It was boycotted by 15 other aspirants who had alleged manipulation of the process leading to the primary.
Also absent was the State Chairman of the party, Mr. Makanjuola Ogundipe, former deputy governor of the state, Chief Abiodun Aluko and Prince Dayo Adeyeye had faulted, in particular, the conduct of the ward congresses across the 177 centres in the state, alleging that they were “massively rigged” in favour of Fayose.
Fayose, who governed the state from May 2003 until his exit in controversial circumstances in October 2006, got the backing of 462 delegates out of 544.
The immediate past Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (rtd), came a distant second with seven votes, while Adeyeye got three votes and Mrs. Margaret Ogundipe received one.
Four votes were voided, according to the Chairman of the Special State Congress Committee and former governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili.
Fayose’s 15 opponents in the primary protested the conduct of the primary and its outcome.
They called for the cancellation of the result and Fayose’s disqualification on the ground that he was ineligible to contest.
Addressing reporters, Mr. Abiodun Aluko, condemned the processes which led to Fayose’s victory.
Another aspirant, Senator Gbenga Aluko, urged the leadership of the party to “cancel the outcome of the primaries.”
He said: “First is the eligibility of former Governor Ayo Fayose to contest. He is not a bonafide member of our party, the PDP. Legally, he cannot contest the primary and we are in court over that.
“Also, the ward delegate congress conducted last Wednesday was seriously skewed in favour of Fayose. In five local governments including Ikere, Ado, Gboyin, Emure. Ise/Orun and Efon, no congresses took place, yet results were compiled for those areas.
“Apart from that, the other places where the election held, there were electoral malpractices such as snatching of electoral materials. Since July last year, the leadership of the party, including President Goodluck Jonathan have been harping on the need for consensus to avoid acrimony.
“You can see what happened today (yesterday), it was only this Fayose who opposed the consensus method and we are going to see what happens next. We are calling on President Goodluck Jonathan and well-meaning PDP leaders to right the wrong that has been done.”
The aspirants maintained that Fayose was not a member of the PDP, as his readmission into the party did not satisfy Chapter II, Section 8 (17) of the party constitution.
“Therefore, an appropriate candidate for the party, not Ayo Fayose will be chosen by our party. That candidate will go ahead and win the June 21 election by the grace of God,” they vowed.
On the primary, the aspirants said; “A supposed primary is said to be going on now. But we all know that a primary election is not done by only one person. A primary is done by at least two people.
“13 out of the 14 governorship aspirants of the PDP in Ekiti State are here present. It is only Ayo Fayose, a non-member of the PDP that is at the Eagle Centre doing the fraudulent primary.
Some of the aggrieved aspirants, including Olubolade, Adeyeye, Dare Bejide, Biodun Aluko, Modupe Ogundipe had gone to the venue, protesting the conduct of the primary.
The police would have none of that and proceeded to fire gunshots into the air and canisters of tear gas at the protesters and their supporters.
One of the aspirants, Mr. Deji Ajayi, had, during the week, filed a suit on behalf of the 12 other aspirants against the candidature of Ayo Fayose while another aspirant, Adeyeye, declined participation in the party’s primary election.
He said in a statement on Friday that in spite of the glaring flaws in last Wednesday’s ward congresses, the primary election was still going to hold on the basis of the grossly doctored delegate list purportedly generated from the exercise.
“As we speak, list of delegates that they fraudulently compiled four weeks ago in connivance with some Abuja people are the ones they want to use for the primary. They have replaced the names of the authentic delegates elected in the 11 local councils where the ward congresses took place with those of Ayo Fayose’s men,” Adeyeye alleged.
But in its reaction, the Ayò Fayose Campaign Organisation (AFCO) said the aspirants who went to court are bad losers who should be ignored by the people.
Speaking on behalf of AFCO, its Director of Publicity and Research, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, said: “They are deceiving the people of Ekiti State and Nigerians. The people that went to court know that going to court is not the same thing as getting an injunction. The case has not been assigned to a judge. So, there was no injunction against the primary election. Nigerians should ignore them.”
Another aspirant, Mr. Bisi Omoyeni said the conduct of the primary was unthinkable and unrealistic.
In a statement at the end of a meeting with his supporters at Ikere Ekiti, Omoyeni described the purported primary as the biggest joke of the decade.
“This is a charade and one of the biggest political jokes of the decade. It is the figment of the imagination of a clique of people whose integrity and credibility have long been thrown into the trash can, because of their self-serving and parochial interest,” he said, adding: “Ekiti people are bigger than a single individual. If 13 aspirants can come to agreement with Mr. President because of the need to maintain the unity and sanctity of our party, I see no justification for that show of shame that took place in Ado Ekiti. This is laughable, mischievous and an indication that if urgent attention is not taken by the national leadership of the party to redress the situation, PDP may be heading into a serious crisis in Ekiti”.
•As Fayose emerges party’s governorship candidate
Moments before the primary kicked off around 11 am, there was palpable tension especially around Ajilosun area down to Great Eagles Events Centre, venue of the event, as loyalists of all other aspirants, apart from those of former Governor Ayo Fayose, massed at the main road opposite the venue, singing abusive songs against those they perceived to be out to thwart the yearnings of the people.
However, Odili in announcing the result of the primary described the conduct of the primary as transparent.
He said this was done in accordance with the determination of the party leader, President Goodluck Jonathan and its National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu to “reposition the PDP through internal democracy and this we have demonstrated today.”
Fayose pledged to undertake a process of reconciliation with those aggrieved by the outcome of the primary.
He said:”Nobody can run a government or party all alone. Losing an election or getting the governorship ticket is not the end of the world. There are other positions like the State House of Assembly, House of Representatives or Senate which they may have interest in. We have to work together for the aspirations of all of us to be met.”
He claimed to have ‘brought’ Governor Kayode Fayemi into government in 2010 and “I am more determined than ever to return him to where he belongs.”
Source: The Nation
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