PDP primaries: Voting materials arrive late in Ekiti

Voting materials arrived late in Ekiti State on Saturday
for the Peoples Democratic Party’s House
of Representatives Primaries.
A five-member Electoral Committee from the PDP
national secretariat led by Alhaji Bala Suleiman arrived
at the state secretariat of the party in Ado-Ekiti
arround 4:30 p.m.
Suleiman said the committee received materials on
Saturday morning in Abuja and had to travel by road to
Ado-Ekiti.
He said, “We just collected the materials from our
national secretariat today and we had to travel a far
distance to get to Ekiti because we came by road.
“We are not happy subjecting our aspirants and delegates
to stress, but I want to assure that they will be given
level-playing ground. None of them will be schemed out of
contention.”
The Chairman of the party, Chief Idowu Faleye,
explained that the party asked all aspirants to sign an
undertaking not to take the party to Court after the
primaries in order to prevent post–primaries crisis.
“The party is trying to be careful and block all loop holes
that can vitiate the process. Ballot papers have been
deployed to all the constituencies and I have instructed
them to have a standby generator to power the centres so
that the process can be hitch-free,” he said.
There was heavy presence of policemen when journalists
visited the headquarters of the Federal Constituencies
located in Ido, Ikole, Aramoko, Ado, Omuo and Ikere-
Ekiti.
The Police Commissioner, Mr Taiwo Lakanu, also
deployed large number of riot policemen in the party’s
secretariat to forestall breakdown of law and order.
Of particular note was the Ido centre, where seven
aspirants were said to be in contention.
The aspirants are Cyril Fasuyi, Thaddeus Aina, Dotun
Onipede, Bamidele Victor Oluwole, Mrs. Deborah
Alo, Banji Oyinloye and Yomi Ayorinde.
The police, led by Supol Ogbonnaya Okoronkwo,
cordoned the centre located within the premises of the
Ido/Osi Local Government Council in Ido-Ekiti.
Only delegates were allowed into the premises.