Standing: Chairman, Ekiti South for Governor’s Forum, Chief Oluwole Ariyo while delivering his speech at the media briefing held in Ikere Ekiti to agitate for the exclusive right for south senatorial district to produce the next governor of the state in 2018.
BY ADEWUMI ADEMIJU ADO EKITI
Leaders of the South senatorial district, Ekiti State have called on the leadership of All Progressives Congress (APC) and people of the state to allow fair play, justice and equity reign supreme by conceding to south senatorial district the exclusive right to produce the next governor of the state, if other senatorial districts are not willing to carry a deadly and cancerous moral burden to the 2018 governorship poll.
The warning was given out at a media briefing held in Ikere Ekiti by leaders of Ekiti South for Governor’s Forum who are also respected chieftains of All Progressives Congress (APC).
Represented by its Chairman, Chief Oluwole Ariyo, Public Relations Officer (PRO), Barrister, Surveyor Wole Adebola and Secretary, Chief Oloruntoba Ajayi, the forum insisted that APC must abide with the provisions of its constitution in the choice of which senatorial district of the state should produce the next governor of the state.
Noting that other two senatorial districts, Central and North in the State have produced governors twice and thrice respectively, the leaders who decried the injustice visited on the people of the south senatorial district, regretted that despite calls for equity and harmonious political relationship in the state, the south senatorial district is yet to produce a governor to lead the state for once in its 21 years of creation.
“Come October this year, Ekiti state will turn 21 years old. The state is constitutionally divided into three senatorial districts: North, Central and South. The North and Central have produced governors two times; in quick succession, while the Central even currently enjoys the third time opportunity. The third district, Ekiti South Senatorial district, in a Commonwealth, where we are all expected to be equal partakers, with equal opportunities, has not produced a governor in 21 years after the creation of Ekiti State,’’ the leaders stated.
Calling on the people of Ekiti and APC to adhere strictly to the principles of fair-play, geo-political and federal character as enshrined in the constitution of the party in choosing the next governor of the state, the forum in its agitation for a power shift to the southern part of the state, said it was the turn of the south to produce the next governor, it warned that, ‘’other districts in Ekiti State would be carrying a deadly and cancerous moral burden if they say that the South Senatorial district does not have an exclusive right to that position in 2018.’’
Supporting the claim of the group with the Constitution of the APC, the forum Chairman, Chief Oluwole Ariyo, cited Article 20 of the constitution with particular reference to section 5 which expressly states that, “the national working committee shall subject to the approval of national executive committee make rules and regulations for the nomination of candidates through primary election. All the regulations and guidelines shall take into considerations and uphold the principles of federal character, gender balance, geo political spread and rotation of offices to as much as possible ensure balance within the constituency covered.
‘’Article 20 section 5 of the constitution of the All Progressives Congress, APC, makes provision for rotation based on federal character, gender balance and political spread, saying the word ‘zoning’ does not needed to be mentioned in that constitution as rotation and zoning mean the same thing,” the forum leader said.
Ariyo said the provision of the party’s constitution, is very clear to all fair minded people and that any attempt to flaw the position with impunity will be a targeted intention to create disharmony in the party.
The forum maintained that the primary election, no matter the level of impunity and disregard for the feelings of the other partners in the Ekiti project, will shock many people.
“Our message is that in the bid towards 2018 Election, one expects the APC to go into that election united and without any moral burden. The injustice or the impunity which is an attempt to callously relegate the south to the background is wicked,” the leaders warned.
