Ekiti PDP primaries and burden of reconciliation

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State recently held a peaceful primary election where the deputy governor of the state, Professor Kolapo Olubunmi Olusola, popularly known as Eleka, was elected in a keenly contested poll. SAM NWAOKO captures the events around the exercise. 

 

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State held a largely successful primary election, where the deputy governor of the state, Professor Kolapo Olubunmi Olusola was elected as its standard-bearer in the forthcoming July 14 governorship election in the state. The election came on the heels of a disastrous outing by its rival, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the party, from all indications was determined to come good in its outing.

Thus, the party put up a security arrangement that would forestall a repeat of the disruption that was witnessed at the rival’s primary. The security arrangement, it was gathered from party sources was extensively tight because, according to them there were rumours in the state that some people were plotting to infiltrate the PDP primary and cause chaos. The party went the extra mile to ensure the smooth conduct of the primary election. Insiders in the party said that they had also considered the bad blood the support of Governor Ayodele Fayose gave for his deputy, Professor Olusola generated in the party, in putting the security architecture in place. The aspirants, Prince Adedayo Adeyeye and Senator Abiodun Olujimi, had gone into the contest with the aim of bringing down the ambition of Fayose and his deputy.

Security tackled, the party now turned its attention to the internal issue of who gets what number of delegates’ votes so as to finally emerge as the PDP candidate. While the intrigues were on, and shortly before the commencement of the exercise by the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa-led committee that conducted the election, Senator Biodun Olujimi announced that she was stepping down for Prince Adeyeye.

Her announcement changed the tone of the contest, and heightened the tension in the hall, in the party and the state. The tension, according to some of the stakeholders of the party, was because “you never can tell what the delegates would do until the process is over.” A leader in the party said they were worried and concerned because “we have done a lot of work and both Adeyeye and Olujimi, being strong party members have also done a lot of work. So, things might swing.”

Olujimi, on her decision to step down and support Adeyeye, said it was in a bid to wrestle the party from Fayose and prove to him that he wasn’t the all in all in the PDP.

She noted that the two aspirants are from the Southern district of the party. On her assessment of the exercise, Olujimi said “so far, it’s been very transparent. Governor Okowa is a veteran in these matters and he has been conducting a very transparent exercise.”

It is therefore believed in some quarters in the state that the decision of Olujimi to back Adeyeye in the contest was the game-changer in the PDP primary. “I want to believe that the decision of Olujimi and the strength of Adeyeye was the reason the election became tenser and was keenly contested,” a top PDP member said of the primary.

In the end, Fayose’s deputy Professor Olusola popularly known as Eleka, won the election. Olusola, a professor in the Department of Building, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State scored a total of 1,190 votes to defeat Adeyeye who became his only co-contestant. Adeyeye mustered a total of 771 votes, which many saw as a very good outing for a man who hasn’t got the instruments of power either as a governor or government official. Even the chairman of the Congress Committee and Delta State governor, Dr Okowa, who announced Olusola described the contest as keen. Adeyeye, after the voting described the process as fair and credible. He said it was well conducted by Governor Okowa.

Speaking after his emergence, Olusola pleaded for the support of Adeyeye and Senator Olujimi.

Also speaking, Governor Fayose, reacted to the outcome of the contest, thus: “I appreciate God and thank the committee for doing a good job. I thank Prince Adeyeye and Senator Olujimi for their courage. In journeys like this there would be a divide. They are leaders of the party irrespective of what has happened before this primary. They should join hands with the party to win the ultimate which is the July 14 election. I commend all the delegates for exercising their civic right.”

On the way forward after the contest, considering that there would be frayed nerves and bruised ego, Fayose said he “will reach out to Prince Adeyeye and Senator Olujimi and personally visit them. I appeal to them in the overall interest of the party to work for our common goal.”

However, matters took a different turn days later, when Fayose announced during a live radio and television programme in the state that he called Adeyeye but that the response was curses allegedly heaped upon him by Adeyeye. It was the contention in some quarters in the state that the anger of the pre-primary election boiled over to give rise to the sordid aftermath of the election.

He said: “I called Prince Adeyeye twice and on each occasion, he rained curses on me and would not even listen to what I had to say. He said I should never call him again. I am not afraid of the curses because I know I have not done anything to warrant that or for the curses to have any effect on me.

“By the constitution of our party, I have the right to support anybody for any position, just like I have the right to vote for anybody during elections. I did not hide my preference for my deputy among those seeking to succeed me as governor in our party, so, I was surprised at his reaction.

“If it was him that I supported for the position, would he have done that? The process through which our candidate emerged followed due process. I did not interfere with the process and I did not manipulate anything in favour of anybody. “How many state governors have supported their deputies to aspire to be governors? I have nothing personal against anybody and Olusola has been loyal, effective and committed as my deputy and I cannot repay him in a bad manner.”

Fayose explained that he took the step to reach out to Adeyeye “in line with the spirit of sportsmanship and the need to reconcile with any aggrieved person.”

Adeyeye, however, denied that he rained curses on Fayose, saying rather, it was the governor that was cursing and threatening his supporters and delegates for voting for him in the May 7 governorship primary.

Adeyeye said: “I did not curse nor abuse him. Our party stalwarts called to inform me that Fayose had been calling to threaten them for voting for me. So when Fayose called me, he said he wanted to follow up on the primary election, but I told him no need for follow up. I cannot be part of oppression, I cannot be part of intimidation and I cannot be part of deceit.

“I told him that all his thoughts of oppressing, dehumanizing and dominating Ekiti will not happen and that there is no meeting point between light and darkness and that he should not call my phone again.”

Adeyeye, who said everything was against him in the primary, praised his supporters for defying the odds and intimidations to deliver 771 votes for him when Fayose, who he said had been frightening people away from him, thought he could not score more than 100 votes.

Following the accusation and counter-allegations, Adeyeye shocked many when he announced that he could not stay in the same political party with Fayose and that he could not work for Eleka. In a dramatic twist of events, Adeyeye said everyone would join hands to chase Fayose and his deputy away via the July 14, 2018 election. “Every Ekiti man will join hands to chase him (Fayose) away. I can never cooperate with him on any issue,” Adeyeye stated.

According to him, “that I accepted the results of the primary doesn’t mean I will work with the person chosen. They are two different matters. For the results I have reasons to be aggrieved.” Among his grievance was that he didn’t have free access to delegates during campaigning because, according to him, people were afraid of losing their positions.

On Adeyeye’s exit, Fayose said “We appreciate him for the time he has spent and for participating in the primary. PDP has demonstrated to the whole world that we can offer a level-playing ground. We have given a level playing ground to everybody and in every election there will be losers and winners.”

Already, the party has chosen a running mate for its candidate in the person of Mr. Kazeem Adedeji Ogunsakin, and it is already working on its strategies to win the election. However, how the issues affecting it in the build up to the election, including the previous big wigs that had left before Adeyeye would leave the party on July 14, will be seen.