Fayemi, Ekiti APC Chairman disagree over calls for cancellation of primary

Agency ReporterMay 7, 2018

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Former Governor Kayode Fayemi and the All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State have disagreed over the call for a cancellation of the governorship primary that held on Saturday.

While Fayemi wanted the results of the election so far cast by delegates from five local governments upheld, the state APC Chairman, Chief Jide Awe, called for the immediate cancellation of the exercise.

The primary was suspended indefinitely amidst violence that broke out at Oluyemi Kayode Stadium in Ado Ekiti where the primary held.

Trouble started when agents of some of the aspirants complained that the electoral process was being manipulated.

This paved a way for some thugs to attack the ballot boxes and smashed them.

Addressing journalists on Sunday, Awe blamed the APC Election Committee chaired by the Governor of Nasarawa State, Umar Al-Makura, for not carrying members of the state executive along in the conduct of the exercise.

He said, “There is no way you can conduct a primary without allowing State Executive Council to have a say. The aspirants were not happy. There are lots of lessons to learn as a party.”

Awe called for an outright cancellation of the disrupted election.

“One of the cardinal principles of a free and fair election is for the electorate not to have a doubt. When a system is doubted in an election it becomes invalid.

“When a system is disrupted, it becomes invalid. An invalid primary can’t produce a valid candidate. We want to have a credible election so that the electorate will be able to vote for us at the main election.

“With what happened we believe sincerely the committee is culpable and the security agencies are compromised. So the thugs that disrupted the election some people allowed them in.”