Ekiti 2018: PDP’s royal rumble over governorship endorsement

Deputy Editor, SAM NWAOKO takes a look at the politics of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following the endorsement of the state’s deputy governor, Professor Kolapo Olusola, by some stakeholders of the party backed by Governor Ayo Fayose.

THE 2018 governorship race in Ekiti State took a sudden leap recently when stakeholders of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state gathered at the Government House to endorse the deputy governor, Professor Kolapo Olusola, as their preferred aspirant. The action completely altered all that had been on the cards in the buildup to the race, as far as the PDP is concerned.

Before the September 6, 2017 decision of the PDP stakeholders, the leader of the party in the state, Governor Ayodele Fayose, had only the day before, explained that God would help him in arriving at the choice of a successor. A statement by his assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said Governor Fayose had given the charge while he received aspirants of the party from Ijero, Ise/Orun and Ikole council areas at his Afao home, charging the aspirants and the party faithful to be cautious in their actions and avoid sowing the seeds of discord among the members, leaders and aspirants.

He was quoted thus: “Followers need not create a wedge between me and gubernatorial aspirants. As much as aspirants have the right to aspire, I also reserve the right to support whoever God asks me to support.

“If I were asked to pick a candidate to succeed me, I would have picked Kayode Oso straight off. But I have called him into the room and told him to allow me seek God’s consent concerning it. I have called my deputy, Professor Kolapo Olusola, I have also called Bisi Omoyeni into the room and asked them to allow me seek God’s consent. Whoever God chooses, we will support among the aspirants. Whoever that is not the one; the spirit of sportsmanship should be embraced.

“I have nothing against Prince Adedayo Adeyeye. I have great respect for him, from ministerial appointment to chairmanship at Ekiti State University and then his recommendation to the party at the national level; I have always stood by him. I wouldn’t have done that for someone I don’t love, so mischief makers had better looked elsewhere to play their game.”

However, a day after the statement was issued, news filtered through that stakeholders of the PDP were ready to adopt one of the aspirants as their preferred choice. The entire 177 councillors in the state, all the 177 ward chairmen, the chairmen of PDP in the 16 local government areas of the state and chairmen of the 16 local government councils were at the meeting. Chairmen and members of Boards and Parastatals, members of the state executive council, members of the state’s House of Assembly, serving and former members of the State Working Committee of Ekiti PDP were also among the stakeholders at the gathering.

A few hours after their convergence at the pavilion in the Government House in Ado Ekiti, they said they had settled for the deputy governor of the state, Olusola, as their choice.

“After due consultation, without prejudice to the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), we formally endorse His Excellency, Professor Kolapo Olusola (the current deputy governor), from Ekiti South Senatorial District, as our preferred aspirant/candidate,” they said in a communique.

The endorsement of the deputy governor by a large chunk of the PDP stakeholders in the state has, however, ignited series of reactions from the various camps in the party. The governor in his statement had referred to Adeyeye, Mr Bisi Omoyeni and Professor Olusola as the aspirants. But not a few observers believe that there were more PDP members interested in the office, contending that these might be the ones he had seen in his political cum spiritual radar as his possible choice of successors.

Fayose didn’t specifically bring Ambassador Dare Bejide and a former deputy governor of the state, Dr. Sikiru Tae-Lawal, into his personal contention, going by his statement. An observer said Fayose might not have “seen them in his spiritual radar, but that doesn’t end the political games that we politicians are known for, and which would give us a candidate.”

However, of the three aspirants the governor mentioned, Prince Adeyeye and Ambassador Bejide have been the ones raising their voices against the announcement of Professor Olusola. For instance, Prince Adedayo Adeyeye Movement (PAAM) immediately dismissed the endorsement, saying it was “a clear breach of the party’s constitution.”

The Adeyeye group claimed that the endorsement had been “hastily convened” saying “PAMM rejects the purported adoption of a sole candidate in its entirety as there are many other aspirants for the governorship race in 2018.”

Adeyeye also addressed his supporters from across the state, in Ado Ekiti on Thursday, telling them to ignore the adoption of Professor Olusola, saying it would not stand. He assured the large gathering of party members at the PAAM office that the National Working Committee of the party, led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, would conduct a free, fair primary to elect a candidate. He maintained that imposition of candidate would be resisted so as not cause disunity among party members, but said aggrieved members should use the reconciliation mechanism in the party to resolve issues rather than going to court.

Bejide, who served as the first secretary of the party in the state and as the secretary to the state government, has also enthused that members of the party and indeed, the people of the state should not to be deterred by the endorsement of Olusola. He told a large group of his supporters in Ise/Orun and Emure local government areas of the state, during a solidarity rally that he was going ahead with his quest for the governorship ticket because “that endorsement of Fayose’s deputy is just the exercise of the opinion of some members of the party, which is not the opinion and desire of the majority of the leaders and members of the party.”

Bejide also told his supporters to prepare for primaries because he was the anointed of God and charged them not to resort to panic and fear as the national leadership of the party would ensure that there would not be impunity in the arrival at the choice of the party’s candidate in the 2018 election.

Bejide said: “Ours is a great party, when we started it in 1998, many didn’t support us and I was the first secretary. You would have been hearing that someone’s hand was raised. But man proposes, God disposes. It is God who makes one a governor. By God’s grace we will succeed. The fight won’t be an easy one; we must work hard and pray.

“There will always be caucuses in parties but ours is better. It is now the turn of the Ekiti South Senatorial district. The North has produced two governors in both Segun Oni and Kayode Fayemi in Ekiti Central, they’ve enjoyed governorship three times. We have all agreed that it is now the turn of the south. One of our problems is that we haven’t allowed the man who knows how to do the job. In Ogun, those who have been ruling them are people who have been living with them and they know very well. In Ekiti, we have been choosing the wrong persons and rejecting those who, though have good character but do not have money.”

The endorsement of Professor Olusola has even reverberated in the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, but nothing has been heard publicly from the camps of Chief Bisi Omoyeni. Chief Omoyeni and Mr. Kayode Oso had also been on the lips of the people, until Olusola was announced.

Analysis

The current scenario in Ekiti State chapter of the PDP is believed to be a cause and effect of timing, individual capacity, seizing the moment and audacity. These, according to watchers of the ongoing politics are forming the basis for the coming political battle. The timing of the adoption and announcement of Olusola, analysts claim, was firstly to leave adequate time for the reconciliation, healing and realignments that would be expected following the action.

However, on the flip side of the timing contention is the belief in some quarters that the early step would leave the PDP without many of its angry gladiators by the time the election is ripe. They are said to have ample time to make all their moves against the choice of the party’s leader and sundry matters.

The people of the state are also of the opinion that the choice of Olusola is a test of the capacity of Governor Fayose to steer his party to victory in the election, but the numerous dissatisfied leaders and members of the party would also come in handy on either side of the quest for victory in 2018.

The adoption of Olusola, which some also see as an audacious move by Governor Fayose and his team, and as “the seizing of the moment to bask in the ambience of the support he believes he is enjoying across the state” is currently being challenged by some stakeholders of the party. There are also contentions in some quarters in the state that the announcement of Olusola was a move by Fayose to checkmate Adeyeye, who is alleged to be using his connection at the national working committee of the party to feather his nest as the primaries are planned.

It is even being said in yet some other quarters in the state that Olusola’s adoption and announcement was just a decoy by Fayose to take people’s attention away from his actual destination in terms of a candidate in the election. But this was pooh-poohed by the supporters of the Ekiti South agenda, an agitation by people of the Southern Senatorial district of the state that they should be considered for the governorship slot in 2018.

All the other stakeholders in the party too have their leanings, and they also have their individual feelings about how the election should go. How all these would work out in the election will be seen.