Ekiti APC: Tension as Former Deputy Speaker, Jamiu Reacts to Endorsement of Fayose’s Son
By Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti
Tension is mounting within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State following a controversial endorsement at a constituency meeting in Iworoko, with a former Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Hakeem Jamiu, PhD, breaking his silence over claims linking him to the move.
Specifically, Jamiu has distanced himself from the reported endorsement of Mr. Boluwatife Fayose, son of former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, as the consensus candidate for Irepodun-Ifelodun Constituency II ahead of the party’s forthcoming primaries.
Jamiu, who currently represents the constituency in the Ekiti State House of Assembly, said reports suggesting that he supported the endorsement during the constituency meeting held in Iworoko on Saturday, March 14, 2026, were misleading.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the lawmaker clarified that although he attended the meeting, he neither participated in nor supported the purported consensus arrangement, stressing that he made his position known both during the meeting and in a press interview afterward.
According to him, the party has not adopted consensus as the mode of selecting candidates for the State and National Assembly primaries.
The APC chieftain explained that the last stakeholders’ meeting held at Jibowu Hall, Government House, only approved the use of consensus for the selection of chairmanship and councillorship candidates in the forthcoming local government elections.
“The party has not recommended a consensus arrangement to determine State and National Assemblies primaries. It was only chairmanship and councillorship seats that were to be decided by consensus at the last stakeholders’ meeting, and no other meeting has been held after that,” he said.
Jamiu described the alleged endorsement as premature, noting that the party was yet to release official guidelines for the conduct of primaries to elect candidates for the State and National Assemblies.
“As a sitting member of the House of Assembly, it is embarrassing for me to be invited to a constituency meeting only to be conscripted by ambush into a pre-arranged consensus endorsement,” he said.
The former Deputy Speaker expressed confidence that the national leadership of the APC would uphold internal democracy by providing a level playing field for all aspirants interested in contesting the party’s primaries.
He also alleged that he was assaulted during the meeting by a ward councillor, who he claimed pushed and threatened him.
Jamiu therefore urged his supporters, friends and well-wishers to disregard insinuations that he endorsed any aspirant at the meeting, stressing that a true consensus must involve the agreement of all stakeholders.
“I want to state clearly that I was not part of the so-called consensus arrangement. Consensus means that all stakeholders must agree, but that was not the case,” he said.
The lawmaker appealed to members of the public to ignore reports suggesting that he supported the endorsement of any candidate during the meeting.