Tackle governor for allegedly ignoring Tinubu’s directive on primary elections
Some concerned Elders and Youths of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, led by Chief Olaofe Adeniran, have accused the governor, Biodun Oyebanji, of showing disdain, disrespect, and flagrant disobedience to President Bola Tinubu and the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party by setting up a 24-member committee for his emergence as the adopted candidate of the party for the 2026 gubernatorial election.
It would be recalled that former Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Abiodun Aluko, has been named to head the committee for the endorsement of the incumbent Oyebanji for a second term in office.
The political move followed a unanimous endorsement of Oyebanji’s second term by stakeholders from each of the three senatorial districts, various groups and individuals, including the state caucus of the APC, which is the highest organ of the party in the state.
The committee was constituted in Ado-Ekiti at a meeting of critical stakeholders, including key political leaders, opinion leaders, and community leaders in the state.
But according to the concerned elders and youths, this is contrary to the party’s guidelines that the NWC has the responsibility to organise and oversee primary elections.
They said that Oyebanji was, instead, closing the democratic space against eligible and competent party members in violation of the party’s guidelines and the President’s directive on adherence to internal party democracy.
They also berated the governor for deliberately ignoring the directive of the President.
The group, therefore, called on Tinubu as national leader of the party; Chairman of the party, Umar Ganduje, and other national leaders of the party to call Oyebanji to order to avoid an unpleasant backlash that could cost the party the state.
The aggrieved party members expressed surprise at the premature action of self-succession of the governor, especially when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has not issued any directive in this regard.
The group noted that the APC’s constitution, which should serve as a guiding document for the party’s internal affairs, is specifically clear in matters relating to primary elections, pointing out that Section 20(1) of the APC’s Constitution.
It said that some APC members were invited to a meeting at the weekend without prior knowledge of the agenda of the meeting, and only to be coerced into a committee to actualise the adoption of the governor against their wishes.
The group further claimed that Oyebanji is planning a mega rally to create a false impression of his acceptance at the grassroots level statewide.
