According to reports, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Ekiti Chapter, is in a fresh crisis as the governor, Ayodele Fayose has been accused of violating the party’s guidelines and the constitution by compiling names of delegates and imposing same in the ward congress conducted last Saturday.

• The aggrieved Ekiti PDP stakeholders in a petition addressed to Ekiti State PDP Ward Appeal Panel – as reported by The Nation – urged panel members to disregard the list of national delegates that may emerge from the Local Government Congress.
• The petition was signed by Board of Trustees member, Chief Clement Awoyelu; Senator Fatimat Raji Rasaki (Ekiti Central) and House of Representatives member representing Ekiti Central Federal Constituency 2, Olamide Oni. Others who endorsed the petition are Former House of Representatives members, Titilayo Akindahunsi and Olufemi Adeyemi; Titilayo Oluwatuyi, Dr Kunle Folayan, Chief Williams Ajayi and Mr Fatai Ibraheem.

The petition reads; “We members of PDP in Ekiti State hereby wish to bring to the notice of the chairman and members of the above-named panel that there was no Ward Congress in Ekiti State on Saturday, 18^th November 2017 or anytime directed by the National headquarters of our great party.

“What actually happened in Ekiti State was the usual practices of Governor Ayo Fayose to single-handedly compile the names of his stooges as delegates without following the stipulated guidelines of the party.

“What this means is that Governor Fayose’s choice rather than the people’s choice emerged as candidates. This singular action has disappointed and provoked majority of members of PDP in Ekiti State.

“The essence of this is for the governor to enable him to select those delegates that would vote for candidates of his choice rather than the popular choice of Ekiti people at the National Convention on the 9^th December 2017.

“We hereby appeal to your panel to void and disregard the list of delegates submitted by the governor and by intention disregard the list of national delegates that may emerge from the local government congress scheduled for Tuesday, 21st November 2017.”

Reaction: The PDP Publicity Secretary in Ekiti, Jackson Adebayo, described the petition of the aggrieved party chieftains as a ruse and a mischief of the highest order.

Adebayo maintained that a valid ward congress was held saying: “the action of disgruntled elements against an organised house will not stand.”

He said: “The petition is a ruse and a mischief of the highest order; the dates for the congresses were held and everybody knows the venues and they were held according to the constitution of the party.

“The Electoral Committee supervised the (ward) Congress, except they are trying to cover up their inadequacies and unless they did not go to the venue of the congress.

“That is why they sit down in the corners of their rooms to be writing rubbish in their petition. To us as a party, a valid ward congress was held on 18th November and delegates emerged.”

When asked if the petition written against the alleged imposition of delegates by Fayose did not portray division in the party Adebayo said: “There is no division in the party.

“If some people are not acting according to the rules of the party, maybe because of their ulterior motives, they are writing a petition against the congress conducted in 177 wards in the state.

“There was no imposition at the Congress and we want to urge our well-meaning party members to ignore the action of a disgruntled element against an organised house.”

Omoleye Omoruyi

Omoleye Omoruyi… an apprentice web/game developer, novelist, sensitive to happenings in the world. Meet him @Lord_rickie on Twitter/Instagram