All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, has withdrawn from the primary election scheduled for Saturday.
Ojudu who addressed a news conference on Thursday described the party’s primary as “an unfair contest in which the national leadership wanted to force an unpopular aspirant on the people.”
He accused the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, perpetrating injustice in the choice of the flag bearer in Ekiti and frustrating moves to have a transparent process.
Responding to a question, Ojudu said: “I am not stepping down for anybody, I am withdrawing. I will leave (my) delegates to their choice.”
According to him, “it is part of the complicity of NWC to allow an indicted person to contest for the party’s governorship ticket.”
Ojudu claimed that Oyegun “vehemently opposed” an advice offered by the aspirants for the use of Option A4 to resolve the primary election logjam.
The journalist-turned politician clarified that he was not stepping down for any aspirant but withdrawing from the race “to safeguard the future of our children and great grandchildren.”
Ojudu said: “From what has happened since May 5 to date, it does without saying that this is an unfair contest where the NWC Chairman has clearly demonstrated that he does not care what happens to our dear party now and in the nearest future.
“We saw a Chairman who has conspired with one of the aspirants in the race to unleash mayhem on others, wreak havoc and violence on ordinary citizens and exposed our state to great embarrassment on national television.
“We saw an aspirant so unpopular to the extent that delegates called him unprintable names at the voting arena now being imposed on our people, not minding if this means we lose this state forever.
“We do not believe in engaging in unfair contest and I am not ready to step on blood to get to power. As I have reiterated at different times in the course of the campaign, this was never about me.
“It was not about an ambition but a mission to give a new lease of life to Ekiti State and the people. It was about safeguarding the future of our children, our grandchildren, great grandchildren and even generations yet unborn.
“Therefore, thus injustice perpetrated against Ekiti people by NWC Chairman cannot be allowed to stand. This is why the fight will continue, not as an aspirant but as a party reformer.”
