‘YOMI AYELESO reports that ahead of this month’s governorship primaries in Ekiti State , aspirants in both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are on the field soliciting support from the delegates.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which had earlier fixed June 18, 2022 for the Ekiti State governorship election, on Tuesday last week issued a notice of election signaling the official commencement of activities leading to the poll where the next governor of the state after Dr Kayode Fayemi will be elected and sworn in later in October 16 this year.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has slated its primary for January 22, while the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will conduct its own on January 26. In view of this, aspirants in both major political parties are intensifying their campaigns across 177 wards by talking to the delegates soliciting support for their aspirations.
With the amended Electoral Bill still a hot potato between the Legislative and Executive Arms, it is not likely that a new Electoral Act will come into play for Ekiti and the subsequent Osun state off-cycle elections. Therefore, the old Act, which stipulates the freedom of parties to choose any primary mode that suits them, will be operational for the primaries. Should both parties adopt the indirect primary mode, delegates will be prized assets for the process.
Even though both parties are battling with lingering internal schism which has defied all trouble-shooting efforts in the last few years, the aspirants are resolute and optimistic in picking their party’s tickets to stand for the election.
A series of issues have been thrown up, including the zoning agitation from stakeholders in the southern zone, the quest for APC to break the succession jinx in the state, the opposition’s plot to return to power and the unpredictability of the voters.
The zoning agitation has become rife in both parties with the gladiators from the southern zone insisting that it is the turn of the zone to produce the next governor, a position not been enjoyed by the zone since the creation of the state in 1996.
As of Wednesday, no fewer than seven aspirants in the APC have obtained the expression of interest and nomination forms to contest the primary. They are, the senator representing Ekiti central, Opeyemi Bamidele; former Minister of Works, Dayo Adeyeye; House of Representatives member, Femi Bamisile; former Secretary to the State Government, Biodun Oyebanji; an engineer, Kayode Ojo; an aviation expert, Demola Popoola and former commissioner for public utilities and infrastructures, Bamidele Faparusi.
In the PDP, about 17 aspirants had been successfully screened to contest the primary. Some of the aspirants include former Governor, Chief Segun Oni; lawmaker representing Ekiti South, Senator Biodun Olujimi; former Deputy Governor, Professor Kolapo Olusola Eleka; former PDP State chairman, Bisi Kolawole; former banker, Kayode Adaramodu; former National Assembly member, Wale Aribisala; former senatorial aspirant, Lateef Ajijola and the 2018 PDP deputy governorship candidate, Deji Ogunsakin. There are eight other female aspirants in the contest.
Bamidele’s late entrance alters permutation in APC
Just a little over two weeks to the APC governorship primary, aspirants are jostling to outwit one another in getting the party’s ticket by deploying a series of campaign strategies to woo delegates to their side.
It is no longer news that the party is battling with internal crisis which has led to its factionalisation into two dominant groups, which is the governor’s group and that of the aggrieved leaders under the auspices of the South West Agenda 2023(SWAGA) , a group rooting for the reported presidential ambition of former Lagos state governor, Bola Tinubu.
Already a former SSG, Oyebanji from Ikogosi-Ekiti, in the Central Senatorial District under the administration of Fayemi, about three weeks ago, resigned to pursue his ambition. Although his aspiration has not enjoyed the expected support from stakeholders within the party, notwithstanding his alleged endorsement by the governor.
Political watchers have said that one of the major achievements of Fayemi would be to successfully install a successor but events in recent weeks have suggested that a lot of work needs to be done if this is going to be easily achieved. This is considering the preponderance of opinions against his reported choice of aspirants especially those from the southern senatorial zone.
Most of the aspirants are determined to pursue their ambition right to the primary thereby making the possibility of anyone of them dropping their aspirations extremely difficult.
To compound the situation, the aggrieved leaders within the party settle for a formidable aspirant in former minister of works, Adeyeye to represent the group at the primary. If the fight put up by the former senator during the 2018 primary in the PDP is anything to go by, the contest would not be a walk-over for the governor’s preferred aspirant.
In what many have described as the last straw that broke the camel’s back, the entrance of Senator Bamidele into the governorship race has altered many of the permutations within the party ahead of the primary. Considered as one of the popular politicians in Ekiti, Bamidele has declared to challenge the status quo for party’s flag.
A two-term governorship aspirant, Bamidele played active role in the election that brought governor Fayemi in 2018 even with a price that almost claimed his life on June 1, 2018. Following the shooting incident that made him to be flown abroad for urgent treatment, it was rumored that there was a pact between Fayemi and Bamidele for the governor to support the senator in his quest to govern the state.
In the last two weeks of his declaration for the plum job, the political atmosphere within the party has changed with many delegates rooting for his aspiration. He has toured the 16 local government areas talking to the party delegates and members. A source within the party said the senator has created apprehension in camps of major aspirants considering his antecedents and experience in the political system in the country.
Bamidele, from Iyin-Ekiti in the Central senatorial when he visited the state’s party secretariat last week, expressed confidence that Governor Fayemi would not want to destroy the chances of APC by imposing candidate for the election.
Bamidele described himself as the best to govern Ekiti in view of his experiences in public service that has spanned over 30 years and cuts across the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government. He said his superlative contributions in the Senate including his being instrumental to the passage of a bill for the establishment of a Medical Science University and a branch of Law School in the state, are well-amplified testimonials to his competence to lead Ekiti.
Speaking about why he decided to plunge into the race, Bamidele said: «We will strive hard to ensure that we don›t create crisis for APC. I am particularly happy that the party had not endorsed anybody or is under any instruction to impose anybody. I know that Governor Fayemi won›t do anything that will scatter or destroy the party by imposing candidate on us as a leader. I am confident that this will not happen.
«The January 22 primary is not the ultimate, but how to win the June 18 election. I am comfortable with the leadership and our Governor. I know that the governor can›t impose neither me nor anyone, for the sake of our party. I won›t be a politician that will terrify Ekiti. I will rather work for its comfort.
«We can›t fight because of party primary. This is a family affair. I won›t do anything that will cause tension in Ekiti and APC. Only one person will be candidate and we should all work together and claim the victory together.”
Urging the party to give him the ticket and win easily, Bamidele said,»Ekiti people are ready to vote for me, they are waiting for me already. And if APC refuses to give me, I won›t get these ready votes .So ,APC must give the ticket to a popular person who can win election easily.
“When I was in the House of Representatives, I was coming home on weekly basis, and that gave some people opportunity to cause trouble between myself and my friend and confidant, the governor. But we have agreed not to fight again and that will never happen. That was why I have decided to stay away from Ekiti, because I don›t want to heat up the system that can cause crisis.
Another aspirant who is not a push over leading to the primaries, Bamisile said he remained one of the most experienced grassroots politicians in the state and that reported endorsement by the governor which he branded as «unpopular» can›t be a source of threat or worry to his governorship poll.
The chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) also spoke about the Ekiti South Senatorial district agitation for zoning of the governorship tickets to the district , adding that it would be a costly mistake for the APC to ignore the deafening calls by members from the South.
According to him, «I am not disturbed by any unpopular endorsement . I am a veteran in politics and one more of the most experienced grassroots politicians in Ekiti politics; I know what politics entails. In the last governorship election in 2018, Governor Fayemi won with less than 19,000 votes, which was the least margin in the history of governorship in the state. So, someone like me can’t be troubled by any imposition or endorsement.”
Bamisile said he had taken respite in the fact that the national leadership of the party under Governor Mai Mala Buni, had promised a free, fair and credible primary, saying he has nothing to fear with this promise.
PDP pushes for rancor -free primary
The leadership of the PDP has set machinery in motion to ensure the party remains united after the January 26 primary in the state. The new party hierarchy acknowledges the fact that the state chapter is divided along two dominant groups, in which each warring groups has refused to sheathe their sword over the years. The two groups are being led by the former governor, Ayo Fayose and Senator Biodun Olujimi and have remained irreconcilable since 2020 over the outcome of congresses conducted in the state.
The former leadership of the party, under the leadership of Uche Secondus accepted the results of the congresses conducted by the Fayose group, a development which triggered the suit filed against the party by the Olujimi group in court. The case on the controversial congresses is currently before the Supreme Court and the Fayose backed executives are piloting the party’s affairs in the ward, local government and at the state level.
Sensing the danger this portends and their quest to win the next governorship election, the National Working Committee (NWC) under the chairmanship of former senate president, Dr Iyorchia Ayu met with the governorship aspirants and other stakeholders recently on the need for the party to be united going into the election.
Ayu warned that all aspirants must support any of them that wins the primary, saying doing otherwise will amount to anti-party that he said was the bane of the PDP in the previous elections it lost.
He said, “The mood of the party is that of a united house. The mood of the party is that of a party that will fight together as one united force and hopefully, we should be able to recapture as many states as possible, as many members of the National Assembly, both the two houses as possible or state houses of assembly.
“We’re not going into any election to lose. We are going into every single election with the determination to win and I think that should be the mood of every member of the PDP family. It is not important to us in the leadership of the party whether you like a particular candidate or not.
“Once the party decides on the candidates, it is the responsibility of every member of the PDP family to fight for that candidate because you’re not just fighting for that candidate you are fighting for the PDP. So, you have a responsibility to support him. Anybody that does otherwise we’ll be considered as working against the PDP. So, it will be regarded as anti-party.
“The mood of the PDP today is that anybody who works against the PDP will not just walk away because we don’t want members of our party fighting against members of the party.”
In view of this, the leadership after meeting the aspirants and other stakeholders directed them to discuss among themselves and revert to the national secretariat on the way forward for the PDP in the state.
In the last one week, the two tendencies (Fayose and Olujimi) have met two times, one in Lagos and Ekiti but no definite decision yet on the party’s structures ahead of the primaries.
While Fayose has remained resolute on his support for Kolawole, the former chairman of the party, the former governor, Segun Oni and other aspirants including Olujimi are expressing optimism in getting the ticket of the party, regardless of who controls the bulk of the delegates.
Being a former governor, Oni enjoyed relative support among the populace in the state largely due to his people-friendly policies and programmes when he was in the saddle between 2007 and 2010, and he has been firm in recent time about his candidature capable of delivering victory for the party in June 18. But other aspirants have disagreed with him on this assertion. They insisted he is not the only popular aspirant ahead of the election.
A source who was part of the meetings held recently by the gladiators both in Lagos and Ado-Ekiti said the warring groups agreed to work together in the interest of party towards winning the election. The source told Sunday Tribune that at the meeting, the issue of the party executives and structures were discussed in a bid to give sense of belonging to other aggrieved group.
The source said, “But when someone raised the issue about the candidature of Oni as consensus for the election, the Olujimi group said he was not part of the struggle in the last few years and he could not come and benefit from it. They turned down the request for him to be made the consensus candidate. Also, Fayose group on their own said they won’t hand over to him (Oni) the structures they labored with resources to get over the years.
“So, that is the situation at the moment, but you know in politics consultation will continue and before the primary on January 26, a lot will still happen and you can’t rule out anything.”