Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, on Sunday, mocked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and branded it a dying party over the withdrawal of its Assembly candidate, Mr Sunday Omosilade, from the March 9th State Assembly election.
The party also pleaded with party members to begin aggressive voter education across the 26 state constituencies in the state to reduce number of void votes in the coming election.
Omosilade, PDP candidate from Governor Ayodele Fayose’s Afao ward in Irepodun/Ifelodun constituency II, on Friday wrote a letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to intimate it of his intention to withdraw from the race.
Omosilade posited in the letter dated March 1 and addressed to INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, that he took the painful decision having lost confidence in the electoral process going by alleged rigging of the presidential and National assembly elections.
But speaking during a rally for the APC assembly candidate in the constituency, Mr Akeem Jamiu at Iropora, Esure and Eyio towns on Sunday, the party’ s Secretary in the local government, Hon Vincent Bewaji, said the withdrawal was allegedly plotted to prevent Fayose from being disgraced in the election.
Bewaji said the outcome of the presidential and National Assembly polls dazzled the opposition and handed PDP leaders a strong warning that they stand no chance of winning the poll.
“They knew they can’t win any election in Ekiti and particularly in this constituency and they decided to save their faces from ignominy.
“In the presidential and national assembly elections, we won all the towns in this constituency. Former governor Fayose only won in his ward out of 11 wards in this council, so they knew what they were doing by withdrawing from the race”, he said.
The candidate, Mr. Akeem Jamiu, said the withdrawal won’t deter him from campaigning hard across the zone to be able to win
“Whether he withdrew or not, I will continue with my last lap of the campaign and that is what I am doing now.
” I will campaign as if nobody had withdrawn from the race. I will continue to engage my people as if I still have a strong opponent because it is on this premise that my people can understand my mission and vision for them”, he stated.
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