After a marathon meeting in Ado Ekiti on Sunday, 27 out of the 33 All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirants in Ekiti State, have asked for cancellation of Saturday primary and disbandment of the Governor Tanko Al Makura-led Governorship primary committee that supervised the exercise.
In a communiqué read by one of the aspirants, Dr. Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, after the meeting in Ado Ekiti on Sunday, the 27 aspirants regretted the unfortunate incident that led to the protest and subsequent violence and disruption of the primary.
They alleged that members of the primary committee, headed by Nasarawa State governor compromised the integrity of the poll and that such had invalidated its outcome.
“We want the committee to be disbanded completely and our National Working Committee should set up a new Committee to conduct another primary that will meet international standard”, they demanded.
“Even many of those in the panel were friends to a particular candidate, this, we thought could vitiate the outcome of the election.
“We are determined to win Ekiti but the right thing must be done for a candidate that will command the respect of everybody to emerge”, they added.
They suggested that the next election should be conducted in an enclosed circuit to prevent natural occurrence like rain from disrupting the process as witnessed on Saturday.
“Apart from that, no aspirant should have more than an agent, because many of those who gained entry under the guise of being agents to some aspirants were used to perpetrate evil”, they insisted.
The State Chairman of the party, Chief Jide Awe, has called for the annulment of the poll, saying: “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. 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 that the committee is culpable and the security agencies are compromised. So, the thugs that disrupted the election, some people allowed them in.”