A former governor of Ekiti, Segun Oni, has said that All Progressives Congress (APC) has “tremendous’’ goodwill in Ekiti to win the July 14 governorship election in the state.

He stated this on Monday in Abuja while speaking with journalists at the APC National Headquarters after picking Expression of Interest Form and Nomination forms to contest the election.

Mr Oni, who was the deputy national chairman (South) of the party until he resigned recently to contest the election, expressed confidence that the party would emerge victorious at the election.

“We have tremendous goodwill out there in Ekiti; the goodwill for this party is there, it is over-flowing and I can tell you that we will win the state,” he said.

The former governor said that his interest to re-contest for the position was not personal, but that of a team which wanted him to govern the state again.

He said that the “stomach infrastructure’’ programme of the current administration in the state was a farce and a “coinage to say something and probably arouse the people’’.

According to him, the programme has no meaning, especially as there is no established kitchen where people are served food freely; nobody receives food rations in Ekiti.

Oni said that if elected, his administration would ensure radical change in the lives of the people while improving their well-being.

“Forget about stomach infrastructure; we are more than that,’’ he said, adding that his administration would give priority to agriculture and bring innovation to governance.

He dispelled insinuations the he was the anointed candidate of the presidency and the APC leadership, saying “I belong to the camp of God, not to anybody´s camp.”

Mr Oni also debunked the allegation in Tanko Yakassai’s statement at the weekend that the APC rigged its way to power in 2015, using the card reader.

“I want to say that it is not true, card reader cannot rig election; it is only human beings that can rig elections, not card readers.

“I must say that when people are looking for ways to justify their inadequacies, they will look for failures, they will look for faults; the truth is that Nigerians voted overwhelmingly for Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari,” Mr Oni said.

Another aspirant, Muyiwa Olumilua, who also collected forms on Monday, said if elected, he would address issues of rural urban drift in Ekiti by industrialising its rural communities.

Mr Olumilua, son of a former governor of the state, Bamidele Olumilua, said that there was need for good governance in Ekiti, adding that though the state was blessed with great potential, it was one of the poorest in the country.

He added that with good governance and the right persons in government, Ekiti would become the envy of other states in terms of development.

The APC Nomination form is sold to aspirants at N5 million while the Expression of Interest form costs N500, 000.

No fewer than 20 aspirants have so far picked the forms for the Ekiti governorship race.

They include the state´s immediate past governor, Kayode Fayemi, a Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari, Babafemi Ojudu, Makajuola Akindele, Opeyemi Bamidele, Victor Kolade, Sunday Adebomi and Yaya Kolade.

According to a time-table earlier issued by the party, screening of aspirants would run from April 23 to April 25, while the screening appeal committee would sit from April 26 to April 27.

The primary election is scheduled for May 5, while the appeals that might emanate from the exercise would be heard between May 7 and May 9.

(NAN)