By Chinelo Obogo and Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
Senator Opeyemi Bamidele has said the just concluded governorship primary in Ekiti was compromised and truncated by those at the helm of affairs in the state.
The Chairman, Southern Senators’ Forum, who was also a governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Ekiti State primary vowed to employ legal means to challenge the results declared by the party.
Bamidele and six other aspirants had withdrawn from the primary and called for its cancellation over alleged compromise, but going by the results declared by Governor Abubakar Mohammed Badaru -led APC Primary Election Committee, he polled a total of 706 to emerge third, while the former Secretary to the State Government, Biodun Oyebanji got 101, 703, to become the party’s flag bearer.
In a statement, yesterday, Bamidele, alleged that the primary which took place on Thursday, January 27, was hijacked and that the results announced were based on concocted and fictitious vote counts.
He said he had no doubt in his mind that he was coasting to victory had the process been transparent and fair.
The statement read: “The process of conducting these primaries was hijacked, truncated, compromised and bastardised by those at the helm of affairs in Ekiti State, which is tantamount to a complete abuse of trust and leadership.
“Judging from a critical assessment of our campaign strategy by positively reaching out to our people everywhere in Ekiti State to push our progressive message, I had no doubt in my mind that we were coasting to victory had the process been transparent and fair.
“It is public knowledge that no primary election took place on Thursday, January 27, 2022 but yet, rather disappointedly, results were announced based on concocted and fictitious vote counts.
“The underlining level of impunity, desperation and perfidy which characterised the entire rigging process was so much and thought beclouding that I was allotted 700 plus votes in a Sstate wide gubernatorial primary election in a state where I had scored over 94,000 votes in just one out of three Senatorial Districts to emerge a senator. This was less than three years ago and after then, I had done much more to earn the confidence and greater love of the people through effective representation on the floor of the Senate as well as life touching empowerment programmes and constituency development projects.
“ More specifically, the breakdown of the votes allotted to me indicated that I got 150 votes in Ado Ekiti, my beloved second home where I had recorded 28,000 votes out of the 42,000 votes that gave me the House of Representatives mandate way back in 2011 to represent Ado / Irepodun-Ifelodun Federal Constituency.