As the ruling All Progressives Congress conduct a peaceful senatorial primaries, on Monday, the Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye, has urged the opposition parties to emulate the party on how to conduct a credibly competitive and ideal shadow poll.
Mrs Afuye said the reports across the country on the peaceful and credible outcomes of the senatorial and House of Representatives primaries conducted by the APC, indicated that the APC is steely committed to the promotion of internal democracy and party politics.
The Deputy Governor spoke in Ikere Ekiti, after the conclusion of voting at Atiba/Aafin Ward in the APC senatorial primary held in Ekiti South Senatorial District on Monday.
Prominent contenders in the senatorial race in Ekiti South are the current occupant of the seat and spokesman of the Senate, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, former Senate’s Minority Leader, Senator Biodun Olujimi and an ex-member of the House of Representatives, Hon Bamidele Faparusi.
Speaking after the primary, Mrs Afuye, saluted party members for their peaceful conduct, urging the contenders to accept the outcome of the election with equanimity and accept the will of the people..
The Ekiti’s number two citizen stressed the imperative of contenders refraining from making divisive comments that could provoke their backers to taking actions that could trigger violence and actions capable of disrupting the peace of the state.
She described the few concerns raised during the House of Representatives primaries held on Saturday as part of democratic process, saying matters raised will be looked into by the party and necessary actions will be taken to assuage the feelings of all members.
Mrs Afuye lauded Governor Biodun Oyebanji for his neutrality in the primary and overt rejection of the incidences of name-dropping being perpetrated by some of the contenders.
“No political process is absolutely perfect. There could be some issues and when raised, the party has a way of handling them. APC is a party of justice and fairplay. Nobody will be shortchanged in this primary.
“Governor Biodun Oyebanji has demonstrated neutrality in this election. He believes in the will of the people, rather then imposition.
“Whatever happens in this primary should be taken as a family affair. Infighting won’t take us anywhere. If you lose election today, that doesn’t mean you can’t win tomorrow.
“And those who win should embrace other contenders. That is the beauty of democracy”.
Following peaceful conduct of the primary across all the three senatorial districts of the state, Mrs Afuye hinged the feat on cohesion among members and the fact that the APC is a party that is populated by disciplined individuals.
“This is not a matter of being big or small, all of us belong to the same political family and we understand how best to resolve our differences. This is what actually differentiates us from other opposition parties.
“So, other opposition parties must learn from us and emulate our steps to grow our democracy”.
