Ekiti 2022: PDP NWC nullifies Adhoc delegates, adopts statutory, automatic delegates

Ahead of the governorship primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, the National Working Committee (NWC) has nullified the three Adhoc ward delegates that conducted last Saturday.

Recall that about four governorship aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State had staged a protest over the last Saturday’s ward congress to elect three ad hoc delegates in each of the 177 wards in the state.

The four aspirants, including a former governor, Segun Oni; National Assembly member, Senator Biodun Olujimi; a former governorship aspirant, Yinka Akerele; and former senatorial aspirant, Lateef Ajijola, took turns to accuse the National Working Committee Congress Committee of allegedly doctoring the congress to favour Fayose’s anointed aspirant, Bisi Kolawole.

But the NWC led by National Chairman of the party, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, who announced the nullification at a media briefing on Monday night, said the Ekiti governorship primary election will be conducted using the statutory/automatic delegates list.

The primary election is billed to hold on Wednesday.

The PDP chair called for the immediate withdrawal of all Court actions instituted by aggrieved parties in the dispute.

According to him, the decision of the party leadership was binding on all stakeholders in the Ekiti.

Barely two days to the governorship primary, the political tension is rising steadily as preparations for the battle over who clinch the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gradually gets underway.

The seventeen aspirants are already sharpening their weapons ahead of who would control the delegates for the primary election in the party.

By calculations, about 1,200 delegates of the PDP would vote in the party’s governorship primary election.

The delegates are drawn from 155 out of 177 wards of the 16 local government areas of the state.

The aspirants come from all the three political zones of the state; Ekiti Central, Ekiti North, and Ekiti South.

Newsflash Nigeria understands that nine of the aspirants were male while 8 are also female.

They are the former governor of the state, Segun Oni; former deputy governor, Kolapo Olusola Eleka; Immediate past state chairman of the party, Bisi Kolawole;  former National Treasure of the party, Wale Aribisala; Former GMD bank, Kayode Adaramodu; a Lagos-based businessman and senatorial aspirant of the party in 2014, Lateef Ajijola and Otunba Yinka Akerele.

Others are 2018 PDP deputy governorship candidate, Deji Ogunsakin; a former Tutor General in Ekiti State, Chief (Mrs) Arogundade Oluwatoyin Anike; Hon (Mrs) Olumide-Ojo Olukemi Olubunmi; a former House of Assembly member during the second term of Ayodele Fayose administration, Hon. Princess Titilayo Owolabi Akerele; the 2019 House of Representatives aspirant, Princess Adekemi Adewumi; 2019 House of Assembly aspirant, Mrs Cecilia Ebiesuwa;  the daughter of prominent Prince Adewumi Adegoke of Ado-Ekiti, Mrs Adewumi Adesoye, Mrs Module Asaolu, and Mrs Deborah Alo.

Check-in at the camps of the major groups revealed that the governorship aspirants are meeting and selling their aspirations to the party delegates across the 16 local government areas of the state in a bid to fly the party’s flag in the next year poll.

And to underscore its seriousness, the PDP seems to be witnessing the emergence of some of its best materials as aspirants for its ticket.

Though there were two major factions of the party in the state; the Osoko People’s Assembly (OPA) headed by the former governor of the state Ayo Fayose and the Repositioning Group headed by a serving senator, Biodun Olujimi. Another group is the PDP family headed by the former governor of the state Segun Oni.

Just concluded the PDP NWC meeting held today at Abuja, the party accepted the 155 wards, LG and State delegates controlled by the Fayose group and called for the immediate withdrawal of all Court actions instituted by the Olujimi group in the dispute.

However, Newsflash Nigeria understands that the number of delegates as of today was made up of 1056 statutory and about 200 automatic delegates

Newsflash Nigeria gathered that the automatic delegates comprised the past governors and Deputy Governors, present and past federal lawmakers, the past principal officers of State Assembly, serving and former members of National Executive Committee, former State Working Committee members, serving and former Board of Trustee (BoT), former LG party chairmen and 2018 gubernatorial candidate and deputy.

Also, statutory delegates are made up of current of all state executives, all LG executives, five principal officers per ward, all zonal executives who are in the state.

DELEGATES:

State executives =39

Local Government executives = 252

Five principal officers per ward = 775;

Zonal executives from Ekiti State = 3

Former elected governors = 2

Former Deputy governors = 4

2018 Gubernatorial candidate = 1*

2018 Deputy Gubernatorial candidate =1

Serving National Assembly = 1

Serving and former members of BoT = 4

Former member of NEC = 4

Former Principal officers of the state house of assembly = 13

Former National Assembly member =3

All 2019 National Assembly Candidates =7

All 2019 State Assembly candidates =25

Former members of the State Working Committee (SWC) = 10

Former local government area party chairmen = 48+

Obviously, numerous factors would be on the table of the aspirants for their consideration when the delegates choose their choice on January 26, 2022.

Such factors as his/her financial muscle, his/her support base and his/her control the structure of the party.

However, some factors, such as the political party itself and who the sponsors of an aspirant are, might subsume the preceding considerations.

By calculation gathered by Newsflash Nigeria, any aspirant who got above 600 delegates may likely click the ticket of the party.

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