One of the governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State, Fatai Buhari, on Monday declared his readiness to participate in the party’s primary alongside other aspirants in what he described as an atmosphere expected to be peaceful, free, fair and credible.
Buhari, the senator representing Oyo North Senatorial District, made the declaration while meeting with the APC executive led by the state Chairman, Moses Adeyemo, at the party secretariat in Oke-Ado, Ibadan, the state capital.
He said, “The leadership of APC is known and respected for the position I am occupying today as a result of my principles, competence and credibility, which are good enough to guarantee free and fair primaries in the state.
“Any aspirant who is afraid of going into primaries with others is not competent to be the flag bearer of APC because the candidature of such a person cannot give the party the deserved victory in the general elections.”
The PUNCH reports that Adeyemo, a former deputy governor of the state, on Monday announced that the party was set to conduct free, fair and credible direct primaries for its aspirants.
He made the announcement while receiving members of the Screening and Appeal Committee deployed to the state from the APC national secretariat in Abuja at the party secretariat in Oke-Ado, Ibadan.
Adeyemo assured all that no stone would be left unturned to ensure that all aspirants were treated fairly in line with the principles of progressivism and constitutional democracy.
He said, “We have already set machinery in motion to achieve consensus across the board, but reports available to me indicate that we may have to adopt the second option, which is direct primaries in certain cases, including the governorship ticket.
“To this end, we shall work towards organising free, fair and credible exercises in all the affected areas, even as we cannot rule out the possibility of some aspirants having a rethink and supporting the consensus arrangement where necessary.”
However, Buhari, who described himself as one of the top three aspirants among the 10 screened by the committee for the governorship race, said he possessed all that was required to govern the state and serve the people as a worthy ambassador of the APC.
He also pledged to provide solar-powered lights and computer systems for the smooth running of the party secretariat.
The aspirant donated N5m to the state chapter of the party and another N2m to members of the party executive.
In his response, Adeyemo thanked Buhari for the developmental projects he had facilitated in Oyo North Senatorial District, particularly in the Oke-Ogun area.
He also appreciated the aspirant for his support for the party and prayed that his efforts would not be in vain.
The meeting was attended by Buhari’s supporters and loyalists from the 33 local government areas of the state.
The PUNCH further reports that a former Minister of Power and APC governorship aspirant, Bayo Adelabu, had also insisted that there was no consensus candidate and urged other aspirants to present themselves for primaries.
The development followed a meeting of some APC stakeholders where the senator representing Oyo South Senatorial District, Sharafadeen Alli, was declared the consensus candidate.
Other aspirants, including Buhari, former deputy governor Rauf Olaniyan and Akeem Agbaje, also called for direct primaries.
