Ekiti State governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abimbola Olawunmi, has accused Governor Biodun Oyebanji of bribing his way to become the party’s consensus candidate for the forthcoming election.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE News on Wednesday, Olawunmi alleged that the selection process for the party’s candidate in Ekiti was manipulated to favour Oyebanji, claiming that the party leadership had already decided on a consensus arrangement before other aspirants purchased their forms.
“The NWC, led by Professor Nentawe, have been trying to intimidate other aspirants by unjustly disqualifying them. We were asked to purchase the form, despite the fact that the National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, was going around the country telling everyone that the party already had a consensus candidate in the person of Oyebanji,” she said.
Olawunmi questioned why the party sold nomination forms to aspirants if it had already made up its mind on a consensus candidate. “I began to ask, if the party already agreed to make Oyebanji their consensus candidate, why would they go ahead to sell nomination forms?” she stated.
The aspirant also narrated how she was disqualified without formal communication from the National Working Committee (NWC). “After purchasing the form and attending the screening on September 24 at Katampe, Abuja, I presented all required documents. During the screening, I was told that a petition had been filed against me, claiming my nominators were not party members and that I didn’t meet the financial obligations of the party,” she explained.
According to her, the screening outcome was never officially communicated. “We just woke up one night and saw the result of the screening committee all over social media,” she said, adding that all efforts to get a response from party leaders had been ignored. “Even though I wrote several letters to the party chairman, the NWC, the president, and the wife of the president, I have received no official response from anyone.”
The APC aspirant said she has taken legal action to challenge her disqualification and defend her rights. “They violated my rights as a Nigerian citizen and as a member of the party. I’m already taking them to court to prove that they don’t have the right to disqualify me unjustly without a fair hearing,” she said.
Despite her grievances, Olawunmi maintained that she remains in the APC pending the outcome of the court case. “Until we get the outcome of the court, I am not going to speak on that. For now, I remain a member of the APC. If the court’s decision is not favourable and the party still refuses to do the right thing, I may then take a decision,” she noted.
Olawunmi insisted that she cannot be intimidated by anyone in the party. “If the constituted authority is being unfair to members of the party, as a Nigerian citizen who knows her rights, I can go to any length to challenge them. I cannot be intimidated,” she declared.
The APC governorship aspirant further stated that Ekiti voters would not support Oyebanji in the next election, saying, “Even Ekiti people have made up their minds not to support him in the forthcoming general election.”
