Ekiti APC Guber Primary: Delegates Are Ready To Go For Higher Bidder As Aspirants Woo Delegates With N300k, 500k Each

Agency ReporterMay 3, 2018

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Three days to the Ekiti State Primary election under the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Aspirants are wooing their delegates with the range of N300,00 to N500,000.

In a bid to win the forthcoming primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, an investigation conducted by our correspondent revealed that some aspirants were wooing the 2, 671 delegates that would vote in the APC primary with between N300,000 and N500, 000 each.

The primary will hold on Saturday at Oluyemi Kayode Stadium, Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

The delegates would come from 177 wards across the 16 local government areas of the state.

No fewer than 33 aspirants will be contesting for the ticket of the party at the primary.

They include Hon. Olufemi Bamisile, Senator Ayo Arise, Senator Gbenga Aluko, Dr. Wole Oluyede, Hon. Debo Ranti-Ajayi, Hon. Bamidele Faparusi, Barrister Victor Olumuyiwa Kolade, Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, Hon. Bimbo Daramola, Captain Sunday Adebomi, Dr. Makanjuola Akindele Owolabi, Chief Diran Adesua, Dr. Mrs Christianah Mojisola Yaya-Kolade and Otunba Yinka Akerele.

Others are; Mr Kola Alabi, Mr. Olumuyiwa Coker, Chief Dele Okeya, Dr. Oluwole Oluleye, Prince Olatunji Tosin Olofinluyi, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi, Engr. Kayode Ojo, Engr. Segun Oni, Mr. Muyiwa Olumilua, Mr. Ogunkoyode Oladipo, Dr. Adebayo Orire, Chief Sesan Fatoba, Otunba Bisi Aloba, Deacon Adekunle Esan, Mr. Bodunde Adeyanju, Hon. Charles Dahunsi, Barr. Ajayi Olatunji Olowo and Mrs Matesun.

According to a source close to some of the aspirants, each of the aspirants had already spent millions of naira to woo the delegates to their sides in preparation for the primary while another huge sum of money would be showered on each of the delegates during the primary.

The source said, “ There is going to be a naira rain on the day of the primary for the delegates because some of the aspirants were ready to woo each delegate with as much as N200,000 while an aspirant wants to spend between N400,000 and N500,000 on each of the delegates.

“For instance, One of the Aspirants said ” I have the budget of N1billion to spend for his delegates on that day, while some aspirants may spend more than that but I don’t know if the money will work in convincing the delegates.

“But if money will be the decider of who emerges the winner of the primary, that means many delegates will be millionaires after that day because they will collect money from more than one aspirant.”

One of the female aspirants, Mrs Yaya-Kolade, while speaking with our correspondent on the telephone, condemned the act of using the money to entice the delegates.

She said if money was used as the deciding factor for the primary, a good and credible candidate would not emerge as the standard bearer of the party in the governorship election.

Yaya-Kolade urged the fellow aspirants to allow the delegates make their choice among the aspirants.

Money politics, she said, should be discouraged as “it is an act of corruption.”

She said, “I too heard that our aspirants want to spend a lot of money for the delegates. I also learnt some want to camp their delegates in hotels in Akure, some for the past few weeks have been spending a lot of money on those
that will vote on the day of the primary, they have forgotten that it is only God that can put a person in power.

In his reaction to the development, the Publicity Secretary of the APC in Ekiti State, Hon. Taiwo Olatunbosun said no delegate could be bought over on the day of the primary.

He said the delegates had their chosen aspirants already and no amount of money could be given to them to change their minds.

He said, “If some of the aspirants say it is money for money, I know our delegates are not money-conscious, I know our delegates have integrity and they know all the aspirants very well. They know who has been with them a very long time, they know who is with them at the formation of the APC, somebody cannot just come with his money and change their mind.

“If they say money for money, in Ekiti State, our people have principle and nobody can buy them with money. Let them bring their money, our delegates will collect and still do what is in their mind.

So, the person who shares the biggest amount of money may not win the election because our people know where they are coming from and they know who they will give their votes.”

Olatunbosun enjoined all the delegates to be wary of moneybag politicians who might want to buy their votes and after winning the primary, they would become the bad product for the party to sell to the people of the state in the governorship election.