Some members of the All Progressives Congress in Ekiti have petitioned the party’s governorship screening committee, urging it to disqualify a governorship aspirant, Kayode Ojo, from the forthcoming 2025 primary scheduled for next month.

The petition was filed on Wednesday in Ado-Ekiti by some key members of the APC in the state.

Those who signed the petition included Jogunola Joel Tolani of Ayetoro Ward 2, Ido/Osi LGA; Alake Busuyi of Aisegba Ward 8, Aiyekire/Gbonyi LGA; and Tayo Ogunlusi, from Irepodun/Ifelodun LGA.

They said the petition was written on behalf of more than 50 other concerned party members, who also endorsed the petition.

The petitioners alleged that Mr Ojo’s nomination form contained several irregularities.

According to them, a review by their lawyers revealed the following discrepancies:

“Out of the 122 names listed as nominators of Ojo, 68 are not valid APC members in Ekiti, and only 54 valid nominators were confirmed, falling short of the required 80,” the group said.

Accordingly, they stated that Mr Ojo failed to meet the mandatory requirement of at least five nominators from each local government, as stipulated in the party’s guidelines.

The petitioners also alleged that, despite these lapses, Mr Ojo declared full compliance, which they described as both “deceitful” and “misleading”.

They stressed that such actions ordinarily undermined the APC’s values of honesty, transparency, and integrity.

They, therefore, called on the screening committee to uphold the party’s constitution and guidelines by ensuring that only aspirants who meet all requirements are cleared.

“The integrity of our party’s selection process must not be compromised. We trust the screening committee to demonstrate courage and fairness in its decision,” they said.

The petitioners further urged APC members and the public to remain vigilant to prevent any breach of party rules ahead of the upcoming 2025 governorship primary.

Reacting to the petition, Deji Ayelabowo, a spokesperson for Mr Ojo, said that the petitioners are jesters and desperate individuals.

He said that nobody can use any tactics to stop Mr Ojo from contesting the Ekiti 2026 governorship election.

(NAN)