Police seal off party secretariat as crisis deepens

dimeji akinloye

May 8, 2018 8:27 AM

Some alleged pro-Fayemi protesters reportedly invaded the secretariat and announced the immediate removal of the state executives.

Police on Monday, May 7, reportedly sealed the

Violence broke out among delegates and the governorship aspirants at the Ekiti APC primaries on Saturday over alleged irregularities in the exercise.

The primary was subsequently suspended after some party agents broke the Ballot boxes.

According to The cable, protesters loyal to the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi, who is a candidate in the race, stormed the secretariat on the Ajilosun- Ikere where they declared the removal of the state executives led by Jide Awe.

They were also said to have announced the immediate formation of a pro-Fayemi caretaker committee.

Shortly after, the police reportedly invaded the secretariat and chased everyone out, then sealed it off.

The protesters also reportedly passed a vote of no confidence on Awe and the party’s spokesman, Taiwo Olatunbosun, alleging that they were working in favour of a particular aspirant.

Based on Article 21 (7) of the party’s constitution, the aggrieved APC members disbanded the state executive and set up a caretaker committee headed by Michael Egunjobi, APC chairman in Ise/Orun local government area.

They also allegedly dropped fetish materials made from palm oil and egg at the gate of the party secretariat.

The report said Awe was whisked to safety from the secretariat by mobile policemen as the protesters also descended on him.

Following the botched primaries on Saturday, 27 aspirants had rejected the position of the party's National Working Committee which said the primary will continue from where it ended.

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Some of the aspirants led by a former governor, Segun Oni, had met at a location in Ado Ekiti and demanded a fresh election and the replacement of the Nasarawa State Governor, Umaru Al-makura, who heads the committee which organised the primary.

The aspirants said the ballot cast on Saturday in five local governments before the violence erupted had been rendered invalid because the votes were not counted, collated and announced at the venue.

dimeji akinloye