Several concerned members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ekiti State Chapter, have submitted formal petitions to the APC Governorship Primary Election Screening Committee, calling for the disqualification of Engr. Ojo Kayode to participate in the forthcoming 2025 Governorship Primary Election in Ekiti State
Speaking at a press conference in Ado-Ekiti, the petitioners who spoke through Mr. Jogunola Joel Tolani of Ayetoro Ward 2 in Ido-Osi Local Government and Mr. Alake Busuyi of Aisegba Ward 08 in Aiyekire/Gbonyi Local Government, said their action was driven by a commitment to protect the integrity of the APC’s internal democratic process.
According to them, a review of the nomination form submitted by Ojo identified major discrepancies in the list of his nominators, stressing that 68 out of the 122 names presented by Ojo, are not valid members of the APC in Ekiti State, leaving only 54 valid nominators, which they noted was far below the required 80 and fall short of the mandatory spread of five nominators from each local government as clearly stipulated in the party’s guidelines.
Describing the aspirant’s submissions to the Screening Committee as “deceitful” and “misleading”, the petitioners emphasized that Ojo’s declaration of full compliance, in spite of contrary evidence, falsely portrayed him as enjoying wider support within the party than the reality on ground.
The petitioners therefore urged the Screening Committee to exercise its constitutional powers to disqualify him from participating in the primary election, stressing that allowing candidates with questionable loyalty and integrity to contest could destabilize the internal cohesion of the APC and damage the party’s reputation ahead of the 2025 gubernatorial elections in Ekiti State.
“We call on the Screening Committee to uphold fairness and the constitution of our party. The integrity of our selection process must not be compromised, and only aspirants who fully comply with the rules should be cleared. Contrary actions would grossly contradict the principles of honesty, integrity, and transparency upon which the APC was founded and allowing breaches of the party’s guidelines would erode confidence in the nomination process.” the petitioners stated.
Expressing confidence in the ability of the party to do the right thing in the interest of all genuine stakeholders, the petitioner urged party members and the general public to remain calm and continue to support Government, both at the Ekiti State and the Federal level in order to maximally benefit from the dividends of democracy.