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After the aborted Primary election of Saturday, May 5th, 2018, several revelations of unethical practices that characterized the process was revealed. One would imagine why the process was such planned.Upon receiving the information that accredited delegates were allowed to move freely outside the venue with their name tags on them and that these tags ain’t serialized nor with any security check among few other errors, I was quick to journey down from my GRA residence to alert the Electoral Committee. Good to know, my brother Congressman Bimbo Daramola and I met at the main entrance of the stadium and was lucky to see H. E. Gov Al-Makuhra who was the committee Chair. We expressed our dissatisfactions and he was quick to allay our fears that it would be rectified.
At the several fora where we the aspirants met with Party Excos and Leaders after the inconclusive election, individuals named his/her reservations about the process and necessary checks are to be put in place to avert a repeat.
The National Secretariat already avail all aspirants a copy of the list of all the delegates (statutory and automatic) so that we know who and who is qualified or not qualified to vote at the all-important primary. I was however shocked to the bone marrow late on Thursday during my interactions with Party Executives across the ward when I was alerted that there were substitutions of name based on gentleman agreement.
Former Governor Kayode Fayemi had created 19 Local Council Development Authority in addition to the existing 16 Local Government Areas sometimes around August 2014, this restructured the political settings of Ekiti APC as the 16 LGAs and 19LCDAs now has their respective party Executive however, the National Secretariat of the Party only recognized the 16 LGAs as such only the Excos from there are eligible to vote.
Take for instance, Ekiti West LGA has 11 wards, upon the creation of the LCDAs, additional 2 were created: Ekameta LCDA that has Erijiyan ward 1, Erijiyan ward 2, Ikogosi ward & Ipole-Iloro ward and Okemesi/Ido-Ile LCDA that has Okemesi Wards 1,2,3 & Ido-Ile wards. With the above, the new Ekiti West LGA(so to say) now has Aramoko wards 1,2 & Aramoko3/Erio ward alone. Each of the 2 LCDAs and the LGA above has 26 membership Executives.
From the above, it implies that party faithfuls from Aramoko and Erio wards who makes the new Ekiti West LGA are members of the Local Party Executives. Most unfortunate, nobody from the other 8 wards of the new LCDAs are eligible to vote in their capacity as Party Executives of the LGA as the new settings occasioned by the LCDA has shortchanged them.
Interestingly, only 4 (Efon-Alaaye, Ilejemeje, Emure and Ise/Orun) LGAs has her existing formation intact as they have no new LCDA fractioned from them. The other 12 LGAs has 1-3 LCDAs created from it. Only God knows the individuals or group of people that later arranged that the 26 Executive members of the Party at the Local Government level be shared among all the wards of some LGA. This shows that individuals whose names didn’t appear on the delegate list as given to us(aspirants) from the National Secretariat were accredited on Saturday 5th May and might/would have voted while some eligible delegates would have been disenfranchised. This illicit act was perpetrated in Gbonyin (Aiyekire) LGA on that faithful day, who knows if that was done across the 12 LGAs with new LCDA structures.
I write to alert the Electoral Committee, Ekiti State Excos of APC, Security agencies and all other concerned parties to note this and ensure such among other unholy acts are averted in the rescheduled polls as I have to hesitation in the firm believe that a credible election that would present a winner acceptable to all (I, Femi BAMISILE by the grace of God) would hold on Saturday.
The Collective Prosperity of Ekiti Kete is my dream.
Rt. Hon. Olufemi BAMISILE, Speaker of the 3rd Parliament of Ekiti State House of Assembly & APC Gubernatorial Aspirant writes from Ward 5, Kota-Ekiti, Ekiti East LGA, Ekiti State.
