National Assembly member, Senator Biodun Olujimi, on Sunday alleged that the camp of former Governor Ayodele Fayose was trying to take advantage of her gender to sideline her from the management team of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State.
Olujimi, who said leadership could only be earned and not served a la carte, dismissed allegations that she was trying to take over the party from Fayose, as she clarified that she was prevailed upon by some concerned PDD members to provide leadership that was lacking in Ekiti PDP.
The senator representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District told journalists in Ado Ekiti, that “What happened was that some people came together and said they wanted new leadership. I didn’t compel anyone.
“They came and said they needed a breath of fresh air, a new beginning and inclusiveness and then we started a movement which gathered so much momentum to such an extent that they believe that we are eroding the ground upon which they, the former governor’s men, stand.”
Olujimi, who spoke in reaction to a statement credited to Fayose’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, expressed surprise that a two-term governor could be preoccupied with wrestling powers with a senator, “The bottom line is that if you have done well, you won’t need to wrestle at all,” she added.
Olayinka had, in a statement on Olujimi, said, “We don’t have time for a loser who is being used by APC to destabilise the Ekiti PDP. If she wants to leave PDP, she can leave. She has the right to ventilate her frustration having failed to take over PDP so that she can become the party flag bearer in 2022”.
But Olujimi, who said nothing precluded her from participating in the governorship election in the state, added, “I have paid my dues and done what I am supposed to do in Ekiti. I am eminently qualified to participate. Don’t forget that I participated in the 2018 governorship election.”