rife that the party leaders were rooting for consensus which may consider zoning. What is your take on this?
    As a loyal party man, I have  promised to support the candidate adopts by the party in Ekiti North if I lose the primary, but I never envisaged losing out because the people knew and appreciated the sacrifices I had made in the past before the party got to this present situation. The last NEC meeting of the party held in Abuja where our national leaders, including President Buhari, our national Chairman and governors were present was very explicit about how candidates should emerge. Going by what was agreed on, party can adopt direct, indirect and consensus options, but all must be democratic. People must be carried along and that there shouldn’t be room for imposition.
    The party had given clarification that consensus can only work where all aspirants going for a particular position agreed to step down for a person to avoid controversy or crisis and the moment there is no agreement, then primary remains the last resort and that I believe strongly that APC will do in Ekiti for all the vacant seats. I appeal to party leaders to conduct credible and acceptable primary in the September primaries for candidates with high acceptability among the electorate to get the tickets and record resounding victories for APC. I have no misgiving that our leaders at the federal and state levels will do what is just and right under this circumstance going by what happened during the scramble for governorship race. If you could remember, 33 aspirants collected nomination and expression of interest forms  and the party didn’t deny any of them the opportunity to test their popularity. They didn’t force anyone to step down with
    the exemption of Senator Babafemi Ojudu, who willingly stepped down from the race. If you look at the primary that produced Dr Fayemi, you would realize that it was free and fair and that was why nobody defected to the PDP out of all the bigwigs  that contested. So, I don’t expect  the party to impose anybody. All aspirants will be given unfettered opportunity to test their popularity within the
    party.
    Q: Your party may want to impose now that they are in power in Ekiti. Don’t you consider this as a possibility in APC?
    The aftermath of the June 21, 2014 loss suffered by the party had taught us a big lesson that there are gains in participatory democracy. Our party can’t afford to toe the same path the second time. Let me say this, we are good students of history; Ekiti people are very sophisticated, they also hate cheating, so the consequences of imposition may be dire for APC. I want to advise that they must not contemplate that for the fear of protest votes from Ekiti electorate.
    Don’t forget that electing a candidate in the coming elections goes beyond the purview of APC, it is going to be all Ekiti affairs, so we must be careful to prevent protest votes. In 2007, the PDP decided to impose the House of Assembly candidates and they paid dearly for it, that was what gave rise to 13-13 between the then PDP and AC in Ekiti Assembly which nearly crippled governance. I am of the humble opinion that our party must tread cautiously to be able to escape the banana peel, they must not  go near imposition, because it used to ruin the fortunes of a party rather than enhancing  it. Our party would have lost the governorship election if Dr Fayemi had been imposed and we thank God for not making that mistake.
    Q: What gives you the impression that you may likely be the preference of the party while contesting with a veteran like Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi and others?
    Well, I have a lot of respect for my brother, Senator Adetumbi, but the two of us have records in Ekiti North. Senator Adetumbi was in the Senate between 2011 and 2015 before losing reelection. He has a record of performance. Though, I have never had the opportunity to contest election before but I have a record as a party man in Ekiti North. So, our people will consider the records we have among them and do the justice to the two of us. Let me say without fear that I am not afraid of primary. In fact, I will be the last person to root for consensus, because I have confidence that I am acceptable to our people. Since we lost election in 2014, I have been going round the 56 wards in the district offering leadership and rendering helps to our people. Every December 13, I used to host the party members where I share Christmas gifts to them apart from emergency interventions I used to do for the party from the wards, local government  up to the State level. The State executive had openly acknowledged my contributions many times, so I have a good chance to clinch the ticket anytime provided the process is transparent.
    Q: The rumour of imposition is already generating silent crisis in your party. What do you have for your supporters as a leader?
    I want them to remain peaceful, loyal and cautious of what they will say, because most of these information out there might not be true. I don’t want them to be rude to our leaders, either by their actions or utterances. They must wait and see how this will play out. They must be patient with our leaders, because they too are reasonable and they know the consequences inherent in taking the electorate for granted.
    They have suffered backlash of protest votes in the past and I know they won’t allow it to happen again in our party. To me, I am confident that our leaders will do the right thing.

  • Ekiti Poll: Tribunal begins sitting, pledges to be fair

    The battle on the authentic winner of the July 14 governorship poll in Ekiti State commenced in the courtroom on Monday as the Election Petition Tribunal began its sitting.

    The three-member panel of judges led by the Chairman, Justice Suleiman Belgore, promises to be fair to parties involved in the petition.

    Other members of the panel are Justice Ebiyerin Omukoro and Justice Aliyu Baba Usman.

    The first petitioner is People’s Democratic Party (PDP) while its governorship candidate is the second petitioner.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the first respondent, All Progressives Congress (APC) is the second respondent while the third respondent is the governor-elect, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

    In the inaugural speech, Justice Belgore stressed that the jury is aware of the 180-day time frame within which to deliver final verdict.

    He urged lawyers to parties to maintain decorum and not engage in the use of any “delay tactics” to slow down proceedings.

    Belgore said the pane would be guided by the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules and Practice Direction as issued by the President of the Court of Appeal.

    The judges commenced sitting at 10.12 am and rose at 10.32 am.

    The panel reconvenes at 11.30 am for pre-trial hearing.