Ekiti State People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Secretariat was on Sunday vandalized by angry National Assembly aspirants protesting alleged imposition of candidates by Governor Ayo Fayose.

The aspirants and their supporters staged a violent protest at the secretariat at about 11.25 a.m chanting war songs and demanding the conduct of free and fair primaries.

They smashed the louvre windows of the party secretariat in protest against their being denied tickets for the six House of Representatives seats in the state.

They alleged that the Appeal Panel sent by the PDP national headquarters has been compromised to impose aspirants being promoted by Fayose on them.

During the protest, the angry aspirants and their supporters beat up the Appeal Committee led by Mr. Kareem Oladipupo, and the State Working Committee (SWC) members already on ground to entertain their complaints.

They appealed to the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus to overrule the screening committee, which had earlier disqualified some of them to allegedly pave the way for Fayose’s anointed candidates.

They also accused the members of the PDP Screening Committee, led by Mr Seye Shonuga deployed by the National Secretariat to screen the aspirants of allegedly subverting the process to give way for automatic tickets to Fayose’s close allies and incumbent occupants of the seats.

The Chairman of the Screening Committee was said to have been spirited away from the venue by party men and security agencies to prevent him from being wounded by irate party members.

When contacted to react to the violent protest, the State Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Jackson Adebayo, said he was not in Ekiti to witness the outrage and that he has not been briefed by the Chairman of the party, Chief Gboyega Oguntuase.

He said: “I don’t want to comment on issue I have not been adequately briefed on. I don’t want to join issues with them, because they must have told lies.

“But let me clarify that the party has not held its primaries. The primaries for the House of Representatives, Senate and House of Assembly will be held on September 30, October 1 and 3 respectively”.

•Excerpted from The Nation report

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