Former Ekiti state governor and first runner up in the APC governorship primary held in Ado-Ekiti last Saturday, Segun Oni, has denied reports that himself and his supporters are planning to leave the party following the outcome of the primary that produced Minister of Minerals and Steel, Kayode Fayemi as the winner.
There have been reports that Oni was angry that the results were not in his favor and that he was planning to leave the party to secure the governorship ticket in another party. The state is due for another governorship election in July.
However in an interview with newsmen in Ado-Ekiti, Oni said the rumor of his planned defection is baseless and no truth in it. Read what he wrote below
“I am still in APC, we are loyal party men. I decided to contest to give our party the probability to win. The contest was not about me. Our people must learn a new lesson that when you enjoy goodwill and you lose a primary, the next thing is for you to move to another party, with a thinking that you will win. Even if you enjoy goodwill, it is not good to expend it that way. So, we are not leaving APC. But I have a responsibility to protect my supporters. But this habit of winner-takes-all and what we are hearing that Segun Oni boys will be in the cooler for four years if APC wins is what I won’t tolerate. We are approaching a windstorm, which is the election and I believe we need to take caution on both sides. As much as we are ready to work with the winner, they too must be receptive and be trusting. But if they continue to harass my supporters, I may quit the party, because I have a responsibility not only to protect them but ensure that they are not taken for a ride.” he said
He however alleged that money was used to induce the outcome of the election.
”I would be deceiving you if I say money did not play a role. Money played a role and more money played a role and much more money played a role. But it’s not also illegal. When money was going to be applied in an illegal way, the first time round, some people reacted. But this one, I cannot see much of the illegal way of applying it. I don’t know if there were also processes to mask whatever. However, talking seriously our party and every political party that is serious, should not touch again delegates primaries, even with a long pole. We know that the primary is an imperfect election. But then, the way delegates primaries is and the extent to which we push it here, it has gone beyond mere imperfection. I’m sure if you ask all the aspirants, including the aspirant that won, if you ask them questions, I’m sure it is not a game they enjoyed. So, we should better ensure that a new agenda would be pursued to make every member of the party able to vote in the primaries of the party so that it would be more representative of the thinking of party members, which is what it is supposed to be; than when you have a handful of people who turned opportunists overnight, and could not see any objective other than the objective of maximizing their returns.” he said