Senator accuses Fayose of picking Assembly candidates

Senator accuses Fayose of picking Assembly candidates

Senator Ayo Arise has accused Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose of picking the 26 candidates ahead of tomorrow’s ward congresses of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Arise, who spoke with reporters yesterday in Oye-Ekiti, said: “I have been inundated with calls that the governor has a list of all 26 candidates for the House of Assembly elections.
“To my surprise, I heard the governor called a meeting and read out the list of candidates. What is the meaning of Saturday’s congresses then?”
Arise, who is vying for the Senate, warned that the purported move by Fayose could destroy the party and make nonsense the genuine contributions of notable members.
He said: “It seems as if Governor Fayose was possessed by demons immediately he assumed office. As we speak, he has drawn the list of 26 House of Assembly members, thereby shutting out other aspirants.
“Aside this, he had instructed my challenger, Duro Faseyi, to draw up the list of delegates for Ekiti North primaries, which shows that I have been rigged out.
“I supported Fayose before the election, but as a party man, I will not fold my arms and allow him ruin this party.
“Now we are just going to the congress to go and waste our time. We cannot run an election this way. Some of us are decent. Let us follow rules and the constitution.
“Let aspirants go for the form and contest the primary. We are all his loyalists. We all worked for his success. He should not ruin the party because he does not want anything again.
“This is an election within the same party and not between PDP and other parties. All of us within the party are working for 2015. There must be a congress where three ad- hoc delegates will emerge from the wards.
“All we are asking for is for a level-playing field. This is the same party, the same PDP, it is not an election between two opposition parties.
“It is an election among people who are of the same family who worked to ensure the success of this party at the last election.
“ I believe that with that success we will be able to translate it for success in 2015 for Mr. President and the National Assembly members.
“Duro Faseyi did not win his ward. It is an anomaly for him to win a ticket against me. People like me will not keep quiet. The President and PDP should call Fayose to order.
“When someone begins to play god, he will destroy not only himself but the party. All I want is free and fair election. The Yoruba say if you are given a bad name, act to prove them wrong. Why should Fayose begin to “backslide” two weeks after he became governor?”
But Fayose’s Chief Press Secretary Idowu Adelusi said the governor had no plans to short change any aspirant.
He said: “Everyone in the party will stand for primaries where the delegates will choose who will represent them. To be a candidate of the governor does not exclude you from the primaries.
“The governor has no favourite candidate. It will be a free and fair congress. He does not have an approved list of delegates. Nobody will be treated as a sacred cow.
“Nobody will be deprived of the right to contest. Senator Ayo Arise is a leader of the party. If he feels aggrieved or noticed that something is wrong, he should meet with the governor or resort to party mechanism rather than going to the press.