Former Nigerian Ambassador to Canada, Amb Dare Bejide, has told the National leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to warn Governor Ayodele Fayose against destroying the PDP before the 2018 governorship poll.
Bejide said the way Governor Fayose shifted the primaries to select the chairmanship and councillorship candidates for the local government elections to the government house, has generated a lot of furor that may cripple the party if no action is taken.
The PDP chieftain and governorship aspirant expressed fear that the outcries and disquietude within the party over the way Fayose pegged the councillorship age qualification to a maximum of 30 years and 50 for chairmanship, may plummet the party’s acceptability and eventual loss of the governorship election.
The local government election is slated for December 23, 2017.
In a statement in Ado Ekiti on Thursday, Bejide appealed to Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee of the party to immediately correct the illegality being committed by Fayose before the party is divided further.
He said the constitution of the party and Electoral Act were unambiguous in respect of where the primaries should be conducted and specified age limits for electoral contests , saying Fayose cannot afford to subjugate and suppress the constitution to achieve his primordial interest under this circumstance.
Bejide said : “Most worrisome is the fact that this was coming barely one month Governor Fayose illegally assembled some party stakeholders and came up with the devilish adoption of the Deputy Governor, Prof. Kolapo Olusola as the sole candidate for 2018 governorship election.
“I believe the governor was primarily elected to protect the constitution, but Fayose’s case is different. How can a governor usurp the powers of the State Working Committee by personally conducting primaries expected to be conducted by SWC? This is illegal, null and void.”
It is also wrong for the Governor to disqualify intending candidates at will, without recourse to the laid down rules thereby foisting a fait accompli on the outcome, because whoever the governor was not supporting would not win in spite of his deceptive option A4.
“The reason why I am sounding a note of warning now is that, it may be too late in the day for the party if we approach the next governorship election without the NWC calming frayed nerves , because our people are seriously aggrieved with the way the party is being run like a personal estate of the governor.
“For PDP to win the poll, Senator Makarfi and his team must resolve all contentious issues surrounding the governorship and local government primaries, failing which the PDP may end up becoming history in Ekiti,” he warned.
Comments