APC ward congress: Ojudu protests alleged hijacking of congress forms by Fayemi’s group in Ekiti

The Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, has alleged that the leadership of the party loyal to Governor Kayode Fayemi in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has hijacked the forms for elective positions ahead of next Saturday’s ward congress.

Ojudu, who spoke with newsmen in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital on Saturday said this development was aimed at depriving other members of the party who are not loyal to the Fayemi’s ‘Tokan Tokan’ group access to the form and contest for positions in the ward Congress as against the mandate of the National caretaker committee of the party.

The presidential aide disclosed that the forms were seized from the ward Congress committee sent from the national secretariat to the state on Friday and financially induced the committee to return to Abuja without performing their duty of making the forms available to interested party members.

According to him, members of the party in the state had paid money into the dedicated account of the party for the forms, urging the group to allow for democracy to take its course ahead of the congress in the interest of the party.

Ojudu said, “The mandate was that they should stay and sell the form for every party member interested. Governors had come to Abuja to demand for the form but the committee managing the party said no. They invited all Chairmen of the state branches and briefed them on the need to allow all members interested in contesting access to the form.

“When the folks from Abuja arrived Ado-Ekiti yesterday(Friday) they went straight to the party Secretariat, negotiated with the chairman, got paid and handed over the form to him and returned immediately to Abuja.

“If the forms were meant for the state chairmen it would have been handed over to them last week when they were invited to Abuja. 

Hundreds of members have paid to the account of the party and now they are being denied access to the form  by the Tokan Tokan faction of the party in the State.”

He explained that any attempt to endorse consensus arrangement for the congress would be resisted by leaders, adding that the system if used would spell doom for the party ahead of the 2022 governorship election.

However, in his reaction, the publicity secretary of the party, Mr Ade Ajayi denied all the allegations raised by the presidential aide, describing it as, “frivolous and flimsy.”

Ajayi maintained that those raising alarm about the next Saturday’s congress are, “strangers who have no idea of the workings within the party,” assuring members that everyone will be given a level playing ground.

He said that the congress committee set up by the state are working around and meeting stakeholders within the party towards ensuring a free, fair and transparent congress that would usher new leaders at the ward level.

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