By Law Ibitoye
The All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primary election for Ekiti North Senatorial District failed to hold on Monday in Ilupeju Ward 1, Ilupeju-Ekiti, in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State, following poor handling of the exercise by party officials deployed to the ward.
Party members who gathered at the designated venue for the primary expressed frustration over the lack of adequate preparation for the exercise as of 11:30 a.m. Tension began when party members insisted that accreditation should be conducted strictly with the official party register and original APC membership slips.
The situation later degenerated into heated arguments after allegations emerged that some party leaders loyal to Senator Cyril Fasuyi allegedly brought doctored register lists and hoarding of membership slips believed to be loyal to Senator Ayo Arise
The development sparked protests among party faithful, who accused some stakeholders of attempting to manipulate the process in favour of Senator Fasuyi. Efforts by party officials to calm aggrieved members proved unsuccessful, as party loyalists of Arise insisted on transparent and credible accreditation process before voting .
Due to the confusion and inability to resolve the disagreements surrounding the accreditation process, officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), alongside security personnel, deployed to the ward, eventually left the venue without conducting the election.
As of the time of filing this report, party leaders in the ward are yet to issue an official statement regarding the failure to conduct the primary election in the ward.
The atmosphere of the primary was calm as supporters of both Cyril and Arise turned the venue to carnival as they sang several victorious songs and danced entertaining over one thousand members who throng the venue of the primary.
Also, in Ilupeju ward 2, the exercise was peaceful until Arise polled 402 votes out of 610 registered members as a prominent leader of the party called for the cancellation of the counting exercise.
Acting on instruction, the party official who conducted the primary election and INEC officials ran away with the official documents.
