APC Blasts Kayode Ojo, Says ‘You Can’t Hijack the Ticket of a Party You Don’t Respect’
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has come down hard on Engineer Kayode Ojo over his renewed governorship ambition, declaring that it is impossible for anyone who has no respect for the party to hijack its ticket.
Speaking on behalf of the party, the State Publicity Secretary, Hon. Segun Dipe, stressed that the primary election is strictly a party affair and will not be open to those who have shown disloyalty and disregard for the APC.
“Primary election is strictly a party affair. If you don’t respect the party, you cannot represent the party. No serious political organization will hand its ticket to a total stranger or a flight-by-night aspirant. This is our position in the APC, and it remains unchanged. Know this, and know peace,” Dipe said.
This statement comes against the backdrop of Engineer Kayode Ojo’s return to the scene, a development that has stirred concerns among party leaders. Ojo, described as a stranger in the APC, had withdrawn from party activities immediately after losing the 2022 governorship primary, only to now reappear a few months to the next contest.
Ojo’s track record with the party, according to stakeholders, has been marked by acts of disregard and open hostility. “Ojo’s disrespect for the party is scary, as if the leadership of the APC amounts to nothing.
“When he lost the governorship primary election in 2022, he dragged the party to court up to the Supreme Court, ignoring pleas to reconsider his stance in the interest of peace,” a chieftain of the party, Dr. Akeju Akinsola said.
Recently, Ojo launched a barrage of media attacks on respected leaders of the party, including former governors whom he described as “thieves.” He went further to accuse APC leaders of bias and tagged noble members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly as “rubber stamp.”
Party insiders noted that Ojo’s attacks have not spared even the respected National Secretary of the party, whom he insulted publicly.
“We thought that would be the end, but Ojo has since sponsored over 150 online influencers to rubbish President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the state of federal roads in Ekiti,” the source added.
The APC believes Ojo’s actions are part of a larger ploy to dent the image of the party before moving to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to join his ally, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
It would be recalled that the Ekiti APC had earlier described Ojo as a pretender, while the National Secretary of the party maintained that anyone contesting against Governor Biodun Oyebanji in the primary is only helping the APC generate revenue.
The party’s National scribe insists that the will of the Ekiti people is clear, to see their performing Governor, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, return for another four years.