NB247
Ekiti State governorship aspirant, Ambimbola Olajumoke, has approached a federal high Court in Abuja, seeking to nullify Monday’s primary election of the All Progressives Congress which produced Governor Biodun Oyebanji as the party’s candidate for next year’s governorship election.
She is seeking the court’s decision on the grounds that the party failed to follow the prescribed process of conducting primary election.
She told NB247 in a telephone interview that the governor compromised party officials at the national secretariat to prevent her from securing the nomination forms and when she managed to procure the form against all odds, ensured that she was disqualified.
She explained that after appearing before the screening committee, a petition was brought supposedly written against her by an unknown persons who alleged that those who signed her nomination forms were not members of the APC.
She had asked the committee members how s third party could gain access to her nomination form she submitted to the party, since the petitioner was said to have written from somewhere in Ekiti State.
”The petitioner, as I learned is a member of the party in my ward and could not even be someone genuinely a party member in my area, how did he gain access to the form I submitted to the party secretariat,” she had queried.
”I consider that a breach of trust and integrity by the screening committee and the National Working Committee if they could release my form to anybody party.”
She argued that although she successfully defended her self before the committee, the committee still went ahead to disqualify her.
According to Mrs Olajumoke the decision of the screening committee was never communicated to her formally, but was only made known via the social media.
She noted that at the appeals committee, there was a greater confusion as a party register brought by the members to show that her nominators were not party members did not have her own name.
”When I asked for the party register, my name was not on it, even though I have contacted twice for chairmanship of my local government,” she said.
”I presented to the appeals committee all my documents including receipts of payment for all the nomination forms and how could my name not be found on the list of party register?
”It was clear that the same reason for which my name was missing on the register is the responsible for the absence of the names of my nominators from the register.
”It means that the register presented by the appeals committee was fake, and a doctored register.”
She added that even though the committee gave her an impression that she had successfully convinced them of her membership and due nomination, they eventually disqualified her after a hide and seek game of several weeks.
She alleged that the Ekiti State Governor had connived with some national officers to deny any other contender from contesting the primary election in order to give him a safe passage to winning the ticket.
Disqualified along with Mrs Olawumi is Kayode Ojo, who was initially cleared by the screening committee on probation. Despite the probational clearance, he was eventually disqualified.
Only Mr Oyebanji and Atinuke Omolayo were cleared by the party. There are reports that the latter is an ally of the governor, who participated in the exercise to give it some credibility.
She withdrew from the race shortly before the primary election on Monday and endorsed Mr Oyebanji, with reasons of the Governor’s “sterling performance, loyalty to the party, and commitment to Ekiti’s progress.”
Mr Oyebanji later emerged as the party’s consensus candidate, as he was affirmed by 885 delegates drawn from the 177 wards across the state during the governorship primaries held at the Ekitikete Pavilion, Ado Ekiti.
However, the APC in Ekiti State has reacted to the allegations of Mrs Olajumoke, saying she was duly disqualified.
According to the party, Mrs Olawumi failed to muster the required five nominators per ward as required by the Electoral Act and the Constitution of the APC for those aspiring for governorship.
”It is the Constitution of the party, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral law that disqualified them and not us in Ekiti State,” Segun Dipe, APC State Publicity Secretary said.
”One of the guidelines is that you must have five persons called nominators per ward. The five persons per ward must sign your nomination form and they must be members of the party–card carrying members.
”The aspirants are not expected to get all the nominators from one ward, it must be five per ward. She was not able to get that.
”If she has it let her show publish it and show that they are members of the party. She did not have it.”
Mr Dipe added that the party could not change the rules or wave the requirements for her.