Biodun Oyebanji, governorship candidate of the APC, says
Kayode Fayemi, governor of Ekiti, has no hand in his emergence as the
standard-bearer of the party in the state.
On Thursday, Oyebanji, former secretary to the state
government (SSG), polled 101,703 votes to emerge as APC’s governorship
candidate.
He recorded a landslide victory as none of the other
aspirants could amass even a thousand votes.
Prior to the election, seven aspirants had withdrawn from
the race, alleging that the primary election committee was made up of loyalists
of Fayemi.
“The seven candidates
herein are loyal, faithful and committed party members who are sincerely
concerned about the chances of the party in the forthcoming 2022 governorship
election where an imposition is allowed to override a democratic primary
election for determining its flag bearer,” the aggrieved aspirants had said.
However, speaking with Arise TV on Friday, Oyebanji said all
aspirants were given “a level-playing field,” and the election was held “in
accordance with guidelines of the party”.
He said all the aspirants are “close” to Fayemi, and that he
does not have “an exclusive preserve of relationship” with the governor.
“A level-playing
field was provided for all the contestants. We had a stakeholder meeting a day
before the election, and we agreed on the mode of engagement — all aspirants
agreed. And left from the meeting to my village to vote. And the report I got
yesterday, from all the 177 wards, is that people came out and they were
accredited in accordance with guidelines of the party, and they were counted
and the result as been declared,” he said.
“In response to the protest by the seven other aspirants, I
recognised their rights to protest and know that the party has built an
internal mechanism to resolve the issue. I’m confident that all those issues
will be resolved.
“Fayemi is the party leader in the state, and there’s no
party member that doesn’t have a relationship with him. I’ve known him for 20
years. And I’ve worked with him for seven years. In those seven years, he’s
given various assignments in various ministries and capacities, and I
discharged my duty. But that does not give me an exclusive preserve of
relationship with him. All of us in the race have one relationship with
governor Fayemi, and we’re all close to him.”
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