‘YOMI AYELESO, who monitored both governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in Ekiti State over the last five days, reports the intricacies, intrigues and permutations which worked in favour of the elected candidates of the two dominant parties and the implications ahead of the June 18 poll.
The governorship primary elections of the two major political parties in Ekiti State have been won and lost, but not without some fundamental and political factors which threw the votes in favour of the victorious candidates.
While the immediate past chairman of the PDP, Bisi Kolawole emerged winner of the opposition’s party indirect primary, the immediate past secretary to the state government, Biodun Oyebanji, was declared winner of the direct primary conducted by the leadership of the APC.
In PDP, Fayose’s dominance continues
The emergence of Kolawole, who hails from Efon-Ekiti in the central senatorial district as the party’s standard-bearer with 671 votes, clearly confirmed undeniably the strength and tentacles of a former governor and leader of the party, Ayodele Fayose, in the politics of the opposition party in the state. He supported the candidature of Kolawole and mobilised structures for him to emerge winner during the exercise conducted under the supervision of the Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel.
It is clear that Fayose, knowing full well the strength and importance of having a majority of members of the executives across the ward, local government areas and the state level, ensured the 2020 congresses of the party worked to his advantage,though the congresses were greeted with protests and rejection, leading to the creation of parallel executives by the Senator Biodun Olujimi’s repositioning group in the party.
The then National Working Committee under the leadership of Uche Secondus accepted the congresses conducted by the Fayose group and the elected officials had since been running the affairs of the party in the state under Kolawole as state chairman before he resigned. Fayose, in the last two years, nurtured and maintained the structure composed largely by his people, with high expectations it would work in his favour during the governorship election primary.
So, it was obvious the late entrants into the governorship race would have a Herculean task in dislodging the former governor for his preferred aspirant not to win the contest. Olujimi, an aspirant who had been in a running battle with the two-term governor on the sole of the party, was not successful in this regard going by the turn of events.
The aspirants, aside Kolawole, had canvassed for several weeks the disbandment of the current state executives to pave the way for a caretaker committee across board ahead of the primary, having known the majority of them are core loyalists of Fayose. Unfortunately, efforts to achieve this were not successful as the NWC refused to disband the executives. The decision of the party was sequel to the fact that the executives member had participated actively in the last year’s zonal and national conventions. The party sensing it would have adverse effect on the party if the Ekiti structure was dissolved and they approached court to seek redress.
So, the decision of the party to settle for the 1,208 automatic and statutory delegates to determine the party’s flag bearer on Wednesday gave the former governor the leeway for his preferred aspirant to emerge candidate of the PDP for the June 18, 2022 governorship poll.
Former governor Segun Oni, who polled 330 votes and came a distant third, had at the end of the primary election accepted the results and promised to work with the winner towards ensuring the victory for the opposition party. He said, “We are going to fight together to make him [Kolawole] governor come June 18. We are satisfied with the process and no one is complaining. You saw it all.”
However, less than 24 hours after exercise, he retracted and rejected the outcome of the primary election. In a statement by his Director General, Yemi Arokodare, alleged that the delegates register was mutilated and, “many delegates› names were missing from the register, while 32 automatic delegates who were accredited were not given tag and were not allowed to vote. Governor Udom allegedly threatened to arrest and lock all of these delegates if any of them should come into the hall.
“He deliberately allowed former governor Ayo Fayose who heads a faction of Ekiti State PDP to sit in the hall, purposely to intimidate the delegates, even after he has voted against the rules earlier pronounced by the governor
“Hence the Wednesday exercise cannot be said to be free and fair. In view of this, the Campaign Organisation said it was in the process of reviewing the activities of the national leadership of PDP towards managing the party to a success in the June 18 governorship election.”
Also, Olujimi, after pulling out from the exercise before voting, lamented that the party was not fair to her, which she said might be due to her gender. She complained of irregularities in the delegates list, especially from her senatorial district.
“I thought it was very unfair, it was unjust, it was disenfranchising me because of my gender or because the party feels I have not done enough for it. I thought it is unfair, it is unethical, it is unjust, it does not speak to fairness and I feel it should not happen to anyone, it should not have happened to me being the only one that still flies the flag of the party in the state. So, I thought my best was just to pull out and I pulled out. I did not step down. I will also internalise the problem, there will be some introspection, then I will take a decision.»
Even though other aspirants have congratulated Kolawole, the reactions of the two leading aspirants, Oni and Olujimi, have shown the need for the party to initiate genuine reconciliation to assuage the aggrieved leaders if the PDP is desirous of dislodging the ruling APC. Olujimi, a serving senator who many believed was in the race to cement her seat in the Senate in 2023, could be persuaded by the leadership of the party to return to the red chamber, where she might likely become principal officer considering her legislative experience.
Also, the choice of running mate, which is most likely from southern district, will play prominent role in the chances of the party at the poll. It was gathered that plans are underway to reach out to Oni for him support the candidate of his party. His commitment and involvement in the election would be vital for the party to stand a chance of winning.
In all of these, the greatest challenge to the success of the reconciliation will be the disposition of Fayose to all the factors and conditions that would help the party to approach the election with all leaders and aspirants on the same page.
But, in what could be described as a sign of willingness and readiness to embrace all tendencies and leaders as against the usual winners take all syndrome, Fayose sought the cooperation of Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, being the South-West leader of the party ahead of the June election.
In his official reaction since the conduct of the election, Fayose applauded Makinde for his positive disposition to the whole process, saying he has proved to be a man of his words and he deserved to be appreciated.
He said: “By ensuring a level-playing field before and during the primary election, Governor Makinde has further earned my respect.
“With the first huddle scaled, I urge the governor not to relent in supporting us to win Ekiti State for the PDP so that after June 18, his position as the only governor in the South-West will be further strengthened because he will no longer be standing alone,” he said.
He also saluted former Governor Oni for his exemplary display of the spirit of sportsmanship, adding that whatever happened before and during the primary should be allowed to slide as no group can win the election alone.
«Going forward, all stakeholders should be rest assured of their rightful place in the new arrangement,» Fayose said.
Fayose’s applause for Makinde was a result of the Oyo governor’s support for one of the aspirants who lost in the exercise. Unlike the popular Osogbo zonal convention last year, where Makinde rallied all resources to support Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja as against Fayose’s Eddy Olafeso, the governor reportedly stayed aloof and allowed the system to throw up the party’s standard-bearer.
The candidate, Kolawole, who has promised to reach out to all other aspirants, said, “I want to say that we are all winners. Chief Segun Oni is my brother and friend and I won’t take his leadership role for granted. I want to commend other aspirants and appreciate them. Nobody can do it all alone.”
As the space is set for the full campaign, the unity and commitment of the PDP leaders would go a long way to boost the chances of the party in reclaiming power from the APC.
It is no longer news that the former secretary to the Ekiti state government and preferred aspirant of the state governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has been declared winner of the APC direct governorship primary conducted across the 177 wards in Ekiti state on Thursday.
But the whole exercise was rejected by the seven other aspirants over alleged compromise by the electoral committee headed by Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State in advantage of Oyebanji. They argued that the local government and ward returning officers were populated by the loyalists and campaign coordinators of the candidate. They called for the cancellation of the exercise by the national leadership in the interest of the party for the June 18 poll.
The aggrieved aspirants are: Opeyemi Bamidele, Dayo Adeyeye, Femi Bamisile, Kayode Ojo, Bamidele Faparusi, Olusola Afolabi and Demola Popoola.
But Badaru, while declaring the results, expressed shock over the protests and boycott of the exercise by the seven aggrieved aspirants. He said the committee provided a level-playing ground for the contestants with the Wednesday›s stakeholders meeting where he said they agreed to all the guidelines for the shadow election. Badaru revealed that the exercise went peacefully, free and fair with substantial compliance with the guidelines and regulations of the party.
He advised all aggrieved aspirants to use the internal mechanism of the party to present their grievances, saying the party must be united and embrace peace for it to win the June 18 governorship poll.
The governor declared Oyebanji who hails from Ikogosi-Ekiti, central senatorial district, winner with 101, 703 votes to defeat other seven aspirants who had boycotted the exercise due to alleged irregularities.
No doubt, the emergence of the ex-SSG as the candidate of the ruling APC has ignited the protracted internal crisis within the party in the last few years. But enjoying the support of Governor Kayode Fayemi, Oyebanji before the exercise was poised to win considering the factors that swayed the votes and the process in his favour.
Even though the aggrieved aspirants had solicited the adopting of direct primary which the part agreed to, which they believed would help the process being taken away from the hands of the government and reduce manipulation because of the executives of the party allegedly handpicked by the state government. However, the constitution of the national electoral committee by the APC under the leadership of the Jigawa State governor was a clear signal where the pendulum would swing in the long run.
Before now, the party had been enmeshed in leadership crisis as some aggrieved members have been running a factional group under the stakeholders forum and the South West Agenda 2023 (SWAGA) challenging the legitimacy of the last congresses held in the state.
Referred to as the homeboy, Oyebanji apart from the overwhelming support he got from governor Fayemi and his wife, his candidature received the stamp of former governor and Minister of Trade and Industry , Niyi Adebayo, and the country’s ambassador to the Netherlands. Also, majority of the political appointees, commissioners, five of the six House of Representatives members from the state, a senator, 26 members of the state House of Assembly, among other stakeholders in the state, backed his aspiration.
Nevertheless, his declaration and victory at the primary has been met with rejection by the aspirants which many political watchers said must be managed adequately for the party to retain power. Analysts said the aggrieved aspirants should be brought together and duly compensated for them to join the campaign for APC.
Bamidele, the senator representing Ekiti central and the House of representatives member, Bamisile might be persuaded with return tickets to the National Assembly in 2023.
Oyebanji, in his acceptance speech tagged ‘This is a win for all’ promised to personally reach out to the aggrieved aspirants, in a bid for them to support and work for his candidature during the election.
“To my fellow aspirants, all of you worthy Ekiti sons and I salute your courage of conviction and your passion for the uplift of our state. Your participation in the process has served to strengthen our party, through the mobilisation of many voices. During contests such as this, tensions are understandably high, and tempers rise in all quarters. This is all normal in the course of democratic expression. I hereby promise my fellow aspirants that together, we will work towards victory and a bright future for our people.
“I will be reaching out personally to seek audience with every one of you in the coming days. I want to listen to you, so that together we can fit in our respective parts of the big picture and run a wholesome campaign that connects with the hearts and minds of our people.”
Way forward for zoning agitators
No doubt, the most strident issue which dominated the political space ahead of the primaries was the call for zoning of the governorship seat to the southern district. The people and other stakeholders in the zone argued that the zone should be allowed to produce the next governor for the first time since 1999.
The Ekiti Concerned Citizens› Group (ECCG) at the forefront of the agitation called on the two leading parties (APC and PDP) to pick their candidates from the zone. Unfortunately, the emergence of Kolawole and Oyebanji both from the central has ultimately put an end to the calls for zoning.
Available records and facts about the election is that the winner will emerge from either of the two parties, which has shown clearly that dream of the southern candidate becoming governor is now become a tall order for this election.
However, sources close to the group and stakeholders said they are consulting and meeting to take a drastic decision ahead of the election. It was gathered that the zone might work and support for one of the smaller political parties who will be picking its candidate from the zone. But how that will translate to a success remains to be seen.
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