By Rotimi Ojomoyela

FORMER governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose and Senator Abiodun Olujimi, yesterday, engaged in verbal exchange over the alleged irregularities that trailed the  ward congresses of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ekiti State.

The ward congresses, yesterday, turned violent, as Mr. Fayose and some of his loyalists were attacked by a group of PDP members in Ado Ekiti.

The former governor was held hostage for several hours by the aggrieved party members in a hotel at Adehun area of Ado Ekiti where he was alleged to be computing fake results.

His vehicles and that of his aides including Chief Bisi Kolawole, Sade Akinrinmola and Lere Olayinka were vandalised.

The tyres of the vehicles were also deflated with knives and were about to be set ablaze before the intervention of the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Amba Asuquo and his officers, who persuaded the protesters to embrace peace.

Fayose manipulated the process —Olujimi

Speaking with newsmen, Olujimi alleged that the members of the committee led by the Deputy Governor of Taraba State, Mr. Haruna Manu, by their actions compromised to manipulate the process for Fayose’s aspirant.

Olujimi said: “I wonder why a peaceful and credible congress which was monitored by INEC officials and security agents would be cancelled.

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“As stipulated by party guidelines, at 8:00 am everybody was at the various wards, the electoral officers conducted the ward congresses.

“When the chairman of the electoral committee, Engr. Haruna Manu came in rather late about 4 pm, Fayose, whose aspirants were scandalously defeated, used his fraudulent tactics to lure and brainwash him to cancel the earlier congress and he agreed to conduct a fresh election.

“We stood on our grounds and said there should be two options that that result be upheld because everybody was present, that if it is not upheld, that we postpone it to a proper date when everybody can be there again, but he said no, that he will go on with it this night.

“We had to mobilize ourselves and storm the hotel in protest. On sighting us, both fake and genuine security operatives attached to Fayose shot sporadically into the air to disperse us but we maintained our stand because we are all ready to retrieve our party from hijackers.

“We defiled nature and kept vigil at the hotel till this morning to prevent Fayose and his accomplice. With this development, It is unarguably that Fayose has lost political relevance in Ekiti.

Ex-governor denies allegation

But Fayose’s media aide, Olayinka, who denied allegations, said: “It was those who came from Abuja for the congresses that lodged at Petim Guest House.

He said the Olujimi and her loyalists invaded the lodge of the congress committee to hijack the materials, which he said they could not achieve.

Vanguard