- allege secretary openly supports one of them
- Party spokesman, Fadaka says nothing to fear
By Banji Ayoola
Governorship aspirants on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ondo state have kicked against the composition of the five man screening committee raised to grill them in Abuja on Thursday July 2.
The party had in a statement by its National Organising Secretary, Col Austin Akobundu, named a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara as chairman of a five-man screening panel for the nine PDP aspirants in the October 10 Ondo state governorship election.
It named Reverend Bunmi Jenyo as secretary of the screening committee with Senator Zainab Kure, Mr Fred Agbedi, and Mr Ndubuisi Agwuama as members.
But the aspirants who spoke with The Radiance on Wednesday in Akure the state capital through their spokesman, complained that it was unfair on the other eight aspirants to include a chieftain of the party who had openly identified with one of the nine aspirants.
Their spokesman said: “Revd Bunmi Jenyo who is the secretary of the screening panel accompanied one of the aspirants, Dr Eddy Olafeso to the collection of his nomination forms at the party’s secretariat in Abuja; and they announced him as one of Eddy’s supporters. Now, he is the secretary of the panel.
“That kind of man who had openly identified with one of the aspirants, should not serve in the panel. All over Ondo state now, you see people boasting that they are in charge of Wadata Plaza.
“They did it during the ward congresses in the state. People who were announced were not the real people who emerged.
“If somebody who accompanied an aspirant about two weeks ago is now serving as secretary to screen the other eight aspirants, it is a matter of integrity. We have no issue with other members of the panel. We have no skeleton in our cupboard. It is not right.
“They announced him with Ayo Fadaka as supporters of Eddy Olafeso the day he collected his form at Wadata Plaza. It should be somebody else from the zone. Jenyo is former secretary of the party in the South west. He served with Eddy Olafeso when he was chairman of the zone.”
But the party’s spokesman in the South West, Mr Ayo Fadaka, allayed the fears of the aspirants who are already in Abuja for the screening, saying “I believe that none of them has anything to fear.”
He confirmed that Jenyo was at the partys secretariat in Abuja when Olafeso collected his nomination forms “in his capacity as Zonal Secretary of the party.”
He told The Radiance: “The fellow they are complaining about is not from Ondo State. He was the zonal secretary while Eddy was the zonal chairman. The members of the screening panel are all National Vice Chairmen of the party.
“The South west too must be represented on that panel. The man they are complaining about is the zonal secretary of the party. I don’t see how they can sustain that complaint about him.
“The screening is essentially to look at the papers of the aspirants to check if they are in order. Whoever has genuine papers cannot be disqualified by the panel. I believe that none of them has anything to fear.”
He said that Jenyo who is from a nearby sister state “has no vote to cast in Ondo State.”
