Professor Kolapo Olusola, PDP candidate during Ekiti election
Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Prof. Kolapo Olusola (Eleka) has emerged the winner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary election which was largely peaceful.
He won by a wide margin of 1,190 votes out of a total of 1,968 delegates were accredited and voted at the primary poll as announced by leader of PDP electoral committee, Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta, leaving 771 votes to the only challenger in the race, a former Minister of Works, Mr Dayo Adeyeye. Seven of the votes were declared invalid by the electoral committee.
Mr Dayo Adeyeye, who left the venue at about 8p.m, accepted the outcome of the primary election, which he agreed was conducted under free and fair atmosphere.
In his acceptance speech, Eleka thanked the delegates for counting him worthy.
He expressed gratitude to Mr Dayo Adeyeye for exhibiting high volume of dexterity and courage throughout the period the pre-primary election. Earlier, Senator Abiodun Olujimi had stepped down for Adeyeye.
The deputy governor, who praised Gov. Ayo Fayose for standing by him, vowed to defeat the candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming July 14 governorship election in the state.
Also reacting, Gov. Fayose promised to embark on meaningful reconciliation by reaching out to aggrieved party leaders, especially the duo of Dayo Adeyeye and Mrs Abiodun Olujimi, so that the PDP in the state can be a united house once again.
Fayose seized the opportunity to taunt APC in his state for its inability to conduct a peaceful and conclusive congress. He jokingly pleaded with Governor Okowa to stay back in Ekiti and help the APC conduct its primary, a request the Delta State governor also jokingly turned down.
