The All Progressives Congress (APC) has disqualified leading governorship hopeful, Engr. Kayode Ojo, from its upcoming primary election in Ekiti State, a decision insiders say tilts the race in favour of the sitting governor, Abiodun Oyebanji.
The move, reached at Thursday’s session of the APC National Working Committee (NWC), was based on the outcome of the screening panel set up to assess contenders for the election.
Ojo’s removal from the contest comes only weeks after another aspirant, Olajumoke Olawuni, was ruled out of the race.
With the number of candidates now reduced, only Governor Oyebanji and Omolayo Oluremi remain cleared to take part in the party primary.
Ojo, a businessman and long-standing figure in Ekiti politics, has frequently clashed with APC leaders, having previously contested the 2018 governorship election under the party’s platform while challenging its internal structures.
“This is more about party stability than technical screening issues,” a party insider disclosed, hinting that the national leadership wanted to prevent a recurrence of factional disputes that had damaged the APC in Ekiti before.
In a related action, the NWC also dissolved the APC State Executive Committee in Enugu, a bold measure interpreted as preparing ground for the anticipated defection of Governor Peter Mba from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.
