By Banji Ayoola
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Thursday started the screening of nine aspirants seeking to contest the party’s governorship primary in Ondo State on July 22 and 23.
The exercise which started earlier in the day was still on as at 6:47 pm.
The aspirants include the state’s Deputy Governor, Hon Agboola Ajayi, who recently decamped from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC and PDP former governorship candidate in the last election, Mr Eyitayo Jegede.
Others include the founder and Chancellor of Achievers University, Owo, Hon Bode Ayorinde, a former South West PDP Chairman, Prince Eddy Olafeso, a former Ondo State secretary of the party, Senator BOluwaji Kunlere; a former state spokesman of the party, Mr Banji Okunomo; a former Commissioner in the Adebayo Adefarati administration, Chief Sola Ebiseeni; Otunba Bamidele Akingboye and Mr Goddy Erewa.
They are facing the party’s five man screening panel for the primary which is led by a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara.
The committee was announced on Wednesday by the party’s National Working Committee in a statement by PDP National Organising Secretary, Col Austin Akobundu, just as the governorship aspirants faulted the composition as allegedly unfairly tilted in favour of one of them.
They had alleged that the secretary of the panel, Revd Bunmi Jenyo, openly supported Olafeso, But the party’s spokesman in the South west zone, Mr Ayo Fadaka allayed their fears saying that Jenyo was at the Wadata Plaza, Abuja PDP secretariat in his capacity as a party official.
The party had in a statement by 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.
But the aspirants who spoke with The Radiance exclusively 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 EddyOlafeso 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.”
However, the party’s spokesman in the South West, Mr Ayo Fadaka, allayed the fears of the aspirants, 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.”
