NO fewer than 1,200 automatic and statutory delegates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State will today, Thursday, January 26 file out to elect the candidate of the party ahead of the June 18, 2022 governorship poll.
The leadership of the party through its organising secretary had earlier announced the governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, as the chairman of the primary election committee alongside four other committee members.
Some of the leading aspirants jostling for the party’s ticket include former governor, Chief Segun Oni; former chairman of the party, Bisi Kolawole; lawmaker representing Ekiti South, Senator Biodun Olujimi; former deputy governor, Professor Kolapo Olusola-Eleka, and an ex -banker, Kayode Adaramodu.
Others include former national treasurer, Wale Aribisala, and former senatorial aspirant, Lateef Ajijola. Events leading to the shadow election have not been without crisis as tendencies and factions struggle to produce the party’s flag bearer which has led the party to cancel the recently conducted ad hoc ward delegate congress following series of protests by some stakeholders, including aspirants.
The decision of the party to nullify the ad hoc ward congress has left the aspirants to battle with the statutory and automatic delegates across the 177 wards to decide their date today.
The former governor, Ayodele Fayose, who is leading a faction in the party and believed to have majority of the party executives, is backing the aspiration of Kolawole from Efon-Ekiti in the central senatorial district of the state, while other aspirants are hoping to dislodge his preferred aspirant from picking the ticket of the party.
It was gathered that before the commencement of the primary, it is likely some of the aspirants will collapse their structures and drop their ambitions for perceived stronger aspirants. This is due to the fact that most of the aspirants would find it difficult to muster the number of automatic delegates that would give them victory.
A source close to one of the aspirants said, “You know some of the aspirants have been agitating for the cancellation of the ad hoc ward congress which was said to have been hijacked by Fayose. The party listened to them and nullified the congress.
“So, the delegates are now reduced to just over 1,000 of automatic and statutory delegates, and I can tell you it is more or less easy to predict where the pendulum will swing.
“Nothing is ruled out and chances are high that aspirants might step down because there are ongoing talks.
“It appears there is a common enemy in the whole process, and I will not be surprised if they (aspirants) come together to fight him.”