SOME allies of a former Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, have rejected their appointment as members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Committee (PCC) and Campaign Management Committee (CMC) in Ekiti State.
The Director-General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation and governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, had on Sunday announced the list of the campaign committee for the state.
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According to the list released by Tambuwal, the PDP presidential campaign committee in Ekiti is to be led by the party’s candidate in the June 18 governorship election, Bisi Kolawole.
However, Kolawole, in a letter addressed to Tambuwal on Monday, December 19, rejected the composition of the campaign committee, noting that he won’t work with people who he said worked against him during the governorship election.
He claimed that most of the people in the campaign committee were in the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and worked against the PDP and his ambition during the governorship poll.
Kolawole described the decision of the party to reject the list he compiled after consultation with stakeholders as unacceptable, but stated that he would continue in his personal capacity to be committed and loyal to the party.
According to him, it amounts to condoning disloyalty and indiscipline for the party to reward other party members, a development which he said would send a wrong message to the public.
“However, in spite that I regard this appointment as an honour, I wish to state that I will not be able to function in the midst of people who openly and gladly worked against my election,” he said.
“As it was done in other states, I was given a template and instructed to come up with list of members of the Presidential Campaign Council and Campaign Management Committee.
“In arriving at the list, I followed the template and consulted relevant stakeholders, most importantly National Assembly candidates whose elections are on the same date as that of the President.
“Also, in the meeting with the Vice Presidential Candidate of our party, His Excellency, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, it was agreed that the list was okay and that it should only be moderated by including about three or five names.
“By ignoring that list and including people who are still in the Social Democratic Party (SDP), it is a clear indication that the Presidential Campaign Organization does not respect its own decisions. Also, the SDP members included in the Campaign Management Committee are people who left PDP before the governorship election, and have not returned to the party.
“With their inclusion in the Campaign Committee, how will they function when their party, the SDP, is also fielding candidates for National Assembly and the National Assembly elections will hold same day as that of the President?
“Will they be campaigning for the presidential candidate of our party and at the same time be campaigning for the Senatorial and House of Representatives candidates of the SDP?”
Other PDP members, including Omotoso Okaya, who was appointed to serve on the committee as Assistant Secretary, the Directorate of Research and Strategy, also rejected their nomination to serve on the committee in the state.
In the same vein, some PDP National Assembly candidates in the state for the 2023 general elections also rejected the composition of the Campaign Management Committee for the state, saying it comprised people who would work against their ambitions.
The party’s National Assembly candidates, including, Lateef Ajijola, Funso Ayeni, Oluyinka Akerele, Lere Olayinka, Adenike Emiola, Joju Fayose and Babatunde Ajayi also rejected their appointments in a joint letter addressed to Tambuwal.
The letter was titled, ‘Rejection of Ekiti State PCC and Campaign Management Committee’.
They said some of the persons appointed as directors of campaign for the Ekiti Central and North Senatorial districts are members of the SDP, a party they said is fielding senatorial, House of Representatives and House of Assembly candidates in the 2023 general elections.
The implication, they said is that SDP members would work against their campaigns for the election.
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