Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has described the PDP Southwest zonal congress held in Osogbo on Monday as a scam saying he conceded in the interest of the party and for a bigger picture.
He said even though he had conceded defeat as his candidate lost, Fayose explained how the congress was rigged in favour of Governor Seyi Makinde’s candidate.
Governor Makinde’s candidate, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja polled 343 votes to defeat Fayose’s candidate, Dr. Eddy Olafeso who polled 330votes thereby emerging the PDP Chairman, Southwest.
But Speaking in an interview on Channels’ Politics, Fayose said he conceded not because he lost, but for the interest of the party and for bigger picture, saying that he wanted peace at all cost.
He said several forces were against him and that despite that his candidate only lost with just 13 votes even though the votes of 10 people who voted for his candidate were voided.
“Whether the election was right or wrong, the world has seen my strength, the election was rigged very clearly. Before that election, we went to court to say it must not hold in Oyo, the violence came to Osogbo,” he said.
Fayose said about 200 thugs were at the venue of the congress and that they came with cutlasses and guns and were there all night.
On some suspects arrested and traced to his camp, Fayose said Nigerians could attest to this about him that he did not sponsor thugs.
He said those arrested were from the faction of Makinde, saying that the leader of Oyo drivers’ union came to the place looking for his head.
He alleged that the congress was rigged in favour of Makinde by Senator Sam Anyanwu from Imo State.
“We had accreditation, we compelled them to announce openly but they resisted and said they will announce state by state. At the end of the exercise, the accreditation was 675, publicly announced. Ekiti voted, then Ogun, Lagos, Osun and they purposely allow Oyo to vote last.
“In Oyo, they told us 177 were listed. Hon Mulikat protested and said, ‘this man is dead, this man is dead, this man is dead, this man is sick, this one is abroad, this one is aged’. They came back and told us 165. This is the game going on in the entire process. It was the secretary that came to rig election, Senator Sam Anyanwu from Imo State.
“What ever I say, here I stand by it. At the end, when Oyo was to vote, they brought the whole table together and they were writing together and people could not vote according to their conscience. 10 voided votes cancelled were for my candidate,” he said.
Fayose also admitted that there was a subsisting court order stopping the poll, but that the congress went on despite that.
He said he would not criticise his party on a national television on the court’s order, saying that the issue “that has to do with the court has been laid before the party. I insisted that the congress will be move to Ogun but they moved it to Osun. The party was served the order and I cannot sit here and indict the party.
“That election was a scam, I will take it as the price I am paying true leadership. Like I told you, I conceded this election, I told my candidate to concede, up till now none of them has called me, not even Makinde,” he said.
Fayose said he was not happy that his candidate was rigged out, but said without their muzzling, they would have lost.
“Let them have the Southwest so that peace will remain, but it is shameful that Makinde did not call me after I conceded. I advise Arapaja to be true chairman or there will be parallel executives,” he stated.
