Jigawa State Governor and chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) Ekiti State Governorship Primary Election Committee, Muhammad Badaru has denied media reports alleging boycott of the event by some aspirants.
Badaru spoke with newsmen at the APC national secretariat on Friday in Abuja, shortly after submitting the committee’s report on the primaries in Abuja.
“We have submitted the result sheets and reports where primaries were conducted; out of the 166 wards, election was disrupted in 11 ward and we canceled those areas, but in 166, people actively participated,” he said.
He stated that it was absolutely wrong for the media to claim that some governorship aspirants boycotted the primaries.
“That is absolutely not true, we landed on the Feb. 26. I had meetings with all the aspirants and out of eight, seven attended, and we discussed the guidelines and agreed on the terms.
“What they are alleging probably, is that party members loyal to the governor, were chosen to serve as returning officers in various Wards and Local Government Areas(LGAs), and they raised that at the meeting,” he said.
Badaru explained that the committee followed the party’s electoral guidelines in conducting the exercise and could not had hired or recruited none APC members for the primaries.
“But they can also give us 20 each from the party, people that they believe will do justice to them, and they provided those 20 list which we incorporate into returning officers.
“And this was communicated in the early morning to them because they send their own list very late and that was what delayed us that night.
“But we managed to incorporate all the 20 people each they sent to us to participate in the exercise,” he explained.
Badaru added that the winner of the primaries, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, who was the former Secretary to the State Government got 101,000 votes out of the anticipated 180,000 votes from all registered members in the state.
He added that this was a very realistic fact which showed that about 60 to 65 per cent of registered party members voted at the poll.
According to him, the results from the 11 wards that were canceled could not be returned to him because of violence in the areas.
“Before the election, I promised the aspirants that I will never receive a result written where people had not participated in the process.
“And that was why the 11 wards cannot be return to him because I knew there were violence and election didn’t take place. That is why I cancel them,” he said.
He said the election was rancour free in other wards, adding that there was no challenge in the whole process as the electorate trooped out to vote for the candidates of their choice.
Badaru said the exercise was relatively peaceful in the 166 wards, adding that the number of registered voters in the 11 wards was not enough to upset the margin of lead by the winner.
“It then means that we declare the election conclusive because if we say let us do re-run, the margin of victory is far beyond the number of canceled wards,” he said.
He, however, called on other aspirants that were aggrieved by the outcome of the primaries to as party members, join hands with the party’s leadership and the winner to continue to build it.
“Power comes from God, and it is only God that will determine who will win, and if we take it in our hearts to be patient, God will certainly reward us.
“God knows who will be the next governor of Ekiti State, even before we start this process. so, we should take heart to be responsible and respectful.
“We should stop casting aspersions or unnecessary allegations on people because destroying somebody doesn’t mean victory for you. It means you are also destroying yourself.
“Be fair to all, and be open to all and God will continue to help you, but if you chose to castigate and humiliate people, and cast insults on people God is watching.
“You will certainly harvest what you have done because the truth will always come out. And we did this primary with utmost fear of God, and those that knows me know I cannot write result for anybody,” he said.
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