Category: Insight

Life becomes breathtaking for once and only once everyday, to Aliyu Salisu. Just before dusk, while he is perched on the rail tracks of Galadima, in the bowels of Maiduguri, Borno State. Out there, in the sweltering heat, he tastes the unprecedented cool of ‘Ice.’  He sees for the umpteenth time, the city’s limitless possibilities and his place amid the urban sprawl.

In that space and at that hour, he sees what his relatives are unable to envision about him: Aliyu, the successful timber merchant; Aliyu, the billionaire transporter, Aliyu, the responsible son.

In a rare encounter with him, the 28-year-old widower recounted with zest, why 4pm is his best hour of the day. In that hour, he whisked out his discoloured glass pipe and fired up his daily dose of methamphetamine (meth) aka Ice, a ‘dangerous’ synthetic drug. Aliyu sucked on his pipe with conquering immersion, all the thwarted longings of his life urgent on his puckered brow and dependent breath. His face was hard and calloused with craving, and his eyes, reddish, like burnt earth.

As the “Ice” thawed, he lighted up an ample wrap of marijuana thus “stepping down” or chasing off the chills that succeeded his high at every deep drag. His mouth, incongruous at exhalation, became slightly distended like that of a whistling boy.

The marijuana smoke was ingenuously haunting; it spread over him like a brassy blanket, and made the rest of him a soiled, grey background. Irredeemably high and past caring, miseries that lied within their grave of submissive sternness in his heart, spilled their troubled ghosts nonchalantly out of his mouth – all in a smoky spiral.

“My wife is now a bush wife. She dumped me and followed(married) a Boko Haram insurgent,” lamented Salisu.

His paternal uncle said he would “never amount to anything. He is wrong. I will make it. When I am rich, I will feed him and his three wives,” he drawled, blowing thick fumes of marijuana high into the evening air.

Soon as his euphoria began to ebb, Salisu sprang abruptly from his seat muttering: “Why dem close this place sef?” his eyes scanning dejectedly what was left of Galadima’s redlight district.

His smoking routine ended with a romp in a prostitute’s bed, in Galadima’s days of decadent glory. All that is history now. No thanks to Borno State government. The incumbent administration embarked on a demolition of illegal hotels and alcohol joints around Maiduguri, in response to intelligence that such outfits posed security threats, according to the State’s Attorney-General, Kaka-Shehu Lawan, who is also the Commissioner for Justice.

So far, about 67 brothels, alcohol joints, and illegal hotels were destroyed last for violating extant state laws that banned their operations since 2018.

Three major brothels were also shut down for promoting homosexual activity and using underage girls who were being drugged as commercial sex workers.

Soon after The Nation reported goings-on in Galadima, the state government carried out a mass demolition of 47 illegal hotels, brothels and alcohol joints  where proprietors and patrons engaged in the sale and consumption of alcohol and illicit drugs. The exercise affected brothels at Galadima, Gambouru, Moduganari, Wulari, Hot Bite, Baga road, Mairi, London Ciki, Artillery and villages along Giwa Barracks that were hot spots for all forms of criminality and immoral acts.

Salisu rose from his perch, bemoaning the stripping of Galadima among others of its much coveted pleasure zones. As he sauntered off along the tracks, signalling to his much younger smoking buddy and sidekick. The latter trudged closely behind, hauling a cart of cartons and used clothing along. Together they disappeared into the fog of the evening.

More curious kinks abound on the streets, in the pubs and numerous drug dens scattered across the country. For instance, while Salisu and his friend seek their highs in marijuana and synthetic meth, Suleiman Tanko finds his thrill in madaran sukudai, a potion chemically prepared with formalin (formaldehyde gin).

Perhaps because it tastes like wild love, making him dance to a beat no one could hear. From dawn through dusk, Tanko boogies in ecstasy to the psychoactive potion. Although it is used to preserve corpses by mortuary attendants, it incites Tanko’s apathy to “big and small trouble;” like his joblessness and tragic loss of his drunkard son, Yusufu, in a gang fight.

Yusufu, 13, took to the bottle very early; like his father, he fell in love with madaran sukudai, continually downing it to get high. In the end, he got stabbed to death in a turf war, along the rail track where local gangs converge to smoke and drink at the Galadima slum.

Yusuf was allegedly high on the psychoactive substance when he got in the fight but his father, Tanko, has no regrets. Even though he lost his son two years after the demise of his estranged wife and infant daughter in a bomb blast, Tanko isn’t one to wallow in “useless agony.”

“Boko Haram’s bomb killed my wife and daughter in Baga. Criminals killed my son here in Maiduguri. This land (Borno) has robbed me of too much. I’m sad, but they won’t come back. I won’t trouble myself with trifles,” he said, gulping from his bottle of formalin.

“Wata ya seyray kankantchi’ii garra,” he continued, meaning: “Does the moon trouble itself about the punishment of an ant?…Nobody cares about me. I won’t worry and die before my time,” he said, in the tenor of a man whose native “land” had gnawed his joy to feed grotesque lusts.

Like Tanko, Abdullahi Usman is addicted to madaran sukudai. Sometimes, he binges on cannabis and codeine. In a private encounter with The Nation on Lagos Street in Maiduguri, he said: “I smoke weed and take these other things to think properly. When I am high, I see the future clearly. I get clever solutions to my problems.”

Besides their alleged benefits, hard drugs give Usman courage to attempt at noon, things he wouldn’t dare at night, while he is sober. Once, under the influence of madaran sukudai, he tried to bed the pregnant wife of a commandant of a vigilance group, after he made a bet to woo and sleep with her in a local brothel.

Although he won the bet and earned himself a dinner of noodles and a 75cl bottle of madaran sukudai, Usman got bound up and beaten to a pulp by lieutenants of the vigilance chief. That encounter left him with a limp and ugly scar across his temple.

At the backdrop of Salisu, Tanko and Usman’s wild indulgences, youths in Borno engage in indiscriminate abuse of hard drugs, despite the state government’s outlawing of the sale and consumption of hard drugs, alcohol and other psychoactive substances.

“An inordinate lust for hard drugs makes them predisposed to violence and unlawful acts,” argued an intelligence officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Borno. According to him, illicit drug use is a factor in provoking violent conflict and crime in the state.

Few people will forget in a hurry the case of Musa Inuwa, who allegedly punched a 60-year-old man to death while he was high on drugs. Abdullahi Ibrahim, Borno NSCDC commandant, revealed that the suspect was arrested at Jidari Polo Bus Stop area of Maiduguri.

The victim, who suffered grievous bodily harm leading to his death, was said to have asked the suspect where he could locate a chemist to buy drugs.

“Unknown to him, Inuwa was intoxicated by illicit substance, and he told the old man that he was disturbing him. He subsequently punched the elderly man, who fell forward and hit his head on the concrete pavement,” said Ibrahim.

The victim was rushed to Umaru Shehu Specialist Hospital where he was pronounced dead as a result of massive brain trauma.

An excessive lust for hard drugs goads several youths in Borno and other parts of the country to the precipice of mental instability, according to health experts.

A recent study financed by the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP) and executed by International Alert, a consortium partner, revealed drug abuse at a worrisome magnitude in Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Plateau and Rivers States – meth and crack cocaine abuse are cited more frequently.

Marijuana, and prescription medications like Tramadol, cough syrup containing codeine, and home-brewed chemical cocktails, like madaran sukudai, sold by street vendors fuel addiction across the states.

Politicians as culprits

Drug users interviewed by The Nation cited unemployment and emotional trauma as reasons for taking to drugs.

“They think it will help manage their pain. But it doesn’t. It only aggravates it,” argued Stella Abari, a psychiatrist.

Idris Muhammed, a medical volunteer and civil servant, accused politicians of complicity stating that: “They recruit them as thugs and provide them with guns, machetes and narcotics at election time. They feed them drugs to make them high and unfeeling so that they can help perpetrate acts of vandalism and chaos during elections.”

But when the elections are over, “The politicians forget them, leaving them to their devices. The youth go back to being unemployed, and they become idle hands in the devil’s workshop. They loot, rape, engage in gang violence and use of drugs in pursuit of highs just for the fun of it, argued Grace Ikumapayi, a social worker.

There is no gainsaying illicit drugs play a significant role in intoxicating youths to gang violence and terrorism. The Nation’s exclusive chats with captured Boko Haram insurgents revealed that members of the terrorist sect, especially suicide bombers, are plied with hard drugs to develop the courage to commit dastardly acts.

There are reports that members of the Boko Haram sect have been caught  acting under the influence of hard drugs thus the urgent need to cut off their drug supply.

To stem the scourge, the Borno State government recently partnered the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to rid the state of all forms of drug abuse and addiction.

The partnership, according to the State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, is to enable the agency discharge its responsibilities in a drug-free society.

Zulum, who made the disclosure in Maiduguri, while inspecting 10, 522kg of seized cannabis along Dikwa Road, said: “We’re doing everything possible to rid the state of drug abuse and addiction and other societal vices among the teeming youths.”

Teenagers, young adults hooked to hard drugs

Outside the northeast, Nigeria grapples with the surge of drug dependent teens and young adults. The driving force behind the drug epidemic is not just the highly addictive nature of meth, cocaine, heroin among other hard drugs; many teenagers are drawn to the enticing lure of the highs; many more are enticed by the possibility of making a quick buck, as a dealer or retailer.

The lure is hard to resist. With massive unemployment and lack of a social security bracket for impoverished youths, the drug trade manifests as both an escape and lucrative enterprise for the unemployed.

The prevalence of drug-dependence among teenagers and young adults  has ignited worry among various societal segments in recent times. Between 2018 and 2019, nearly 15% of Nigeria’s adult population (around 14.3 million people) reported a “considerable level” of use of psychotropic drug substances, a rate much higher than the 2016 global average of 5.6% among adults.

The survey was led by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Centre for Research and Information on Substance Abuse with technical support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and funding from the European Union.

It showed the highest levels of drug use were recorded among people aged between 25 to 39, with cannabis being the most widely used drug. Sedatives, heroin, cocaine, and the non-medical use of prescription opioids were also noted. The survey excluded the use of tobacco and alcohol.

How drug abuse expose underage girls, women to sex slavery, rape

Health officials, law enforcers, and social workers alleged that drug abuse in the state exposes women and girls to sexual assaults and domestic violence.

The Borno Command of the NSCDC disclosed that youths in Maiduguri hypnotise teenage girls with drugs and charms to rape them.

Parents of rape victims in London Ciki, Jidari Polo and Gomari Coasting,  in Maiduguri reported attacks on their kids aged between 13 and 14. The latter confessed that some boys abducted them in a tricycle and raped them afterwards, using drugs and charms, according to the NSCDC.

In Lagos, users pay dearly for chasing the cheap high (known as chasing the dragon) – some dealers too. Ask Biola Iyanda, 19, who got raped in her sister’s shop soon after consuming omi gota, a cocktail of cannabis, cocaine, berry juice.

“My sister had gone home and left her bar in my care. She had these customers who often visited at night. Last Tuesday, they invited me to drink with them. The last thing I remembered was that they tried to grope me and I fell in the gutter in front of the shop. They raped me, right there in the gutter. I was rescued by members of a vigilance group, and they helped me get compensation from their parents. Each boy paid me N25, 000. I got N50, 000 as compensation and my sister banned them from her shop,” she said.

No doubt, many users totally lose their wits after consuming the hard drug. At another drug den in Amoo, The Nation observed several teenagers struck in different states of inebriation far into the night. Many were hyperactive, continually raising a ruckus over minor incidents. They laughed hard, fought hard and partied hard.

Chasing the ‘high’ into the grave

Despite the perceived dangers of abusing drugs, Olamide Ishola, a roadside mechanic in Abule Oja, Lagos, argued that there is nothing anyone can tell him to prevent him from seeking thrills in adhesive glue, paint cans, herbal alcoholic beverages and cough syrup. “O ti ga ju! O da bi ki eyan ma ta iku laya, ki eyan ma ji orun wo laiku.Won ni o npa yan, e je ki o pami. E je ki nwapa, e je ki nku. Aye kan yi ni mo wa (It’s a great experience. It’s like kissing death. It’s peeping into heaven while still alive…They say it kills. Let me die. Let me be thrilled to my grave. I only got this life to live),” he said, inhaling from a bottle containing adhesive and diluted paint.

Few months after The Nation’s initial report on teenagers’ growing dependence on narcotic brews like Colorado, Pamilerin and Gutter Juice, highlighting fears of an imminent narcotics epidemic, the psychoactive substances have become rampant in several parts of Lagos and neighbouring states.

They gained prominence in the wake of hip hop artiste, Olamide’s track, Science Students. While the song got banned by regulatory authorities for glorifying drug use, and was widely condemned in conservative social circuits, it enjoyed airplay among the youth, teenagers in particular, who embraced it for its creative depiction and veneration of their addiction.

It’s hard not to panic over the prevalence of narcotics that leaves devastating marks on its victims, including death.

Kamsi, a 400 level optometry student of the Abia State University, Uturu, Abia State, jumped down from a three-storey building and died on the spot, on the evening of Saturday, June 26, 2021 evening.

The deceased student reportedly took the hard drug known as Colorado and couldn’t “contain it”. His friends locked him inside the room and went in search of garri (cassava flakes) to help him regain consciousness. Unfortunately, he went through the balcony, thinking that he was on the ground floor, and plunged, head first, down their three-storey hostel. He died instantly.

Kenneth, a drug user, died at a popular hotel in Ikorodu, after drinking a drug substance named Gutter Juice. He died shortly after being rushed to a hospital.

The deceased reportedly ingested the substance, a mixture of codeine, tramadol, cannabis, and juice.

Kenneth developed seizures shortly after consuming the drink, and he was rushed to the Ikorodu Hospital for treatment where he was pronounced dead.

His experience brings to consciousness the alarming state of widespread drug use in Nigeria.

The fears escalate at the backdrop of accessibility to the hard drug. It is evidently easy to make: an addict can cook up Colorado or Gutter Juice using ingredients bought from the local pharmacy and underworld drug den. The public sale of some of its active ingredients, codeine, tramadol, rohypnol has been banned yet they are available over the counter and in the backroom of local pharmacies, at outrageous prices.

Dealers mix blackcurrant juice with a brew including tramadol, codeine, rohypnol, Indian Hemp, and cocaine. The result—a purple liquid with pungent smell—mimics the effect of injecting high-end cocaine at a fraction of the cost.

On average, users spend N9,000 per day on cocaine. This amount is half of the national minimum wage per month. Methamphetamine users spend an average of N 4,000. Heroin is obtainable at a street price of N4, 000 but adulterated ‘rocks’ often flavoured with thinner, is available at a range between N3, 500 and N4, 000.

However, one litre of premium psychoactive juice costs N3,000 while a 50cl bottle costs N1, 500. Adolescent users often pool resources and contribute to purchasing a bottle, which they share using disposable cups at the several liquor stores across Agege, Agbado, Yaba, Ijora-Badia, Ajegunle, Fadeyi, Akala, Ajah, Lekki and other parts of Lagos Island.

Those who can afford it simply purchase a litre of the brew at the sales point, and depart for home or a more private location to consume it. The narcotic brews are, however, available at more affordable potions, at N500 and N200, depending on their quality and the dealer.

From the barons to the streets

There are several ways of getting cocaine from South America to Europe via Lagos, West Africa. In the past, there had been three main hubs in West Africa for receipt and redistribution of the cocaine shipments:  The northern hub, radiating from Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, The Gambia, and Senegal. The southern hub, centered on Nigeria, including Benin, Togo, and Ghana. And an eastern hub, encompassing Mali and parts of Mauritania, of particular use in receiving consignments by air.

Once in West Africa, the drugs proceed to Europe along a number of routes. In the past, traffickers relied on large mother ships that offloaded cocaine onto smaller coastal craft.  Commercial air couriers can carry only small amounts, but their frequent use can offset this deficiency, and they also allow for great flexibility, moving drugs from any country in the region to any European destination.

Cocaine shipments can also be trafficked onward by sea or by land across the Sahara to North Africa, where they are flown to Europe in light aircraft or shuttled across the Mediterranean in go-fast boats. As with the Atlantic routes, all of these approaches are utilized in parallel, with the preferred technique and routing changing in response to law enforcement efforts.

Due to the free movement of people and goods throughout the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region, drugs are often routed through member states without the hindrances of border controls.

The drive from Lagos (Nigeria) through Cotonou (Benin) and Lome (Togo) to Accra (Ghana), for instance, is less than 500 km and can be completed in one day. Guinea- Bissau, one of the primary countries of ingress for cocaine, lacks commercial air links to the destination markets, and connections from Banjul (The Gambia) are not much better. As a result, most air couriers in the north depart from Dakar (Senegal) or Conakry (Guinea).

On arrival in Europe, the drugs may be sold to European or South American crime groups, or distributed through the extensive network of West Africans involved in retail cocaine distribution.

South American cocaine transiting West Africa, however, comes from all three source countries: Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia.

Setbacks in West Africa and the opportunities in Honduras after the 2009 coup led Venezuela-based traffickers to shift their attention to the US market. But if the flow from Venezuela has declined, where is West Africa getting its cocaine?

Brazil may be the answer, particularly for West African- owned shipments. Brazil has long been a source for Lusophone Guinea-Bissau but it has since become a source for countries throughout the region. The amount of cocaine trafficked to and through Brazil has increased remarkably in recent years, as reflected in growing seizure statistics.

Gbenga Mabo, the Director of Operations and Investigations of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said in a recent interview that more than 80 per cent of the cocaine that comes into Nigeria comes from Brazil, through Highway 10.

He argued that because Brazil is surrounded by Peru, Bolivia, Chile and others, a lot of cocaine gets into the country, and a syndicate of Nigerians operating in Brazil smuggles the hard drug into Lagos.

Nigerians have long dominated commercial air couriering from Brazil: close to 90% of the mules arrested at the international airport in Sao Paulo report obtaining their cocaine from Nigerian groups.

According to liaison officers in Brazil, Nigerian groups organize up to 30% of the cocaine exports by ship or container from Santos, Brazil’s largest port, up from negligible levels a few years earlier. The Sao Paulo-based Nigerian groups are also responsible for a very large share of the postal shipments of cocaine leaving the country.

Taming the menace

The menace assumes critical dimension, as vulnerable segments comprising women and children take to drugs. “Women and girls in the north use drugs to increase their libido and escape marital and emotional trauma,” explained Fatima Yahaya, a marriage counsellor and social psychologist.

But why are kids taking to hard drugs? Recently, the police in Lagos State arrested Ibrahim Sheu, 40, and his son, Faruk Ibrahim, 23, for allegedly selling Tramadol and other hard drugs to primary and secondary school pupils in the state.

Officials of the Office of Education and Quality Assurance alerted the police to who arrested them and recovered 72 pieces of Tramadol from them.

“We are toying with a mental health crisis. There is need to educate the public, minors in particular, about the risk of using of illicit drugs. Teenagers across the country take alcohol and coke with Tramadol and cough syrup containing codeine. They take it while smoking cannabis.

“They get high afterwards and lose all inhibitions, making them agreeable to random acts of violence. Too many of them have killed and are dying in the process,” said Taiye Ajekitan, a psychiatrist.

Ajekitan called for urgent government intervention stressing that, “Intervention efforts should exceed arresting them and shuttling them off to a reformatory for withdrawal therapy. Many of them step out of the facilities into their troubled world and dysfunctional families.”

More worrisome is the new fascination with meth among various segments of the country’s drug dependent youths. Few people would forget in a hurry, the viral video clip of a naked couple that were found wandering around the Victoria Garden City ( VGC) Estate in Lagos.

The video is hard to watch. A young couple walk hand in hand along a lighted street in VGC on Sunday, June 12. They are stark naked. The male, towering above six feet strolls languidly along, with his male organ, shrunken, yet jolting to his strides. His female partner walks dreamily behind, with her crotch bared to the world and her butts undulating to each stride. They walk leisurely down the street, oblivious to the growing mass of pedestrians barking caution at them, hurling restraint at them like cold blankets.

Cut to a shot of the couple ensconced in bed, in their bedroom. Their eyes look glassy as they stare into space, oblivious of their neighbours, who followed them back into their house, into their bedroom.

They are high on meth aka Ice or mkpuru mmiri, a synthetic, psychoactive drug. The duo had slashed their neck among other parts of their bodies in a suicidal fit, drawing blood and bleeding all over their apartment.

Cradling each other in their orgiastic state, they ignore the intruders taking pictures of their naked, bloodied frames and the drug paraphernalia scattered across their dingy apartment.

The suspected lovers undoubtedly caused a stir as fellow residents saw them strolling, fully naked, around the Victoria Garden City, in Ajah, Lagos. Having failed to get them of the streets, some residents informed the estate management and security guards.

The latter accompanied the couple back to their residence on Close 63. Also, a message the lovers pasted on the door leading of their apartment read, “If you open this door, you will be cursed.”

The Chairman, VGC landlords association, Gihan Mbelu, said the couple acted under the influence of hard drugs, adding that he took them to a hospital and they were discharged after two days. He said, “The incident happened around 8pm on Saturday. Before I got there, passersby had already taken pictures and made a video of the two young people. I am using this medium to tell people to stay away from drugs.”

Mbelu’s suasion resonates the urgent wishes of several Nigerians concerned with the alarming scourge of drug dependent youths and minors that has recently seized the nation in a vice grip.

For the VGC couple, things took a scary turn in their apartment as they inflicted injuries on their wrists and necks in a suicidal fit. Residents and neighbours engaged the duo as they cuddled in bed, in their bloodstained apartment.

The lovers allegedly said that they would die and rise again after three days. This is what hard drugs does to youths. And that’s not half as bad as the story gets.

The preferred candidates of incumbent Governor Kayode Fayemi and his predecessor, Ayodele Fayose, as well as a former governor of the state, Segun Oni, are the frontrunners in next week’s governorship election in Ekiti state, reports ‘Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor.

The Ekiti governorship election holds on June 18. On that day, just about a week from today, the people of the state will decide who will succeed Governor Kayode Fayemi, whose tenure ends soon. According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) final list, 16 political parties will participate in the election, comprising 14 male candidates and two females.

The commission had, on February 16 2022, published the personal particulars and list of candidates (Form EC9) for the election in its State and Local Government offices as required by law. Leading the pack of contenders are Abiodun Oyebanji as the governorship candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Olabisi Kolawole for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Segun Oni, candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Two female candidates, Christiana Olatawura of the Action Peoples Party (APP) and Kemi Elebute-Halle of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), are also in the race alongside 38 years old Iyaniwura Ifedayo of the National Rescue Movement (NRM). Also in the race are Reuben Famuyibo of Accord Party, Moses Ajagunigbala of African Action Congress, Oluwole Oluyede of African Democratic Congress,

Others are Benjamin Obidoyin of All Progressives Grand Alliance, Peter Adegbenro Fagbemi of Allied Peoples Movement, Olugbenga Daramola of Labour Party, Oladosu Abiodun Fatomilola of New Nigeria Peoples Party,  Olaniyi Ben Agboola of People’s Redemption Party, Adebowale Oluranti Ajayi of Young Progressives Party and Kolade Akinyemi Adeolu of Zenith Labour Party.

But in spite of the presence of more than a dozen political parties in the race, analysts and other observers of the politics of the southwestern state are of very strong opinions that the governorship contest is actually a three horse race among the three most popular political parties in Ekiti state today namely the ruling APC, the PDP, which remains the leading opposition party in the state since it lost power almost four years ago and the SDP, which can be described as the new entrant into the power struggle in the state.

The development is a departure from the usual trend in the state where the APC and the PDP had always emerged as the parties to beat in the governorship, as well as most other elections in Ekiti state. But the threat posed by the SDP and its candidate, former governor Oni, cannot be wished away ahead of next week’s election as some pundits are staking on the party to possibly spring a surprise by snatching away the seat from the two leading contenders.

In their bid to snatch victory at the election, all the political parties and their candidates have been moving round the state to sell their manifestos to the electorate and curry their votes ahead of the election. The Nation gathered that the APC, PDP and the SDP have been more visible in the struggle for the people’s votes. “The three parties and their candidates are leaving no one in doubt that they are in the race to win. More of them have been seen talking about campaigns and other electioneering activities,” Dunni Morka, state co-ordinator of Voters Right Agenda (VoRA) said on Thursday.

The contest

Analysts and election monitors have however observed that there has been less open campaign activities by political parties and candidates unlike what used to obtain in previous elections. But party leaders and sources told our correspondent that efforts are being concentrated at reaching the voters directly at the ward and voting unit level. “Politics is dynamic and it is changing. So, politicians too are learning to swim with the tides. It is now more advisable to do house to house campaign targeted at people with voters card than doing open campaigns.

“Most of the serious parties and the candidates have campaign teams and agents in all the voting units. These are the people who go out daily to canvass for votes. The needs to reach targeted audience and also cut cost are the reasons for the change in campaign strategy by most of them. Whether the new approach is working or not, we will have to wait for the outcome of the election to say that,” Morka said while speaking with our correspondent. But some observers say the absence of the usual fanfare may not be unconnected with the attention being paid to the various primary elections by the leading political parties ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Expected to do battle with one another on June 18 are the candidates of the three frontline political parties namely Abiodun Oyebanji, the governorship candidate of the ruling APC, Olabisi Kolawole of the opposition PDP and Segun Oni, candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Without prejudice to the other candidates and their political parties, checks across the state reveal that the above named candidates the front-liners in the Ekiti state governorship election this year.

Pundits however claim some factors, including the popularity of the political party, acceptability of the candidate, post primary election fence mending, among other issues, will determine the performances of the parties and their candidates on June 18. Analysts have also observed that since 1999, no party in the state has won re-election in the governorship race, emphasizing the much touted unpredictability and sophistication of Ekiti voters.

Leaders of the ruling APC in the state say Governor Fayemi has done enough in the last four years to ensure that the party breaks the jinx on June 18. According to Oyebanji, the party’s candidate, Fayemi’s achievements will be used to win the governorship election. “I was his Secretary to the State Government, so, there’s no way I can remove myself from his government and I’m going to benefit from his achievements. The two will work together. If a government has done well and a candidate wants to run on the platform that produced the Governor, it is natural he will benefit from the performance of that government,” he said.

But responding, the Bisi Kolawole Campaign Organisation (BKCO) Spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, said in a release, that: “Fayemi’s achievements Oyebanji can build on are banditry that has turned most Ekiti roads to nightmares, kidnappings, workers’ sack, bad roads and blanket looting of public funds. In Ekiti, under Fayemi and his APC government, even primary school teachers are not being spared by bandits, with teachers in the State having to contribute N500 each to pay ransom demanded by kidnappers of one of their colleagues recently.

“It is alarming that candidate of the APC in the June 18 governorship election, Biodun Oyebanji is joyfully saying that he will continue with this legacy of killings, sacking of workers, kidnappings and infrastructural decay and we await what they will tell Ekiti people when they mount campaign podium.” For Segun Oni of the SDP, his candidacy provides a much needed alternative to both the APC and the PDP which, in his opinion, are both no longer acceptable to the people of the state. “Ekiti people crave for something new. I am the new deal,” he said. This piece further examines how the leading aspirants and their parties stand; their strength and weaknesses, as well as their chances in the governorship election.

Oyebanji (APC)

Going by his popular moniker, ‘Omo-Ilu (Home Boy), the 54-year-old immediate past Secretary to the State Government (SSG), is no doubt a candidate to watch out for on June 18. He enjoys the support of the incumbent government in the state and is widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of Ekiti, haven being one of the youngest agitators for the creation of the state many years ago. His experience in government, having served two governors of the state namely former governor Niyi Adebayo, the current Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and incumbent Fayemi, in various key capacities for about eleven years, will also come to bear on his aspiration.

The APC governorship candidate is a seasoned administrator who served as the special adviser on parliamentary affairs in the administration of Adebayo and was Chief of Staff to Fayemi in his first term. His governorship aspiration enjoys the backing of both Fayemi and Adebayo.

He acquired a Bachelor of Science (Bsc.) degree in Political Science from the Ondo State University (now Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti) in 1989 and continued his quest for honours at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State in 1992 where he bagged his masters’ Degree (M.Sc) in Political Science (International Relations & Strategic Studies).

Oyebanji started his professional career as a Lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Ado Ekiti, where he worked for four years (1993-1997) and later proceeded to work as Manager, Treasury, and Financial Service at the defunct Omega Bank Plc (now Heritage Bank) till May 1999. Oyebanji is engaged in Agribusiness and is the chairman of Con Dois Farms LTD.

The former university lecturer was also a banker, a private businessman astute administrator, and a consummate politician. He is married to a senior university teacher. He was also the youngest member and secretary of the Movement for the Creation of Ekiti, which had lobbied the late General Abacha for the creation of the State in 1996.

In the first term of the current governor, he served as Director-General, Office of Transformation, Strategy and Delivery; Commissioner of Integration and Inter-governmental Relations; and later on, Commissioner of Budget and Economic Planning.

He has managed the executive-legislature relations, served as Chief of Staff, served as the policy coordinator of government in the OTSD, managed the economy of the state, served as an interface between the State and the Federal Government, international partners, and on regional matters.

According to Oyebanji, he drafted his manifesto after speaking with residents of the state to learn about their problems and needs. “These ideas have come from my interactions with various categories of Ekiti citizens at home and abroad. I have listened carefully to all that has been said to me, and I am deeply convinced that the task ahead is possible by God’s grace and with us working together. This is not a politician’s usual promise to a voting public but a pledge from an Ekiti man to his people. This is a promise from me to you that we will build on our achievements as a state and strive for more.

“Our proposed strategic pillars of action are all interlinked. We are ensuring that there is sufficient investment, and attention given to the specific areas we believe have the potential to create opportunities, improve well-being and deliver sustainable growth for everyone; from our elderly, to our youth, to our women, our workers at state and local government levels, our small and micro business owners, our investors, our teachers and our lecturers; and of course, our children. Let me remind you that there is no magic wand to build our state, and that the sustainable progress we want will not happen overnight. We have been on a long journey to reclaim our land and restore our values, it is now time to hunker down and sustain all our gains. Our roadmap focuses on critical growth areas we need to develop, to ensure we deliver the future we want for Ekiti. We have begun that journey, and we are on our way. Of all the candidates in the forthcoming election, I am best placed to deliver on an agenda for Ekiti that is innovative, relevant, inclusive and realistic.”

Strengths

Being a part and parcel of the current administration in the state is a huge plus for him. He is well known across the state having been part of the politics of Ekiti from the 90s. He worked with almost all the governors that have administered the state and he is reputed to be a worthy contributor to the achievements of those administrations.

His antecedents will give him ample opportunities to make contacts and build networks with the electorates ahead of the election. Oyebanji’s supporters are quick to cite his contribution to the creation of Ekiti state as one of the youngest agitators in the 90s. He is well known and respected among the older generation of Ekiti people for this reason.

When he joined other eminent Ekiti indigenes to mount relentless advocacy for the creation of Ekiti State as a 26-year-old lecturer at the then Ondo State University, Ado Ekiti (OSUA), now known as Ekiti State University (EKSU) in the mid-90s, Oyebanji never knew that the symbolic step was the beginning years of selfless services to his fatherland.

At that young age, Oyebanji had been working and interacting with eminent traditional rulers, legal luminaries, retired permanent secretaries and top bureaucrats, senior university dons, business moguls and captains of industry and other leaders of thought in the state creation drive and relentless advocacy before Ekiti State was created by the late Gen. Sani Abacha-led military government on October 1, 1996.

Also working for him is the support of the Governor and the leadership of his party. Oyebanji’s popularity was shored up across the state ahead of the election because the APC conducted its governorship primary using the Modified Open Ballot System (MOBS) otherwise known as Direct Primary Mode or Option A4 System. This took his name to the nooks and crannies of the state ahead f him.

Also, shortly after he resigned from office as the Secretary to the State Government (a position he had held since October 2018) in early December last year, Oyebanji immediately embarked on visits to party leaders and members in their wards to seek their support for his candidature, with a message that he was ready to serve the people of the state.

By the time the primary election of the APC was held on January 27, 2022, Oyebanji had, according to his campaign office, crisscrossed the 177 wards four times, speaking on his readiness for the top job, the experience he had garnered and why he believed he was the best man for the job in 2022. Thus, he had probably met the electorate more than any of his challengers had done till date.

There is no doubt that Oyebanji has garnered a lot as a learner and disciple in politics and governance. He boasts of rich political curriculum vitae of working experience acquired at the state and federal levels. To many analysts, these are the experiences he has been showcasing to the electorate. He is widely regarded as a man who has a lot to campaign with.

Another factor that worked in Oyebanji’s favour was his obvious acceptance by two of Ekiti state’s most influential power brokers: former Governor Adebayo and incumbent Governor Fayemi. The two leaders, who had managed their relationship well for nearly two decades now, appear to be further united by Oyebanji’s candidature, as a known loyalist of the duo.

Before the APC primary election, it was feared in some quarters that the issue of who emerges as the APC gubernatorial candidate in 2022 will create a serious disagreement between Adebayo and Fayemi, but as it turned out, the two leaders are satisfied having Oyebanji as the candidate. The development ensured that Oyebanji will enjoy the support of the supporters of the two across the state.

Oyebanji also stands as a favourite in the race on account of the performance of the Fayemi administration. The administration is seen to have performed despite the limited resources available to it. The party has more than 2,000 projects across the length and breadth of the state which the candidate and the party have been pointing to and using as campaign tools ahead of the governorship election.

The APC has also played smart politics to position its candidate for victory on June 18 by picking Hon Biodun Oyebanji’s running mate, Mrs. Monisade Afuye from Ikere Ekiti, the town   with second largest vote concentration in Ekiti.

He will also benefit immensely from the victory of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the presidential primary election of the APC and the new found alliance between Tinubu and Governor Fayemi. Before now, the APC in Ekiti state was divided into groups loyal to Tinubu and Fayemi, amidst fears that the Tinubu group may not work for Oyebanji at the polls. But as thigns stand today, the APC will go into the election more united than it was.

Weaknesses

Oyebanji will be contesting not only against his opponents and their political parties, but also against an age-long myth that political parties in Ekiti state do not win election back to back. As unempirical as the belief is, it is widespread across the state and analysts say it may be the only reason some voters will not bother about finding out much about the candidate of the ruling party.

Oyebanji’s campaign had to work hard to convince many voters not to judge the APC in Ekiti and its candidate with the scorecard of the federal government, especially in the area of insecurity. The opposition parties, especially the PDP, have been emphasizing on the sorry state of security across the country in their campaign against Oyebanji and the APC.

Prospect

He remains the obvious front-runner in the race. His chances of winning the election are the brightest barring an unforeseen last minute development. His candidacy and the strength of his political platform combine to give him an edge in the race.

Kolawole (PDP)

Kolawole had resigned his position as Ekiti PDP chairman to contest the governorship election. He was the preferred aspirant of Fayose, former governor of the state. He defeated Segun Oni, an ex-governor, and Kolapo Olusola, a former deputy governor in the state primary election amidst allegations of imposition and irregularities.

The 64-yearold candidate of the PDP is arguably one of the most experienced politicians in the race for the coming election. A former House of Assembly member, commissioner and party chairman, Kolawole, from Efon-Ekiti, is enjoying the full backing of former governor Ayodele Fayose who many believe is popular among the voting population.

The PDP candidate had represented the Efon state constituency in the Ekiti State House of Assembly and later served as the Commissioner of the Environment between 2015 and 2018. Prior to his emergence as the chairman of the PDP in Ekiti, Kolawole had also been the Director General of the governorship campaign of Olusola Eleka, the party’s governorship aspirant in the 2018 gubernatorial election. He contested for the Chairman opposition of the Ekiti PDP chapter and pulled a total of 1651 votes out of 1690 votes.

He was actively involved in Students Union politics at the Yaba College of Technology. In 1999, he moved to Efon Alaaye from Lagos. He became a Supervisor in the Efon-Alaaye Local Government. In the year 2007, he was elected under the PDP platform to the Ekiti House of Assembly, and was Chairman of the House Committee on Works.

He was a significant stabilising force in the Assembly and indeed, the state during the 13 PDP and 13 AC (later ACN) membership of the House of Assembly. In 2013, he was appointed by the Federal Government as a member of the Governing Council of the Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Niger State. He contested the 2019 federal elections to represent his constituency in the House of Representatives. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the PDP.

He cannot be underrated in the build-up to the poll considering his credentials, experience and the fact that he is contesting on the platform of the major opposition party, with presence across the 177 wards in the state. Kolawole says with the support of other party leaders, he is in the race to win.

When asked why he is in the race , Kolawole said “I am contesting because we are very familiar with the situation in Ekiti. We know where the shoe pinches because the present APC government in the state has not done enough. People are suffering with no care from the government. The workers and pensioners are being owed as we speak. The roads and other facilities are bad and dilapidated and our youths are not being encouraged to go into farming and other opportunities. With me in the saddle, all these will be looked into.

“Let me tell you that the totality of all these things will make an average Ekiti person comfortable and well. Don’t forget that I am familiar with governance, having been a member of the House of Assembly, and a commissioner in the state. All these are important. The people are not asking government to make them millionaires. They just want to be comfortable. Provide adequate social services to them. The totality of all I have said is one of the reasons that have prompted me to go all out for it and by the grace of God, with experience and support of the people, the situation will improve.”

Strengths

As a former State chairman of the opposition PDP, Kolawole is widely known across the state. He is also known to have a wide political structure peopled largely by leaders of the PDP in the various wards and Local Governments of the state. The PDP candidate will also benefit immensely from the street credibility and state-wide popularity of his godfather, former governor Ayodele Fayose, who ensured his emergence as the party’s candidate.

Expressing optimism, Fayose had said, “Kolawole is more than popular. Let me give you the CV of the PDP candidate. Our candidate is a personal friend of Engineer Oni. He is a personal friend of Prince Dayo Adeyeye. He was a member of House of Assembly under Oni and Fayemi. I heard Governor Oni described Kolawole as a stabilising factor that time. Beyond that, when you want to campaign, one of the first set of the people you will choose for your campaign is the Director General of the campaign; the DG of a campaign must be a man of means, of knowledge, known and who has what it takes.

“Our candidate was the DG of Adeyeye Campaign even against me in 2014. Back to back, he became the DG of my candidate too in 2018. Why is everybody choosing him? Why are they not choosing somebody else within the space of two elections? My candidate became the chairman of PDP in an election which produced the same delegates that produced the governorship candidate. Kolawole, by the grace of God, was a member of the highest body of the party in Nigeria as a BOT member. So, what other CV do you want? He has functioned in virtually all sectors.”

In the words of the National Chairman of the PDP, former Senate President Iyorchia Ayu, Kolawole “knows the rudiments of Ekiti state politics haven gone through the State House of Assembly, served as Commissioner and later emerged the state chairman of the party. He has seen it all as a politician. He is a perfect fit as our candidate. So, Kolawole is a well breed politician.”

Also working in tandem for Kolawole and the PDP is the age-long myth that political parties in Ekiti state do not win election back to back. As unempirical as the belief is, it is widespread across the state and analysts say it may be the only reason some voters will not bother about finding out much about the candidate of the ruling party.

The opposition party is party is hoping to repeat the feat performed by Fayose against Fayemi in 2014 by sacking the ruling party from the Government House at the polls. But with Segun Oni and the SDP putting up spirited effort to make good impact during the election, the efficacy or otherwise of the famed myth is not limited to the PDP alone this time.

Weaknesses

The PDP is currently balkanised in Ekiti state with the group loyal to Senator Biodun Olujimi still largely aggrieved. The silence of the leadership of the group as regards the party’s campaign effort is a source of concern to stakeholders as pundits warn that the disagreement may cost Kolawole and his party some erstwhile PDP strongholds during the guber election.

“The inability of the party to resolve the lingering differences and bring everybody on board the campaign is a major issue that may work against us on June 18. Groups like those loyal to Senator Olujimi among many others are yet to be properly pacified and integrated into the mainstream of the party ahead of the election. This is a serious source of worry,” a party source claimed.

Pundits say in spite of efforts by Fayose to unite the PDP ahead of the election, some supporters and allies of Olujimi and former deputy governor, Professor Kolapo Eleka, are refusing to work for Kolawole’s aspiration. Fayose had ensured Olujimi got a return ticket to the senate last month when his ally, Segun Adekola, withdrew from the race to allow Olujimi pick the ticket.

But not much have been heard or seen from the Senator’s camp in support of Kolawole’s aspiration since after the PDP senatorial primary in spite of indications that her victory at the poll may have been a result of a peace move initiated by the national leadership of the party and encouraged by Fayose in order to ensure all hands are on deck to win the June 18 election.

Prospect

Kolawole is a strong contender for the coveted governorship seat and he stands a good chance of emerging victorious at the polls on June 18. His political antecedents as well as the famed acceptability of Fayose across the state make him a candidate to reckon with.

Oni (SDP)

Oni, who was governor of the state between 2007 and 2010 before he was sacked by the judiciary in a judgement that brought incumbent governor Fayemi into office for his first term, is seeking to return to the Ado Ekiti Government House through what his supporters call the ‘third force’, twelve years after leaving office. No doubt, Oni is widely seen as one of the best persons to have governs the state. He enjoys impressive goodwill among the people of the state due to his exploits across critical sectors when he was in the office. He was a foundation member of the United Nigeria, Congress Party / (UNCP) where he played a largely supportive role as a party loyalist. He is also a foundation member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti.

He was nominated by the Honourable Minister of Education in September 1999, to serve on the Board of Trustees of Education Trust Fund (ETF) as Trustee representing the South West. He was elected governor of Ekiti State in 2007 and took office on May 29, 2007. Last February, he joined the SDP to contest the June 18 governorship election in the state after losing at the primary election of the PDP. Oni insisted he dumped the party over alleged electoral malfeasance and irregularities during the primary.

When asked on how the SDP will win without a known structure less than four months to the election, the former governor maintained that the will and aspirations of the people is the most important structure needed to defeat the APC and PDP in the state.

The Ifaki-born politician caused a stir in the state when he claimed that no fewer that four aggrieved governorship aspirants in the APC, members of a factional group in Ekiti APC, the South West Agenda for Asiwaju 2023 (SWAGA); members of the repositioning group in the PDP and others are forming what he described as a grand collation to win the election.

Considering his political journey and attainments, it is clear that Oni has followers in the ruling and main opposition parties, which has become a bulwark for his campaign and ambition in the SDP. Ekiti and indeed the world are waiting for the political ingenuity and wizardry that Oni would bring to bear to turn the table against the APC and the dominant opposition PDP in this game.

Oni assured the people that his return to the saddle of governance would usher in robust security architecture, improved human capital and infrastructure development, civil service restructuring, education and technology fortification, employment generation and good and affordable healthcare services, among others.

“We will partner you to rediscover the Ekiti Dream, where we shall collectively build a prosperous land, seek the forgotten and leave no one behind. It is going to be an all-inclusive government because no one can do it all alone. We will allow people to take ownership of government as power belongs to them under an ideal democratic structure.

” I am confident we will come back, and we are going to come back even better and stronger than before. Your clarion call to me to return in the service of the state has met my preparedness to serve you again and even better. But we must come together, keep together and work together to get things done. I do not doubt that we will do better when we work together,” he said.

Strengths

Oni has two things going for him in this game and that is the goodwill he has garnered over the years as a former governor, where he employed over 6,000 people into the civil service. Some people across the state also have the general feeling that he is one leader with spartan, modest and receptive mien, who can be trusted with power.

And in Ekiti, the civil service remains a vital sector during elections, because it consists of over 60, 000 population all within voting ages. This gives them advantage to remove any governor at will, especially those they do not want. So, if Oni’s famed popularity among workers in the state is translated into votes on June 18, he will be greatly benefited.

Supporters of the SDP candidate say he is the man to beat on June 18 because the popular opinion across the state is that there is a need to bring back Segun Oni as the governor of Ekiti State for a new dawn of development and growth to emerge in the state. To them, the people are going to vote the former governor based on his performance while in office.

Of a truth, many people in Ekiti still relish what they call the good old times of Segun Oni as governor. But it is left to be seen whether the number of people who feel that way are enough to return him to government house. The widespread complaints about the failure of the current administration in the country in the areas of economy and security are being exploited by Oni’s campaign against APC.

Olukunle Olu-Ojo, politician and staunch supporter of Oni, said; “what Ekiti needs at this particular time is not a continuation of hardship, woes and selfish governance but a new dawn to usher in good governance and socio-economic development. This is a time to bring in a tested and trusted leader with record of achievements. It is going to be a new dawn this June 18th, not continuity of hardship.”

Oni also boasts of a wide political network across the state that is expected to work in his favour. A coalition of political parties and groups had also joined his campaign to strengthen his chances.

The fact that he brought out his running mate, Ladi Owolabi, from Ado Ekiti, the capital city, which has the largest percentage of voting population in the state, also reinforced his chances in this election. Also, Ado Ekiti has the largest percentage of voting population and it remains one of the swing local governments in election victory.

Weaknesses

The major drawback to Oni’s ambition is his political platform. In spite of efforts by the former governor and his campaign structure to popularize the party in the state, SDP remains far less popular than the APC and the PDP across the state. While Oni’s name has done a lot to take the party’s name and logo into the homes of the people, pundits say much still need to be done for SDP to unseat the APC in the state.

There are those who feel he has nothing to return to in the Government House and thus, will not vote for him. “The biggest blow to Segun Oni’s ambition is the hatred our people now have for recycled leadership. We had seen the best of Segun Oni between 2007 and 2010, so our people are yearning for a new, competent leadership and that is what Hon Kolawole of the PDP represent,” a pundit claimed.

Similarly, Oni is also seen s a serial contestant in some quarters and this is also a huge minus for him couple with allegations that he is an ambitious politician with a penchant to always dump his political party for another. His defections from the APC and the PDP in quick succession have also cost him many of his trusted foot-soldiers across the state as many of them refused to follow him out of their political parties when he left. This will surely work against him at the polls.

Prospect

He remains one of the three front runners in the race. Many of his supporters expect him to spring a surprise that will see him displace the candidates of APC and PDP and clinch the seat on June 18. Although this remains a very tall order, it is not outright impossibility given Oni’s political antecedents and pedigree.

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Senator Ajayi Boroffice representing Ondo North senatorial district is presently the longest serving Senator in Ondo State. He was first elected to the Senate in 2011 under the Labour Party (LP) but defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) where he got re-elected in 2015 and 2019. Senator Boroffice who is Deputy Leader of the Senate, is seeking another term in office, but some aspirants in the ruling APC have vowed to stop him from securing the party’s ticket for another term in office.

Ondo North is made up of the Akoko axis, comprising of four local government areas and the Owo/Ose axis, made up of two local government areas. Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu hails from the Owo/Ose axis which made politicians argue that the Senator in the next political dispensation should hail from the Akoko axis. The fourth term bid of Senator Boroffice might be scuttled by two powerful politicians that have indicated interest in the race. They are Rear Admiral Samuel Alade (rtd) and a revenue consultant, Chief Alex Ajipe.

Alade hails from the Akoko axis while Chief Ajipe hails from Owo/Ose axis. A first factor is the division that has hit Senator Boroffice’s political camp. Many of his former foot soldiers have opted to work for other aspirants. The foot soldiers accused Senator Boroffice of not caring about their welfare and not doing much for the development of Ondo North in the last 12 years. Leading the pack is the former Director General of Senator Boroffice Campaign Organisation, Mr. Tolu Babaleye. Babaleye is presently the DG of Ajipe Campaign Organisation.

Babaleye had alleged in an interview that Senator Boroffice has no empowerment project to show in the past 12 years. The human right lawyer, who spoke in Akure, said the 12 years of Senator Boroffice was the worst thing to happen to the Ondo North. He accused Senator Boroffice of disconnecting totally from the people. He also challenged the Deputy Senate Leader to mention any physical project completed since he became a senator.

Babaleye further added that the people of Ondo North were ready to change the narrative and vote out Senator Boroffice in 2023. However, some youths under the auspices of Agenda for Greater Ondo North (AGON), who spoke at a press briefing, said Senator Boroffice has facilitated key skills and empowerment programmes as well as other initiatives for the people of Ondo North since becoming a Senator in 2011.

National Coordinator of the group, Mr. Adewale Aguda, said it was same Babaleye that was all over Ondo North four years ago highlighting the numerous achievements of Boroffice could turn around to work

According to him, “While we believe this challenge will be taken up by the Senator’s office when his re-election campaign fully takes off, we, as the representatives of the good people of Ondo Senatorial District, who are major beneficiaries of the various projects facilitated and sponsored by Senator Boroffice feel compelled to state some of them. Some of these were amplified by Babaleye four years ago when he was in the Senator’s team.

“One wonders why Babaleye, a legal practitioner, would suddenly make a turn-around in his utterances on the performance of Senator Boroffice as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Is it because he has been paid to discredit the achievement of Senator Boroffice and now leading the campaign of an opponent of the senator? Or is it that the lawyer has joined the league of the legion of ‘pull-him-down’ politicians, whose stock in trade is to castigate high performing public servants and officeholders?

“We are watching the development with keen interest and we are ready to engage Babaleye with facts and figures. Some of these skill acquisition centres at Ifon, Oka Akoko, Ikare Akoko, and Ikaramu Akoko have trained over 1,000 youths in the trades of shoemaking, tailoring, and other trades and crafts. Some of the grades after the skills training were empowered with their trades’ starters kits, soft capitals and interest-free loans to enable them to practise what they learnt and earn decent livings to take care of themselves and those depending on them.”

On his part, Chief Ajipe, who is the Managing Director of Click Connect, declared that his intention to contest for the Senate was to remove darkness from Ondo North by attracting meaningful developmental projects. Chief Ajipe who promised to focus on human capital development to curb crimes and unemployment said the people should judge with their votes if Senator Boroffice had represented them well.

According to him, “Our leader has access to so many opportunities at the center, but cannot boast of a single thriving industry to employ youths and women. I drank stream water here while growing up but the problem of shortage of portable water has remained. The story had remained the same. Deceit upon deceit and unkept promises. Darkness is when our leader has all the money in the world, and our people have grown poorer and poorer over the years.

“Darkness is when our leader has become over-confident, saying that he knows people, and will have the results of a primary written in Abuja like he usually does, and there is nothing anyone can do about it because he is the godfather of godfathers! What do we say to this? We have God on our side. The people will judge if they are okay with the representation of Senator Boroffice. I have voted for him three times and I think he should vote for me this time around.

“They want to use issue of zoning to divide us. The Governor belongs to all the 18 local government areas. What belongs to us belongs to the six local government areas.”

Rear Admiral Samuel Alade (rtd), the Former Commandant of National Defence Academy and Balogun of Akure Kingdom said he is capable, willing and ready to add meaninghful values to the overall development of Ondo North. Alade who promised to focus on a four-point agenda which centred around youth development, infrastructure enhancement, security and agriculture said his desire to go to the Senate was to the political opportunity to continue to help the people

According to him, “The quest to continue to serve, even after 37 years in the military, informed my consideration to participate in partisan politics and the eventual decision to contest for a seat at the Senate under the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC). I intend to represent the good people of Ondo North Senatorial District and the ambition has received overwhelming acceptability in the senatorial district”.

“It will give me opportunity to add more value to the lives of the people in terms of infrastructural development, adding value to education, youth development, agriculture, as well as move the people forward economically. I think people are saying he has not performed. I am very much ready to add more value. I have helped many people to gain employment into several organisations.” If on-going consensus talks failed, the race for the APC ticket for Ondo North senatorial district might be a three-horse race among an academician, a financial consultant and a retired military personnel. The delegate would be the king.

Meanwhile, former Speaker of Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt.Hon. Victor Olabimtan, has withdrawn from the Ondo North Senatorial race. Olabimtan, who is the Chairman, Ondo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB said that his decision not to contest was in the interest of equity and fairness. “Owo/ Ose Federal constituency, having produced the incumbent Governor, it was expected that the senate seat would remain in Akoko side of the North senatorial district.

You, my leaders and friends, not just from the North but also across the State, have been prompting me to take up the challenge and contest for the Ondo North senatorial seat. As noble and inspiring as this seem, I am using this medium to inform you of my decision not to contest for the Ondo North Senatorial seat in the interest of equity and fairness,” he said.

Tofowomo’s headaches

Last Wednesday, business mogul, Dr. Jimoh Ibrahim, an APC aspirant for the Ondo South Senatorial District, picket the party’s N20 million Expression of Interest and Nomination forms at the APC Secretariat, Abuja. “I have collected the forms because I have all the qualities to vie and win the APC ticket and the senate seat,” Ibrahim said. The Igbotako-born APC chieftain had announced his interest in contesting as a Senator to represent Ondo South Senatorial District in the upper chamber of the National Assembly last week.

The founder of Fortune University Igbotako said he wants to add his professional savvy and experience to the legislative business in the National Assembly and he is poised to ensure that as a Senator representing Ondo South, he will provide maximum empowerment across the Senatorial District. Pundits say he looks good to get the ticket of the ruling party given his current relationship with the state governor.

Aside Ibrahim, an industrialist, Tony Godday Erewa, is also interested in the Ondo South Senatorial seat in the 10th National Assembly. He is a PDP chieftain. The former governorship aspirant in the 2020 election said he is contesting the election to ensure vibrant representation and rescue the senatorial district from underdevelopment. Party sources however say he may not find it easy clinching the ticket as the incumbent senators bent on returning to the senate in 2023.

Meanwhile, the Senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District, Nicholas Tofowomo and former Deputy Governor of the state, Agboola Ajayi, are now at loggerheads over the PDP senatorial tickets in the district. Amidst allegations from Tofowomo’s camp that Ajayi plots to manipulate the delegates’ list that will be used for the senatorial primary election, the incumbent Senator has vowed to resist any desperate bid to deny him of the party’s ticket.

But supporters of the former deputy governor described the allegation as unfounded, saying Tofowomo is scared of the imminent defeat that awaits him in the coming election. According to Director of Media and Publicity, Tofowomo Campaign Organisation, Olumide Akinrinlola, Ajayi has concluded arrangements with some others to tinker with the delegates’ list. He claimed Ajayi boasting about his chances of winning the party’s primary during a political meeting with PDP executives at Fabiyi Hall in Okitipupa town on Saturday, March 26, 2022.

“He boasted at the meeting that he’s working in collaboration with retired Capt. Umar Bature, the National Organising Secretary of the PDP in Abuja to win the PDP Senatorial primary in Ondo South.” He quoted Ajayi to have said that; “With the support of Wadata, especially that of the party’s National Organising Secretary, who already received from me the Adhoc delegates list for the Senatorial primary, in line with our agreement with the governors before returning to the PDP, I’m confident of winning the ticket of the party if you all support me this time.”

Ajayi in his reaction signed by Media Adviser, Allen Sowore, said the former Deputy Governor never made such statement credited to him and described the allegation as not true. Sowore said in the statement that “For the purpose of clarity and to disabuse the minds of the unsuspecting members the general public, the former Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi never made such statement during the meeting held on Saturday 26th March 2022, in Fabiyi Hall, Okitipupa or anywhere else throughout his consultation tour of the South Senatorial District.

“Luckily, prominent leaders and members of our party, who can bear witness, attended all the meetings held across the four local government areas of Ondo South District including the first meeting held on Friday 25th March, 2022, in the Idepe Town Hall, Okitipupa where the former Deputy Governor declared his interest to run for the South Senatorial District seat.

“We are not surprised that Senator Nicholas Tofowomo who’s already jittery of the imminent defeat staring him in the coming election can go this low to authorise his Media Director to spill this gibberish and unfounded allegation against the person of the former Deputy Governor of the state, member of the National Working Committee of our great party and most importantly a leading aspirant in South Senatorial District seat.

“Senator Nicholas Tofowomo should tell the people his achievements in the last three years; the justification for his reelection bid instead of this campaign of calumny he embarked on against the former Deputy Governor. The former Deputy Governor is focused and determined in his aspirations to rescue and liberate Ondo South Senatorial District from the jugular of this attention seeking misfit.”

With the primary elections of the two frontline parties drawing closer by the day, pundits are predicting a tough race in the district irrespective of the candidates produced by the shadow elections. “One thing is certain, the election for the senate seat here in Ondo South will be tough given the obvious desperation among the contenders this time around,” a party source said.