By Banji Ayoola
An aspirant in today’s Ondo State governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to pick the party’s candidate in the October 10 governorship election, Hon Isaacs Kekemeke, has deplored the alleged unfair and unjust treatment meted out by the party to the aspirants contesting against the incumbent Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN.
Pointblank, he told the Governor Yahaya Bello led Ondo State Governorship Primary Election Committee that the party and the committee were inhuman, unfair and unjust in the manner it went about the arrangements for the primary.
It was at a meeting the committee held with the aspirants on Sunday at Heritage Hotel in Akure, where he told the committee that its arrangements fell short of expectations, constituting an invitation to anarchy and chaos which he said a battalion of policemen and soldiers could not contain.
Kekemeke is a former Secretary to the State Government, a former APC chairman in the state, former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, former Works Commissioner, former member of the state House of Assembly, ex State Secretary of Peoples Democratic Party, and ex chairman of National Examination Council, NECO.
According to him, few hours to the primary, majority of the aspirants did not have the list of delegates, nor did they know the venue of the exercise as there were conflicting and misleading instructions that the exercise would hold first at the wards, then the 18 centres or councils and then at the state capital.
His words: “I have nothing against Governor Akeredolu. I have nothing against the party chairman. But there is everything against this party, because this party appears to be fighting its members. This party needs to reconcile itself with its members.
In 1964, Ronald Reagan was leaving the Democratic Party for the Republican Convention; and he was asked why do you choose to leave? And he said, I am not leaving; the Democratic Party left me.
This party invited us as many as who are willing, to indicate the resolve to contest the election, and said pay so so amount of money and we paid. Come and do this, we did. Come and do that, we did.
I am here. I am from Ese Odo Local Government. It takes three hours to drive. There is a curfew in this town and this state and you are saying that delegates should come and vote tomorrow. Where?
It’s not fair. Let’s be fair. Let’s be Godly. Let’s pursue justice. Let’s be honourable. As I came into this hotel, people were sending me text messages. They attend the place. they have done this.
Everything you are telling me Your Excellency, is what is in WhatsApp. And as an aspirant, as a stakeholder, I am not aware. It’s not done. No. We have blood running in our veins. We are human beings.
Please can we be treated like human beings. We do not deserve less. We are not school boys. Even in school prefects election, there is notice. You brought me here. I sit down here.
There is an election at 8 am. People that are contesting don’t know. First in WhatsApp, 203 wards; the next thing. 18 centres, the next thing, Dome. It’s not fair. We are human beings.
We may not have power today, but we do not, I do not deserve this treatment from this party.
There must be justice. The absence of justice is an invitation to anarchy and chaos which a battalion of policemen and soldiers cannot check and control.
It’s not a do or die. That’s the truth. But we shouldn’t be treated like boys because we do not have offices. No. it’s too unfair.
For me, this is an unfair thing. This is an election that is slanted. This is not election. I deserve, and I ask that I be notified with the list of delegates. Let me know the delegates. Thank you Your Excellency.”
