By Adewumi Ademiju, Ado Ekiti
As Ekiti State prepares for 2018 governorship election, thousands of All Progressives Congress (APC) members and supporters from South Senatorial District of the state on Wednesday embarked on a peaceful procession as part of the programmes lines up to create public awareness and gain supports on the demand of “Ekiti South Agenda.”
The Ekiti South Agenda is about allowing the next governor of the state to emerge from the senatorial district.
The procession train took off at Okeyinmi junction, Ado Ekiti around 10.00am, with the party members wearing APC branded vests with the inscription of ‘’Ekiti South Agenda’ on them.
The procession moved from the Okeyinmi to the party’s state secretariat in Ajilosun area of the state capital, where Chairman, Ekiti South for Governor Forum, Chief Oluwole Ariyo on behalf of the people from the senatorial district, presented a document containing the message of the Ekiti South Agenda to party executives
Making the presentation at the APC Secretariat, Chief Oluwole Ariyo said the procession was a mass movement of Ekiti people who are interested in ensuring that the next governor of Ekiti comes from the Southern District in 2018.
According to Ariyo, “We are presenting a formal letter to the state executive committee to that effect. The agitation is that, in 2018, we want the governor to come from the Ekiti South Senatorial District.
“We come here to properly deliver our agitation paper and document, seeking that come 2018, the South Senatorial District should be considered for the position of governor in Ekiti State.
Ariyo who claimed that the other districts have produced the governor for two terms each and are on their third term positioned that the South Senatorial District has not produced governor for even a day; He argued that “ if Ekiti is rested on the platform of three legs, and the two other legs have had this opportunity, the South should have its own slot of the opportunity to produce governor.”
Taking his point of argument from October 1, 1996 when the state was created, he submitted, “We are talking of Ekiti State and not the old Ondo State. Whatever happened in Ondo State then is regarded to have stopped and expired by 1st of October 1996.”
The forum leader who was convinced that the agitation would be realized said, “We are very optimistic on the agitation. as a matter of fact, we are going to get it; even the Ekiti people are looking towards South in producing the next governor’’
Chief Ariyo who noted that the forum is operating within the APC as a
political party, declared “if however at the end of the day, the party decided in their own wisdom, to do anything that is different from ours ,we don’t have any other party to drive the Agenda, we will succumb to the directive of the leaders of the party, but am very sure, that the
leadership of the party would decide in our favour.”
also speaking on the increasing number of governorship aspirants from the senatorial district, Chief Ariyo told journalists that “ it is not the number of aspirants that is important, even more are still coming; it is the seriousness and good conscience of the aspirants that matters. Out of the whole lots, only few are serious, who can clinch the ticket of APC.
“APC is not a roadside party that anybody can wake up on the wrong
side of his bed that he wants to be the flag bearer of the party. At
the appropriate time, the pretenders would be chipped out of the
contenders”.
Also in his statement at the presentation of the demand at the state secretariat of the party, Chairman, Ekiti South Senatorial District Honorable Kayode Babade supported that the agitation contained in the letter presented by Chief Oluwole Ariyo is the resolution of the South Senatorial district.
“Ekiti South has knowledge of the agitation; the message therein is
the resolution of the APC in the South. We want the leadership of the party to take up the issue,” he said.
In her response, the state Deputy Chairman of the APC in Ekiti State, Chief Kemisola Olaleye said ‘’having received the agitation letter, we would present it to the state leadership of the party, which would deliberate on it. The result that comes out would be communicated to the appropriate quarters of the South Agenda.
Mrs Olaleye who acknowledged that the Chairman of the South for Governor Forum- Chief Oluwole Ariyo is one of the prominent leaders of the party, used the occasion to correct a report in the social media that the number of APC aspirants in the state has risen to 50.
She said, ‘’they are only 25 and not 50 as earlier reported in the social media.”
She commended the southern aspirants for their seriousness, dedication, love and financial support to the party.
Chief Olaleye gave special commendations to Dr Wole Oluyede whom she described as a prominent aspirant from the South, who on many
occasions, offered financial assistance to the party in the state.
“Dr Wole Oluyede on many occasions paid the salaries of Secretariat staff of APC in the state,” Olaleye commended.
The party stalwart, however cautioned members of the party on engaging themselves in hate speeches. She also charged them on peaceful mobilization and prayed for the achievement of Southern agitation.
She enjoined the party members to see themselves as one family in the
spirit of unity even as she promised hat her team would be an
exemplary one.
The APC state publicity Secretary, High Chief Rt. Taiwo Olatunbosun
added that presentation of the agenda calls for sober reflection.
He charged party members on respect, decorum, and diplomacy in their activities.
In attendance during the presentation were the APC State Executives,
Committee members of South for Governor Forum, Chairman, Ekiti
South Senatorial District, Chieftains of APC and numerous members of the party.
The Ekiti South Senatorial District comprises of six local governments areas, these are Gbonyin, Emure, Ise-Oru, Ikere, Ekiti East and Ekiti South West.
