Ruling party top brass converge on Ekiti

As the Ekiti State gubernatorial re-run election draws near, the Peoples Democratic Party will round off its campaign on Thursday.

Both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Congress (AC) have intensified campaigns in a reportedly tense build-up to the re-run election holding on Saturday, April 25 in 10 local government areas of the state. Former Ekiti State governor and Peoples Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate, Segun Oni is to slug it out with the candidate of the Action Congress, Kayode Fayemi.

The ruling party had earlier hinted that the campaign train will include President Umaru Yar'Adua; Vice-president Goodluck Jonathan; National chairman of the PDP, Vincent Ogbulafor; Senate President David Mark; Speaker of the House of Representatives Dimeji Bankole, PDP governors and other senior executives of the party.

But Mr Olusegun Adeniyi, President Umaru Yar'Adua's Special Adviser on Media and Publicity says the president who flagged off the campaign is not going to Ekiti State to conclude the PDP governorship re-run election campaign.

Adeniyi told State House Correspondents in Abuja on Wednesday, that media reports that the president would send troops to the state during the re-run election were untrue.

He said the story that the President is going back to campaign in Ekiti is not accurate.

"He is not going back because there was never any plan for him to go back to Ekiti State".

Reports from the field show that few staff in the affected local government areas such as Ekiti West local government in Aramoko , are on duty. They have reportedly been deployed to take part in the final stretch of the PDP campaign train.