An interest group in Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC) has threatened to go to court to challenge the eligibility of the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, if cleared to contest at the May 5 primary.
The group, Concerned APC Patriots, said Fayemi’s indictment by a Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up by Ekiti State government has rendered him ineligible to vie for the party’s ticket.
But Special Adviser (Media) to Fayemi, Mr. Yinka Oyebode, described the Concerned APC Patriots as a “faceless group unknown to the party working for a paymaster.”
He said the minister is not bothered by the opposition to his nomination and would not be disturbed by the ranting of a tainted ant.”
Addressing a briefing in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday, the group’s Coordinator, Dr. Ifeolu Olubusuyi, also urged the party to listen to the voice of its members who are concerned over Fayemi’s eligibility to stand as a candidate.
Olubusuyi also urged the party’s national leaders to embrace the zone the governorship ticket to Ekiti South senatorial district which had never produced governor since the state was created in 1996.
He said: “We are concerned and advise that the APC headquarters must adhere strictly to its own rules and disqualify whoever has not met the minimum conditions for governorship as indicated by the constitution and guidelines”.
“We are patriotic Nigerians and APC members, who believe in constitutionality. We won’t tolerate subversion of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under any guise.
“So, our party must comply with the provisions of the laws. The laws must not be applied based on convenience.
“If you check the nomination form of our party, there is a column where the aspirant was asked whether he has been indicted before or not. This is not an issue that can be suppressed else, our party will have no candidate in this election.
“And should our party decided to gloss over this and go ahead to screen former Governor Fayemi, we will have no choice than to challenge his eligibility in court, because our party is very dear to our heart and we don’t want to miss the opportunity to reclaim Ekiti in this election .
“We have consulted our legal team and they are fine-tuning arrangements on all necessary steps to take as regards this”, he said.
Oyebode said: “There is machinery in place. We are not a lawless society and APC is not a lawless party. Everything is being done according to the dictates of a laid down procedure.
“They are faceless group not known to the party, having collected money from their paymaster, they want to disrupt what the party is doing. Let them go ahead.
“This is a faceless group and we believe they have a paymaster. However, they can go ahead, we are not bothered about all that, it all amounts to ranting of a tainted ant.” (The Nation
