From Victor Akinkuolie, Ado-Ekiti
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An All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial aspirant in the just concluded primaries of the party in Ekiti State, Dr. Olusegun Osinkolu, has alleged that concoction of results in favour of some candidates by powerful individuals have dented the President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight against graft.
Osinkolu, who contested for the Senate ticket in Ekiti North senatorial district, alleged that Dr Ibrahim Sule-led APC Committee on the National Assembly primary in Ekiti, allegedly messed up the whole process by fabricating results in Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi’s favour.
Adetumbi, who represented the district between 2011 and 2015 was declared winner of the primary in Ekiti North. Stating that he rejected the primaries in its entirety, Osinkolu said, elections didn’t hold in Ikole, Moba and Ido/Osi local government areas out of the five councils that constitute the district, urging Com Adams Oshiomhole to annul the primary and order rerun of the exercise for Nigerians to take the change mantra of the party serious.
Addressing journalists in Ado Ekiti on Monday on the contentious primaries that had generated bad blood among party members, the APC chieftain said he had given the party the best support in Ekiti and didn’t deserve to be treated in such a shabby and disrespectful manner.
Osinkolu stated that party members were humiliated by security agencies by sporadic shootings in Ikole while old and young members queued for over 12 hours without seeing collation officers sent to the wards by the committee.
He expressed displeasure that what Nigerians expected from the APC was a change in all facets, particularly in the way the party conducts its elections, which he said must be credible, lamenting that what some party members did in the primaries would go a long way in undermining President Buhari’s believe in a corrupt-free society.
Osinkolu maintained that the only alternative through which the party can approach the 2019 elections was by annulling the outcome of the primary, he described as not only a charade but a product of poll robbery.
“The NWC made good preparations for these elections, only for desperate power seekers to hijack the process by cornering the committee sent to Ekiti and ensured they did their biddings.
“The Ekiti election in the North district was so worst to the extent that the Committee brought photocopies to the wards to conduct elections, they hoarded the original result sheets.
“Apart from that, elections didn’t hold in many of the wards. Our people who had queued since 7am got disappointed when they waited till around 6pm without seeing the collation officers in their respective wards.
“But in few places where elections were held, I have available evidence which I will present to NWC that I won the election. They stole my mandate and I am ready to retrieve it using every legal and constitutional means.
“But because of the enormous respect I have for our party leadership, I will explore internal mechanism to seek redress but if this fail, I won’t have any other option than to challenge the outcome in court.
“Let the party do its investigations thoroughly and found out where elections were not held and order rerun in those areas or use the results of where polls were conducted to declare the actual winner.
“As a loyal party man, I will remain in APC and fight for my right. But the party shouldn’t carry it believe in supremacy to an extent where members would be forced to challenge some of its action.
Sustaining supremacy over party members can only be sustained when the party is fair, just and protect the interests of everybody”, he added.
