Ahead of Monday governorship primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti state, some women from the state have taken protest to the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, rejecting the consensus arrangement adopted by the party.
The APC National Working Committee had, a few weeks ago, disqualified one of the governorship aspirants, Engr. Kayode Ojo from participating in the October 27 primary in Ekiti state, effectively clearing the path for the incumbent governor, Biodun Oyebanji, to emerge as the consensus candidate.
The protesters, mainly women, were seen chanting slogans such as “Ekiti says No to Governor Biodun Oyebanji,” “No to Consensus,” and “Yes to Kayode Ojo.”
They also carried placards with various inscriptions such as “We Say No to Kayode Ojo’s Disqualification,” “We Don’t Want Consensus,” “Ekiti Women Reject BAO,” “We Reject BAO,” and “APC Must Let Ekiti People Choose Their Candidate.”
Speaking with newsmen Friday during the protest, one of the leaders of the aggrieved women, Ms Abereniola Mercy lamented the disqualification of Engr Ojo, adding that Ekiti people ernestly desire a new state governor.
According to her, the incumbent Governor has not lived up to expectations in the area of infrastructure and other developmental strides.
Mercy said: “We want Kayode Ojo as our next governor in Ekiti state. And the people of Ekiti state are ready for him. They are ready to vote and work for him.
“The reason why we are here today is to let the party know what we are passing through in Ekiti state.
“We want Kayode Ojo to be our next governor in 2026 because he’s a man of honesty. People are ready for him, people love him.
“We don’t want any consensus in Ekiti state. We want to go for primary, because people are ready for him (Ojo). So we don’t want any consensus.
When asked what they want the party to do, she said: “What we want this party (APC) to do, especially our leaders at the national level, is that we want Kayode Ojo to be our next governor, and we don’t want any consensus. We need primary.”
