BY ABIODUN NEJO
Angry Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, House of Representatives aspirants in Ekiti State on Sunday protested alleged imposition of individuals for the six seats in the state.
The aspirants from the different federal constituencies, who alongside their supporters besieged the state PDP Secretariat in Ado Ekiti, appealed to the National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, to overrule the screening committee, which had earlier disqualified them.
They accused members of the PDP Screening Committee, led by Mr Seye Shonuga, sent by the Secondus led National Working Committee (NWC) to screen the aspirants of allegedly subverting the process to give way for automatic tickets to Governor Ayodele Fayose’s close allies and present occupants of the seats.
The enraged supporters, who forced open the door of the PDP State Secretariat and shattered its windows, beat up members of the Appeal
Committee and State Working Committee, SWC, that were in the ecretariat to entertain their complaints.
The Screening Committee chairman, was however, lucky as he was said to have been ferried out of the venue by party men and security agents to prevent the irate supporters from descending on him.
The House of Representatives aspirants in their various federal constituencies include 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.
Olanipekun, who spoke on behalf of the aggrieved contestants, accused the screening committee of doing Fayose’s bidding to edge them out of the primary.
He accused the committee of screening them out of the contests under the flimsy excuses of tax default and primary school certificates even when evidences were presented.
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 primaries rather than resorting to imposition.
“Governor Fayose had at a meeting with all aspirants, told us to withdraw from the race for the candidates that would be handpicked, but we insisted that the primaries must be held.
“Our intention then for insisting on primary was that with imposition, PDP may not make any remarkable showing in the elections. 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 now is to ensure that the present occupants of the seats emerged through consensus without challengers. Even in Ekiti Central Constituency 2, where Hon. Olamide Oni had defected to APC, they technically edged other aspirants out of the primary to pave way for the serving Commissioner for Environment, Mr Bisi Kolawole, to emerge automatically.
“We are not happy with this. The NWC must intervene in the crisis to ensure that we approach the elections with a united house”, he advised.
But PDP State Publicity Secretary Mr Jackson Adebayo said he was not in Ekiti and had not been briefed by the state Chairman, Chief Gboyega Oguntuase.
Adebayo said: “I don’t want to comment on issue I have not been adequately briefed. I don’t want to join issues with them, because they must have told lies.
“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 respectively,” Adebayo said.
