As the campaigns for the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti State enters a crucial stage, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu and Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, examine the chances of the parties and their candidates
AHEAD of the July 14 Governorship Election in Ekiti State, the various political parties hoping to participate in the election have nominated their flag bearers. A good number of them have also named the running mates of their candidates. All these, according to political analysts, signify the commencement of the real battle over who the next occupiers of the Government House should be.
Going by the list of parties and their candidates as released by the Independent National Electoral Commission Election (INEC) during the week, 38 governorship candidates will be slugging it out at the polls in July, although some pundits and conservative political observers insist the battle will actually be fought by not more than four leading political parties and their candidates.
Beside the political parties, the frontline contenders in the election remain the immediate former governor of the state who is the current Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi of All Progressives Congress (APC) and the incumbent Deputy Governor of the state, Olusola Eleka, of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who has the backing of Governor Ayodele Fayose, respectively.
However, on INEC list are the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has Eleka as its flag-bearer, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), which has Gbenga Adekunle as its flag bearer, All Progressives Congress, (APC), which Fayemi as its flag bearer, Progressives Peoples’ Alliance, PPA, with Goke Animashaun as the candidate and the United Democratic Party, UDP, which nominated Olusegun Adeleye.
Other parties and their candidates are the Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD), with Ogundipe Lawrence as the candidate and the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), with Ebenezer Femi Ogunsakin as the flag bearer; Social Democratic Party (SDP) with Akinloye Aiyegbusi as candidate, Action Democratic Party (ADP) with Segun Adewale as its flag bearer; African Democratic Congress (ADC) with Ayodele Adesua and Alliance for Democracy (AD) with Agboola Olaniyi, among others.
While the APC have announced its readiness to stop Eleka and the PDP from remaining in the Government House beyond 2018, Fayose, who insists that his achievement in the last four years will return his party to office come July 14, has vowed that no party, aside PDP, will emerge victorious in the election. This is just as some other candidates and parties are optimistic of victory as the date draws nearer.
One of those exuding optimism is former Deputy Governor, Abioudun Aluko, who is reported to have been given the nod to fly the banner of the Accord Party on July 14 in spite of the fact that INEC listed one Ilesanmi Anike Margaret as the party’s candidate. “Many attempts have been made unethically by the enemies of our dear state to crumb the great vision by unpatriotically denying me a platform to showcase my interest. But God in his majesty has put them behind us and they have been put to shame,” Aluko said, while announcing his candidacy on the platform of the Accord Party last Friday.
Olusola Eleka
The emergence of the deputy governor, Prof Olusola Eleka, as the candidate of PDP was not without fierce political intrigues. Many have argued that Fayose practically forced his number two man on the party contrary to the wishes of many PDP top players. The highlight of the intrigues that brought Eleka into the governorship race as a candidate is the exit of former Minister, Dayo Adeyeye, from the ruling party.
Eleka scored 1,190 to defeat Adeyeye, the only challenger in the race, who scored 771 votes. But Adeyeye alleged that Fayose forced many of the delegates to vote for his preferred candidate contrary to the agreement reached before the primary election. He vowed to work against the victory of the PDP candidate in the July election.
The 49 year old university don is from Ikere-Ekiti. Until his election as Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Eleka was a teacher in the Department of Building, Obafemi Awolowo University, where he had lectured for 24 years. His research interests are mainly in the field of Alternative Building Materials Development for Housing Construction, Construction Technology and Structural Mechanics.
While his supporters are quick to call him the ‘stabilising factor’ in the current administration, led by Fayose, not a few observers of the politics of the state argued that he is more or less a lame duck deputy who has brought nothing to bear on the administration. “Eleka as deputy governor is so colourless that many people refer to him as Fayose’s Personal Assistant. One wonders the type of governor he will be,” Ebun Olubodun, former spokesperson of the Action Congress in the state said.
“I know it is a divine project and those doubting should wait and see in the end what it is going to be. Power comes from God and He gives it willingly. Some say I am promoting my deputy. I am not, but I am only doing the will of God. When we do His will, there is no need to fear. We are going to that Promised Land. This is God’s project and it won’t fail,” Fayose had said while explaining the chances of his political godson at the forthcoming governorship election.
Kayode Fayemi
The victory of Dr. Kayode Fayemi at the APC governorship primary election, though foretold by some pundits, was not without initial hitches that threatened to tear the party apart. But many thanks to the intervention and wisdom of some prominent leaders of the party in the Southwest, the then budding crisis was nipped and the former governor went ahead to pick the party’s nomination by defeating about 30 other aspirants in the race.
Fayemi polled 941 votes, followed by another former governor, Segun Oni, who got 481 votes, while Kayode Ojo, with 281votes, came third. In fact, the contest for the gubernatorial ticket was mainly between the two former governors of Ekiti. And contrary to heightened fear in many quarters that the outcome of the primary election will lead to the exit of some of the aspirants, none of them dumped the party.
It would be recalled that Fayemi, a native of Isan-Ekiti in Oye Local Government of Ekiti State, lost his re-election bid to Governor Fayose in 2014 and was appointed minister in 2015. A scholar with interest in peace and conflict resolution, his research and policy interests include: Democratisation, Constitutionalism, Security Sector Governance, and Regionalism in the Global Context.
Many of his supporters are quick to say Fayemi remains the only person who can defeat the PDP in Ekiti State given that he trounced the party and its candidate in 2010 to emerge as the governor of the state. But those not in his support insist he will have to reach out to the ordinary people of Ekiti better this time around if he desires to be victorious in the forthcoming election.
““All other aspirants are my friends and colleagues, and I am going to work with them to ensure that our great party emerges winner in the forthcoming gubernatorial election,” he said. Adding his voice, President Muhammadu Buhari said, “Fayemi’s track record in the state as a reformist, with a penchant for building educational infrastructure and promoting the welfare of the ordinary people, will bolster his chances at the forthcoming polls.”
Segun Adewale
Former factional state chairman of the PDP in Lagos State, Segun Adewale, had earlier declared his intention to rule Ekiti State on the platform of the ruling PDP. But the victory of the Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee of the party put paid to his desire to clinch the PDP governorship ticket. Undaunted, he berthed in the Action Democratic Party (ADP) and wasted no time in securing its ticket.
Adewale clinched the ADP ticket with 16,890 votes out of the total votes of 17,600 which is 96 percent of all the votes cast at various wards across the 16 local government areas in Ekiti State. The party had adopted the option A4 in deciding who its flag-bearer would be. His supporters say his victory at the primary election testifies to his widespread acceptability across the state.
Popularly known as Segun Aeroland, the ADP candidate is a native of Ipoti EKiti in Ijero Local Government Area of the state. He ran for the Federal House of Representatives, Alimosho Federal Constituency in Lagos State in 2011 on the platform of the PDP but lost the election to Solomon Olamilekan Adeola of the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). The election was reportedly marred by violence.
Adewale has promised to fix the power as a matter of urgency giving a three months’ timeline to restore electricity to affected communities. He also said that he will generate 10 megawatts in each of the three senatorial districts of the state. He has also made a promise to the civil servants that he will clear all the outstanding salaries of workers and that of pensioners within his first six months. He charged Ekiti people to vote massively for his party, the Action Democratic Party (ADP) at the polls to bring about a paradigm shift in the governing and running of the state.
Issues that may shape the voting
Aside calibre of candidates and acceptability of political parties, observers said there are some other issues that may play major roles in determining the eventual winner of the Ekiti election. Such issues, we learnt, include, but may not be limited to zoning, consideration of the performance index of the two political parties, APC and APC, which have governed the state in recent times; the rivalry between Fayose and Fayemi and to a lesser extent, religious sentiments.
Zoning:
Although the argument may differ amongst the leading political parties in the contest, our investigation shows that zoning may likely play a major role in the forthcoming election. It would be recalled that it dominated discussion during the campaigns leading to the primaries. Now that the parties have elected their candidates, it remains to be seen how the zoning factor will either favour them or serve as one of the major hurdles they must cross.
Advocates of zoning are saying that out of the three senatorial districts in the state, only Ekiti South has not produced an elected governor. They argued that Ekiti North has produced twice (2007 – 2010, and 2010 – 2014). Ekiti Central has equally tasted the governorship thrice (1999 – 2003, 2003 – 2006 and 2014 to date). This, they said accounts for their demand for the governorship slot to be ceded to Ekiti South. Olugbenga Olagoke, commenting on the zoning demand told The Nation on Friday that this was the reason “The Ekiti South Senatorial District has the highest number of aspirants ahead of the 2018 election.” Another source, a top member of one of the major political parties however countered that zoning is not the major concern of average Ekiti electorates today. “What we want is a governor that will bring back the glory of Ekiti. That is what will count on the Election Day because we are tired of the current show of shame,” he said.
APC/PDP performance:
Notwithstanding the large number of participants in the race, some informed observers said the central issue will boil down to the performance of Fayose-led PDP government and Fayemi-led APC government before now. “No one is deceived here in Ekiti. We know the battle is between PDP and APC. APC handed over to the current PDP government almost four years ago. So, the major question our electorates will ask before voting in the forthcoming election is how the two parties fared when they had opportunity to govern the state. It is a simple case. We will simply refer to their performance index and make up our minds on who should lead us,” says Olagoke.
Fayose/Fayemi rivalry:
Closely related to this factor is the well-known political rivalry between Fayose and Fayemi. Olagoke said “whether we like it or not, many of the supporters of APC and PDP see the forthcoming political contest in Ekiti as another opportunity to settle the rivalry between Fayemi and Fayose. Depending on how you see it, the two political leaders are set to make a definitive point about their influence.”
Religious sentiment:
Another issue some observers have mentioned that may be an election issue is the religious factor. They said Muslims are likely to note if the choice of the party’s candidate or deputy governorship candidate would represent their interests. But The Nation investigation suggests that religion has hardly played a major role in Ekiti State politics. This does not however mean that it is not being discussed today.
For example, late last year, while responding to a request made by the Muslim community for the deputy governor’s position, Fayose had said “I have nothing against Muslims; they are our brothers and sisters. If I had a Muslim as my deputy, for instance, I would not be the one interfacing with you all the time; the person would do that. I just want us to continue to pray for God’s guidance. He will surely see us through.
“Since our candidate is from Ikere-Ekiti in the South Senatorial District, one thing that is obvious now is that the deputy will come from either Central or North Senatorial District. I just have to appreciate the support of our Muslim brothers and sisters and solicit more support as we approach the election period.”
He made the statement during the Jumat to mark the third anniversary of his administration in the state, adding that God will guide him and his party to make the right choice.
When he eventually picked Kazeem Ayodeji Ogunsakin, a Muslim, as Eleka’s running mate, the Grand Imam of Ekiti State and Chief Imam of Ado-Ekiti, Sheikh Jamiu Kewulere Bello, specifically commended him for the action. The cleric spoke at a rally organised at Fajuyi Park in Ado-Ekiti for Olusola and Ogunsakin by the Muslim Community to endorse the duo for the July 14 governorship poll.
Kewulere, who is also the President of the League of Imams and Alfas in Southwest, Edo and Delta States said: “We asked for four things from the governor and he has done three things now; this third is so surprising. We had told him that since he has supported a Christian governorship candidate, we want a deputy and we have been expecting.
“We have said any party that fails to choose one of us as deputy governor, we will not support. But Governor Fayose has chosen one of us, Kazeem,” he said.
Given the quality of the candidates, the rivalry between PDP and APC on the one hand and between Fayemi and Fayose on the other, including the other major issues that are likely to determine the choice of the voters, it seems obvious that the July governorship election promises to be intriguing.