Chairman, Ekiti State House of Assembly Committee on Interparliamentary Relations, Honourable Adeoye Aribasoye, has said no legal action can stop the candidature of former Secretary to the State Government, Biodun Oyebanji, as the elected All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the June 18 governorship poll in the state.
Aribasoye, representing Ikole Constituency 2, said the mandate given to Oyebanji as the APC flag-bearer during the January 27 primary of the party was legal and valid, adding that the primary was conducted in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act and party’s guidelines.
Recall that shortly after Oyebanji was elected, one of the aspirants, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, had approached the court seeking various reliefs requesting the reversal and nullification of the primary.
Responding to the step taken by the former minister, Aribasoye, commended Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, Honourable Femi Bamisile and Bamidele Faparusi for not contesting Oyebanji’s candidature in court, saying the gesture substantiated their loyalty to the APC.
Aribasoye said it was wrong and misdirected for anyone to claim that figures were concocted for Oyebanji during the shadow election.
According to him, there were verifiable evidence that people queued across the 16 local government areas to freely exercise their franchise rights, as demanded by direct primary option adopted for the exercise.
Aribasoye described the lawsuit filed by Adeyeye as a fruitless efforts, adding that the primary of any party is an exclusive internal mechanism a political platform fully has control over.
He said the primary can only become actionable, if the guidelines were subverted or trampled upon, adding: “The Supreme Court, in its various judgements, had made it explicitly clear that the primary is an internal mechanism of a political party.
“The party can decide which modality to be used to pick its candidate. The fact that the election was credible with direct primary adopted to pick Honourable Biodun Oyebanji made it to be above board in all respects.
“I am a lawyer and I have gone through the court process filed by the plaintiff and I found it funny that he was making allusion to the party infringing on rights of aspirants, particularly himself (Adeyeye), because the Primary Committee appointed some elected and political appointees as returning officers.
“The APC Constitution is very clear as to who can be appointed as returning officers. The person must be a loyal party man with good character and standing in the party.
“So, being an elected person or appointee of government doesn’t vitiate the election process if you are so appointed as returning officer, provided one doesn’t allow the position to control him or override his conduct.
“I appeal to the challenger to think of the larger interest of the APC and withdraw the case. He should not forget that the APC is one big political party that can accommodate everybody. The party must be seen as supreme and our actions must be seen to respect this fact.”
Aribasoye praised Oyebanji’s co-contestants for their resolve to work with the party’s flag-bearer, adding that this singular action buttressed that fact that the party is supreme.
“I really commend our brothers, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, Femi Bamisile and Bamidele Faparusi, for making their positions known openly that they will work with the party in this election. This was a great hallmark of loyalty and that had earned them respect as leaders of the APC in Ekiti.
“They have shown that ambitions shouldn’t be a deciding factor. One shouldn’t only loyal to a party when it is clear that his ambition would be fulfilled.
“The survival of the party should be the first thing and it is when this is achieved that we can all have our aspirations fulfilled one after the other,” Aribasoye said.
