A governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, Abimbola Olawunmi, has accused Governor Biodun Oyebanji of bribing his way to emerge as the party’s consensus candidate for the forthcoming election.

Speaking on ARISE News on Wednesday, Olawunmi alleged that the party’s selection process was manipulated to favour Oyebanji, claiming the leadership had prearranged the consensus before other aspirants bought their nomination forms.

“The NWC, led by Professor Nentawe, has been intimidating other aspirants by unjustly disqualifying them. We were asked to buy the forms even though the National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, had gone around the country announcing Oyebanji as the consensus candidate,” she said.

Olawunmi queried the rationale behind selling forms to aspirants despite an alleged predetermined outcome. “If Oyebanji was already chosen as the consensus candidate, why sell nomination forms at all?” she asked.

She also recounted how she was disqualified without official communication. “I attended the screening in Abuja on September 24, submitted all documents, and was later told there was a petition against me. Then, suddenly, we saw the screening results circulating on social media without formal notice,” she said.

Olawunmi revealed that she has taken legal action, arguing that her disqualification violated her rights. “I’m already in court to prove that they cannot disqualify me unjustly without a fair hearing,” she said, stressing that she remains in the APC pending the court’s verdict.

She vowed not to be intimidated, saying, “If the constituted authority is being unfair, I have every right as a Nigerian citizen to challenge them. I cannot be intimidated.”

The aspirant also claimed that Ekiti residents had lost confidence in Oyebanji’s leadership and would not support him in the next election.