An attempt to hijack the electoral victory and threat to the life of Hon Titilayo Owolabi-Akerele, Candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) from Ekiti North Senatorial zone, has drawn the ire of the Media for Ethnic and Gender Equality (MEGE), with a warning for seizing fire.
Hon Mrs Titilayo Owolabi Akerele is a gender activist, former national secretary of the Conference of Female Parliamentarians in Nigeria and the present National Director of Programs, at the League of Women Voters of Nigeria.
MEGE in a statement after an emergency meeting in Ekiti State capital, Ado, Wednesday night, said there is a ‘vindictive attempt’ by one Akinloye Oladele Aiyegbusi, to an upturn in his favour, the electoral victory of Hon Mrs Akerele in the last senatorial primaries of the SDP in the zone, using the State Secretary, David Oludele Bankole, to circumvent justice.
The group said it is averse to the “obscene name-throwing by some elements in the State’s SDP and called for an abrupt stop-action.
According to the Executive Director of MEGE, Comrade Adegboyega Adeoye, trouble started when the name of Mrs Titilayo Akerele developed wings on way to present winners in the senatorial primaries for substitution at the party’s headquarters, Abuja by Bankole (who justified his actions with party supremacy) and was replaced with Aiyegbusi’s on unfounded reasons
Sequel to the manipulations, MEGE learned that Mrs Akerele approached the court to seek redress as the clear winner for the senatorial contest after the substitute primary elections.
“We are miffed that as the hearing in the case is being fixed to commence tomorrow Thursday, November 17, 2022, Akinloye Oladele Aiyegbusi, in cahoots with Bankole, Hon Adebayo Morakinyo, Hon Segun Adewumi spoke in favour of the unjust removal of her name while one Mrs Tayo Ojo Ajimoko, specifically has chosen to go violent, raining curses and threatening to take the life of trade unionist, gender activist and politician, Comrade Titilayo Owolabi-Akerele, in a desperate bid to strip her of the clear victory she had over six other contestants in the substitute primary contest.
“Having gotten to their wit’s end, they lured Mrs Akerele to a meeting with the gubernatorial torchbearer of the party and Leader, Chief Segun Oni, where they attempted to arm-twist him to railroading Aiyegbusi’s name and coerce the lady politician to drop the court case or face the music. But we are grateful that their request met brick walls with the leader, who turned down their request and thus led to the raining of threats on the life of our compatriot by the dissidents.
“It is on this note that we are sending a stern warning to the desperate ones to shield their swords and submit themselves to whatever would be the outcome of the pending suit, which has been filed and will never be negated. We promise to resist, with an unprecedented civil action, ever to be seen in Ekiti, should this brigandage persists,” Adeoye said.
“We will like to remind those planning to impose a rejected candidate on our people that the chain of events that led to electoral failures on our land is in attempting to force unpopular candidates on the electorates who have the final say in popular democracy. We are pleading that they should not allow such history to repeat itself,”
The group alleged that the Ekiti SDP Secretary is currently parading a list “which is totally different from the one reflecting the full list of the aspirants that came top in the last party primary. Such a list, according to Adeoye, “will be resisted with every legitimate and legal means.”
“We again plead that the SDP should put its house in order, present a credible candidate and rescue our state. For the umpteenth time, no party will win by imposition in Ekiti. A candidate who is already seen as being unpopular with the people, an album of photo opportunities, notwithstanding, will not fool our people this time.
“Lastly, Nigeria is already tension-soaked, we would like to admonish Leaders in SDP not to cause another conflagration. We advise those behind this plot to stop and study Ekiti people’s political history and their history of resistance to injustice which dates back to the 18th century,” Adeoye stressed.
