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Aspirants rise as Ekiti guber race gathers momentum

Going by the INEC timetable, the next governorship election in Ekiti State comes up on July 14. The electoral body has given political parties fielding…

Going by the INEC timetable, the next governorship election in Ekiti State comes up on July 14. The electoral body has given political parties fielding candidates in the election till May 14 to conclude their primaries and submit a list of their candidates.

So far, only the All Progressives Congress (APC) had slated May 5 for its primaries, with the leadership of the political party promising fairness to all aspirants jostling for the party’s ticket.

Although there are many political parties in the state, going by their offices, political watchers are of the view that majority of them are pretenders who simply want to use their presence to negotiate. They say the contest is between two major political parties in the state – the ruling party PDP and the opposition APC. Aside these two, none of the other parties is expected to spring surprises or make meaningful impact at the elections. 

The secretariats of both parties located on Ajilosun area of Ado Ekiti, have  been receiving aspirants, who want to fly the parties’ banners on July 14. Out of the multitudes that have indicated interest on the platform of the APC, its state Deputy Chairman, Mrs Kemi Olaleye, said only 33 are recognised by the secretariat. Of this number, just eight have so far obtained the party’s governorship intent form at its headquarters in Abuja. 

There are however strong indications that more aspirants would be visiting the APC office in the coming weeks.

Prominent among the aspirants who have indicated interest are the Deputy National Chairman of the party and former governor of the state, Asiwaju Segun Oni; Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Matters and one time senator representing Ekiti Central in the National Assembly,  Babafemi Ojudu; a former Chairman Senate Committee on privatization, Senator Ayo Arise;  a former member of the House of Representatives and former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State, Michael Opeyemi  Bamidele; a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Bamidele Faparusi; former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Femi Bamisile; Senator Gbenga Aluko; a former commissioner for Information, Hon Funminiyi Afuye; the immediate former governor of the state and present Minister of Solid Mineral Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi.

The ruling PDP parades prominent names as Senator representing Ekiti South in the National Assembly and a former deputy governor, Mrs Biodun Olujimi; former Minister of State for Works and a former Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Prince Adedayo Adeyeye; former Nigeria’s Ambassador to Canada, Amb. Dare Bejide; the immediate past commissioner for Justice, Mr Owoseni Ajayi; deputy governor of the state, Prof Kolapo Olusola among others.

However, an act generating crisis, and which might tear the party apart is the anointing of Prof. Kolapo Olusola by Governor Fayose as his preferred governorship candidate in the election. However, the leadership of the party is not ruling out a governorship primary though no date has been selected yet. Many PDP faithful are of the view that if the issue is not handled well, it may pose a serious threat for the PDP in the election.

Other political parties like the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Mega Party of Nigeria have indicated interest to field candidates in the election. A former deputy governor in the state, Chief Abiodun Aluko, has indicated his interest to contest on the platform of the MPN. However, the smaller parties’ presence in the state is not being felt as much as the big two – the APC and the PDP, which have started to outsmart each other through accusations and counter accusations. 

The APC, which is the main opposition party, is still aggrieved that it lost the state to the PDP in the 2014 governorship election when the PDP’s candidate, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, defeated the then incumbent governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi. 

During his visit to the state recently, the APC national chairman, Chief Odigie Oyegun, vowed that the party would do everything possible to regain the state from the grip of the PDP. The leadership of the party appears to be working hard to put behind it the internal wrangling that erupted among members over the circumstances that led to its fall from power in 2014. 

Both parties could be said to be undergoing re-engineering processes and have been receiving defectors from one another. Many believe that the takeover of power at the federal level may assist the APC in the next poll.

Fayose, too, is doing everything possible to ensure that the stage does not slip to the opposition. After marking his second year anniversary last year, he started interactions with various groups which include teachers, market women, youths, civil servants, drivers where he openly canvassed for support. 

In one of the meetings, Fayose had said: “You know that I am now in the opposition. I don’t have access to police, DSS or other security agents but I have access to you. You are my backbone and that is why I am starting my campaign now.”

Also during a meeting with Suppliers Association of Nigeria, Ikere chapter, Fayose boasted that he can’t be caught napping the way former governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko, was humbled during the last election when the APC dethroned the PDP in the state.

Fayose knows he is out to for a serious battle because of the interests of some political heavyweights in the race, particularly within his party. Most of them are not pushovers in the politics of the state and Fayose not having them as preferred candidate is currently raising serious dust which will take time to settle.

There are lots of divergent views on what will become of the PDP in the election with Olusola’s candidacy. While some perceive it as a plus to Fayose’s political survival in the poll, some said fielding a greenhorn is a dangerous game that may not be able to withstand the federal might and the deep purse the APC is bringing to the election. Some analysts are wondering how Fayose will wriggle out of this precarious situation to establish his political dominance in Ekiti.

As the election draws closer, the aspirants are appealing to the National Chairman of the party, Chief Uche Secondus, to conduct free and fair primary election in the state. They warned that the party stands the risk of losing Ekiti if Fayose is allowed to subvert the party’s constitution and impose his anointed candidate. 

For a credible primary to be attainable, the aggrieved aspirants called for the dissolution of the State Working Committee (SWC) led by Gboyega Oguntuase  and set up a caretaker committee to conduct the primary.

However, the electoral body, INEC, has been assuring stakeholders in the coming election of fairness and justice. At a meeting with leaders of political parties in Ado Ekiti on Monday, the chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, represented by the National Commissioner in charge of Oyo, Ekiti, Osun and Ondo states, Mr. Solomon Soyebi, vowed that INEC would not allow the election to be monetized as witnessed in the Anambra governorship election where he alleged people were bribed with N500 each to cast votes.

As the political parties continue to strategize, the party that picks its candidate from the Southern district of the state may have an upper hand. Zoning still dominates the Ekiti governorship race. Out of the three senatorial districts, only Ekiti South has not produced a governor. Ekiti North has produced the governor twice (2007 – 2010, 2010 – 2014). Ekiti Central has equally tasted the governorship thrice (1999 – 2003, 2003 – 2006 and 2014 to date).

This accounts for reasons why some of the aspirants have been agitating for zoning of the party’s ticket to the south. The agitators of the zoning formula such as Aluko, Faparusi and Afuye are of the view that the zone has the highest number of votes.

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