Adebayo Adenrele
A leading aspirant in Ekiti North Senatorial District under the platform of All Progressive Congress (APC), Senator Ayo Arise, has insisted that the process of selecting candidates for the 2027 elections within the party must strictly follow the party’s constitutional provisions and the guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stressing that he will not accept any endorsement that bypasses party primaries.
Arise made the remarks during an interview while reacting to controversies surrounding alleged internal divisions within the APC in Ekiti State and debates over how candidates should emerge ahead of the next electoral cycle.
The former lawmaker denied any factions emerging within the party in the state, noting that the real issue revolves around disagreements over the methodology for candidate selection.
According to him, the party’s rules are clear that candidates can only emerge through either consensus or direct primaries, explaining that controversy erupted in Ekiti over claims that some individuals were attempting to influence the process by proposing names for candidates outside the recognised mechanisms.
Arise maintained that speculation that the state government intended to impose candidates through political appointees was unfounded, adding that the state governor, Biodun Oyebanji, had publicly denied involvement in any such arrangement.
His words, “I don’t know about people setting up factions inside the APC. What I know is that there has been a lot of controversy regarding the position of INEC on the process for nominating candidates for the 2027 elections.
“In my state of Ekiti, there has been some uproar regarding the methodology the executive and some people want to use in the selection process. The terms are very clear, it is either consensus or direct primaries.
“I told the campaign committee that nobody should bring any name to my senatorial district because I’m running. I have served there before and gave a good account of myself.
“If the process had been handled in a way that would bring peace and understanding within the party, it would have been easier.
“For anyone to say somebody is sponsoring me would mean that person is giving me money to run my campaign. I have been an ICT professional and God has blessed me. I am not a hungry man.
“I called him (the incumbent senator) and told him that in previous elections we all supported him, but now I want to run. I told him we should go to the primaries and test our popularity.
“Some people are doing endorsements in private homes, giving money and organising kangaroo endorsements. I asked them where they want to take this country.
“I am not running to enrich myself. God has blessed me already. My aim is simply to help my people”.
