Stalemated Ekiti Primaries: Ado LG ACN Accuses Opeyemi Of Bribing Delegates

Posted By On January 11, 2011 @ 4:05 pm In National,News,Today's Headlines | No Comments


Bamidele Opeyemi
The Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Ado Local Government has accused one of the aspirants in the stalemated Senatorial primaries in Ekiti Central Senatorial District, Mr. Bamidele Opeyemi of inducing delegates with bribes so that the pendulum will swing to his favour.

Chairman, ACN, Ado Local Government, Oba Aladetoyinbo, while stating the position of the party in the stalemated primaries, lamented that the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy acted badly by going to press to peddle lies when it was clear that fake voters’ register was used during the botched primaries.

In a statement titled: The Stalemated Primaries in Ekiti Central Senatorial District: Our Position, the party said “against the backdrop of the information being peddled in the media by the Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Mr Opeyemi Bamidele, we have been compelled to react to some of the allegations made by Mr Bamidele, who is also a Senatorial aspirant in Ekiti Central Senatorial district.

“In the first instance, we think it is unethical for any member of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to go into the public domain with grievous allegations against fellow party members, especially on the pages of newspapers, on the web and in various other means of communication as embarked upon by Mr Bamidele.

“The tradition of party discipline dictates that issues bordering on misconduct, if any, should be resolved using the internal mechanism of the party. This has been our position and remains the attitude of genuine progressive elements within the ACN.”

According to the statement, “Unfortunately, while the result of the Senatorial primaries was being expected, we were reliably informed that Mr Bamidele called a press conference where he fed the media and the populace with deliberate lies and falsehood, in a conscious attempt to undermine the reputation of other aspirants and by inference, the status and character of the ACN.

“It is in our bid to set the records straight that we were compelled to react to some of the allegations he made as contained in several Nigerian newspapers. The party primaries were scheduled for 10 January, 2011; however, five party leaders were mandated by the ACN National leadership to supervise the primaries. Unfortunately, the party Chairman in Ekiti State , Mr Jide Awe, whom we hold in high esteem, did not allow the five members who came from Abuja to conduct the primaries; he was very hostile to them. He kept them in a hotel without any brief as to the venue and the modalities for the primaries.”

It added that this attitude was an extension of the earlier meeting summoned by Mr Awe a week ago where he urged the party leaders in Ekiti West not to support any Senatorial aspirant from Ado-Ekiti on the flimsy excuse that Ado-Ekiti people were “arrogant”.

“He also mounted an intensive campaign across the Senatorial District insisting that the party members should vote for Mr. Bamidele who has been ‘oiling the hands’ of party leaders. This is without consideration for the strength of character and reputation of the would-be Senator in Ekiti Central District,” it stated.

The statement further said that two steps were taken by the Ado council ACN to counter this reactionary posture, saying that the first contact was established with the party National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande to complain about the drift from participatory democracy to dictatorship, informed basically by the love for financial inducement.

It stated that the second move was that the party Chairman in Ado Local Government, Oba Aladetoyinbo wrote a letter to the party Chairman, Mr. Awe to complain about the same ignominious move, adding that a copy of the letter was sent to the governor of the state, Dr Kayode Fayemi and the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe, prompting the monarch to call for a meeting of stakeholders in Ado Ekiti.

“It is unfortunate that the party Chairman, Mr Awe has a reputation of being hostile to Ado-Ekiti indigenes. The mode of voting is that the party would register voters, who would use the forms to vote. However, on the day of the primaries, we visited several wards, only to discover that genuine voters’ names were missing on the voters’ list.

“In fact, the names of one of the aspirants and his wife were missing on the voters’ list. We also observed that though voting was expected to begin by 9a.m. by 3p.m.no official was around to attend to the agitated voters. We again called and met the party Chairman, Mr Awe to complain about this awful development. To our surprise, we were shocked to discover that the list of voters brought from Abuja was dumped. Instead a doctored list was presented, meaning that the names were mostly fake.

“The same fake names were displayed in Igede Ekiti. In fact, a huge crowd of people at Okeiyinmi protested against the chains of fake names on the voters’ register. It was observed that the voters’ list sent from Abuja was kept by Mr Awe for a very long period giving room for self-seeking manipulation,” the party noted.

The Ado ACN said on noticing this development, it informed the governor of the development, saying that “it was on this basis and the fact that election materials did not get to voting centres on time, that he called the party Chairman, Mr. Awe to cancel the election in Ekiti Central Senatorial District.

“It is important to note that credible people can only emerge through the free, prior and informed consent of the people and not through the distribution of money to voters; the conscious attempt to manipulate party leaders through cash gift and the deliberate move to trample underfoot all the noble objectives and the kernel principles of democracy which are universally accepted by all democratic forces across the world will not help.

“We urge party members to remain calm, even in the face of grievous provocation with the hope that fresh, credible and people-driven primaries would be organised within the shortest time possible. We call on the ACN national leadership to conduct the primaries since Mr. Awe’s integrity is in doubt.”

http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2011/01/11/stalemated-ekiti-primaries-ado-lg-acn-accuses-opeyemi-of-bribing-delegates/print/

More power to ACN, then we shall see a more devastating version of today's PDP!

@ X-factoria: Thanks for your posts jor.


See. These people are all animals of opportunity. I posted the following some days ago on a new thread.

jensinmi:

For the past few weeks, it seems no day goes by without a news article regarding the Ekiti Central Senatorial Seat.

The seat is currently held by Senator Festus Olabode Ola (ACN) who was declared winner by the court of Appeal in Ilorin in June 2009, After spending over 2 years in court to unseat Femi Kila of the PDP.

The appeal court declared Senator Bode Ola rightful winner of the April 2007 elections in that Senatorial district.

3 other contestants are now striving with the current senator to represent the Action Congress in the upcoming elections for that position. They are

Opeyemi Bamidele - Current Lagos state commissioner for Information and Strategy
Babafemi Ojudu - former Managing Editor of THE NEWS Magazine
Dele Alake - Former Lagos Commissioner of Information and Strategy


http://www.thenationonlineng.net/web3/politics/23941.html

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/news/24090.html


The questions in the minds of so many Ekiti people are

1. Why so much interest in this particular seat??
2. Why does it seem that these 3 associates of Asiwaju Tinubu have suddenly migrated to Ekiti all of a sudden to contest for a seat that very few cared about 4 years ago??
3. Why is there almost no similar interest in the Ekiti North and Ekiti South Senatorial Seats currently held by the PDP??

Is ACN different from PDP in Ekiti State, you ask??

I say[b] is ACN different from PDP at all levels?? [/b]
The only difference I see is PDP is in Power now. ACN aren't. When they get there, we will all weep because they are full of people who will put their self-interest above the Nation's.

Tinubu has turned ACN into a party of his proxies and pawns.

All political parties are alike in nigeria, i.e they operate one "ME TO YOU"

OMG PDP now have hawks on NL, nobody says ACN is a faultless party, they also have there own problems, but the truth is that there Governors perform creditably well ala Fashola,oshiomole, too early to judge Fayemi and Rauf

leboss6:

OMG PDP now have hawks on NL, nobody says ACN  is a faultless party, they also have there own problems, but the truth is that there Governors perform creditably well ala Fashola,oshiomole, too early to judge Fayemi and Rauf

ACN and PDP are essentially made up of hawks. Guess who the prey are?? You and I, the average Nigerians. Please proceed to this thread and see the discussion how Tinubu has turned the ACN into his own hegemony.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-583532.0.html

PDP is full of thieves. ACN is made up of a lot of people who want to steal, as soon as the chance comes along.

Difference is we have confirmed the PDP's position as thieves. Only time will betray the ACN. Only time.

jensinmi:


ACN and PDP are essentially made up of hawks. Guess who the prey are?? You and I, the average Nigerians. Please proceed to this thread and see the discussion how Tinubu has turned the ACN into his own hegemony.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-583532.0.html

PDP is full of thieves. ACN is made up of a lot of people who want to steal, as soon as the chance comes along.

Difference is we have confirmed the PDP's position as thieves. Only time will betray the ACN. Only time.

You have a valid point there,but like i said we not saying ACN is the best we are only asking who is better

See below, their thugs are on the rampage causing unrest in Ekiti.

http://www.punchontheweb.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201101123274325

Primaries: Ekiti ACN chairman escapes death as thugs invade secretariat

The Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria in Ekiti State, Chief Jide Awe, on Tuesday escaped being killed by persons, who invaded the state secretariat along Ajilosun Street, Ado-Ekiti.
Our correspondent gathered that the chairman, who was in his office, was manhandled.
The chairman’s office was also vandalised but a detachment of armed policemen deployed in the secretariat quickly brought the situation under control.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, who later visited the secretariat, said that the command would ensure 24-hour surveillance on the office.
Adamu asked residents to go about their businesses, saying that the police would provide adequate security for every law-abiding resident of the state.
Shortly after the attack, some aspirants also stormed the secretariat, protesting the conduct of elections in Ekiti South and Ekiti North Senatorial Districts.
The ACN leader at the House of Assembly, Mr. Funminiyi Afuye, submitted a letter of protest at the secretariat.
Afuye, an aspirant in the Ekiti South Senatorial District, said that it was sad that one of the aspirants and some local government officials in the five councils in the area led thugs to rig in favour of their anointed aspirant.
Another aspirant from Ekiti North, Mr. Segun Osinkolu, also led his supporters to the secretariat to protest his disqualification.
The Chairman of ACN in Ekiti Central Senatorial District, Chief Jide Ajayi, at a press conference, said that he was surprised by the cancellation of the primaries in his district.
He said, “ The election was not cancelled but annulled because the election which had been concluded could not be cancelled.”
He alleged that some forces compelled the state chairman of the party to annul the primaries.
Awe, later addressed journalists in his office, saying that one of the aspirants in Ekiti Central Senatorial District, Mr. Babafemi Ojudu, masterminded the attack on his office, which he said was led by a factional leader of Oodua Peoples Congress in the state.
He, however, said that he was ready to lay down his life to ensure that things were done properly in the party.
According to Awe, “Some miscreants sponsored by Ojudu and led by an OPC leader (name withheld) came to this office and vandalised it. They took my chairs away, they said that they were going to put charms on it but I am not scared.
“ My life is being threatened but I am ready to lay down my life to ensure that things were done properly.”
But Ojudu, who also addressed journalists at his residence denied the allegation that he sent thugs after Awe. He alleged that the party chairman had never hidden his hatred for him.
Ojudu said that he was not happy with the cancellation of the primaries in Ekiti Central and alleged that Awe threatened to kill him on the telephone.
He alleged that Awe hijacked the conduct of the primaries from the National Electoral Committee of the ACN and accused the chairman of sending fake voters registers to all the wards in Ado-Ekiti.
He claimed that he couldn’t find his name on the register and that his supporters were disenfranchised.
He said he complained to Governor Kayode Fayemi, who ordered Awe to cancel the primaries in Ekiti Central
Meanwhile, our correspondent gathered that one of the aspirants in Ekiti Central was invited and quizzed by the police on Monday night.
A security source told our correspondent that the aspirant was invited because he moved round on Monday with thugs to disrupt the election and made some inciting statements capable of causing breach of peace.
He said that the aspirant was released after he was quizzed. But the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Mohammed Jimoh, when contacted by our correspondent he that he was not aware of the development.