A chieftain of the Labour Party in Ekiti state and gubernatorial aspirant, Hon. Michael Opeyemi Bamidele has
accused Governor Kayode Fayemi and the state’s All Progressive Congress
of violating the directive of the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) on the erection of billboards and pasting of posters
ahead of the June 21 governorship election in the state.
The INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega had during a stakeholders’
meeting held in Ado Ekiti last week warned politicians and political
parties behind the campaign materials pasted and erected all over town and warned them to remove such saying their
action contradicted the Electoral Act.
Speaking at the LP’s secretariat in Ado Ekiti yesterday during its
state congress where 23 officers were elected to pilot the affairs of
the party for the next three years, Bamidele, an aspirant on the platform of the
party wondered why the governor and the APC were being treated as
sacred cows while his party had since complied with the commission’s
directive.
Bamidele added: ” I assure you that Ekiti 2014 election is going to be
a peaceful one. I know INEC is going to do its best, we are a law
abiding political party. We have kept to INEC directive to stop
erection of billboards and pasting of posters. We have removed all our billboards and posters on the streets but we
are surprised that the governor’s posters and billboards are all over
the place and nobody is talking about it.
“The governor has continued to paste posters everywhere even after the INEC gave
24 hours deadline to remove posters and billboards, but we won’t heat
up the polity and I want to appeal to our supporters to give peace a
chance, we are a government in waiting.”
In his acceptance speech, the newly elected chairman, Hon Akin Omole,
promised that the new executive would work towards ensuring the
success of the party at the governorship election. He, however, appealed to members to participate in the forthcoming INEC
registration exercise slated for March 7-9 and March 12-19 saying the
only weapon they could use to chase Fayemi out of office was their voter
cards. Omole, who presented the list of the new executives to the
Administrative Secretary, Mr. Emmanuel Agboola, accused the Ekiti State Governor
of sponsoring crisis within the Labour Party. He maintained that the party has not anointed anybody for the party’s
governorship ticket and that whoever wanted to join the race was free to do so.
The new executives are Hon Akin Omole, Chairman; six deputy chairmen;
Hon Abiola Olowokere, secretary; three assistant secretaries, Mr.
Banji Gbenga, treasurer; Comr Olu Olofin, financial secretary, Mr. Olugbenga
Daramola, Organising Secretary, Chief Mrs. Bolanle Olatunde- Bruce, Media & Publicity Secretary and Barr. Olalekan
Olatawura, Legal Adviser. Others include Comrade Bisi Omotoso, Auditor; Chief Mrs.
Modupe Otun, Woman Leader as well as three other assistant Women Leaders.