Ekiti July 14: Who Flies APC Ticket?
Analysis
The next governorship election in Ekiti State comes up on July 14 and the electoral body - the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has given political parties fielding candidates in the election to conclude their primaries and submit list of their candidates to the commission by April. The big question is who get that of the leading opposition APC in the State?
The next governorship election in Ekiti State comes up on July 14 and the electoral body - the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has given political parties fielding candidates in the election to conclude their primaries and submit list of their candidates to the commission by April. The big question is who get that of the leading opposition APC in the State?
There are many political parties that had shown their presence in Ekiti State; at least by having offices, but analysts posit that majority of them are pretenders who might want to use that presence to negotiate with stronger political parties.
Political watchers in the state, however, are of the view that the contest is between two major political parties-the ruling party in the state, PDP and the opposition party-APC. Aside these two, none of the other parties is expected to spring surprises or make meaningful impact at the elections. All eyes are on the PDP and APC.
The secretariat of the APC located on Ajilosun area of Ado Ekiti, the state capital, has been receiving aspirants, who have been coming to declare their intentions to fly the party’s ticket. Out of the multitudes that had indicated interest, the state Deputy Chairman of the party, Mrs. Kemi Olaleye, said only 33 are recognised by the secretariat.
Prominent among the aspirants that have so far indicated their intention to the party are the Deputy National Chairman of the APC, and one time governor of the state, Asiwaju Segun Oni, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Matters and one time senator, Babafemi Ojudu, a former Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatisation, Senator Ayo Arise, a former member of the House of Representatives and former Commissioner of Information and Strategy in Lagos State, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Bamidele Faparusi, former Speaker of the state House of Assembly , Femi Bamisile, Senator Gbenga Aluko, and a former Commissioner for Information, Hon. Afunminiyi Afuye.
It is also being speculated that the immediate former governor of the state and now Minister of Solid Mineral Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, is planning to stage a comeback. But he is yet to make his intention known to the party. His loyalists, however, indicated that Fayemi might declare by the end of March.
No doubt, the APC, which is the main opposition party in Ekiti is still aggrieved that it lost the state to the PDP in the 2014 governorship election when the PDP’s candidate, Mr Ayodele Fayose, defeated the then incumbent Dr. Fayemi and the party is doing everything to regain the state.
The leadership of the party appears to be working hard to put behind its internal wrangling that erupted among members over the circumstances that led to its fall from power.
The party is still undergoing its re-engineering process and has been receiving defectors from the PDP and other smaller parties. Many believe that the takeover of power at the federal level would assist the party in the next poll. Chief Segun Oni He is the APC Deputy National Chairman (South) and ruled the state on the platform of the PDP between 2007 and 2010. He was, however, sacked from office by the Appeal Election Petition Tribunal which declared the candidate of the then Action Congress of Nigeria, Dr. Kayode Fayemi as the duly elected governor of the state. However, Oni dumped his former party for the APC shortly before the 2014 governorship election which was lost by Fayemi. Oni, a chemical engineer, had a distinguished career in RANK XEROX before pitching his tent in partisan politics. He was a board member representing Southwest in the Education Tax Fund (ETF) from where he contested the 2007 governorship election which he won on the platform of the PDP. He won the governorship poll twice and twice his election was nullified by the Appeal Court for alleged irregularities during the election. Even at the Supreme Court, he didn’t succeed. He was later elected the PDP National Vice Chairman (Southwest).
In February this year, he declared interest in the 2018 governorship election and his loyalists have been touring local governments and wards to sell his candidature. Dr. Kayode Fayemi Though yet to publicly declare interest, the handwriting on the wall indicates that the former governor has an “unfinished business” in the state. Fayemi’s political group, JKF Foundation, has been busy selling his candidature to the people as his posters have been appearing on major streets of Ado-Ekiti, the state capital and some major towns in the state. Some of his diehard loyalists have been commending the minister for having the time to attend local politics in spite of his tight schedules. Fayemi, who recently donated N1m for the treatment of Lasisi Adeyemi, a broadcaster in the state who is suffering from heart disease, hails from Isan Ekiti, in the Northern senatorial district of the state. He was chairman of the APC Presidential Convention Committee that organised the presidential primary that produced candidate Muhammadu Buhari as the party’s presidential candidate. He was also the face of the presidency, who rallied the field troops behind the party’s candidate in the Ondo State governorship, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who eventually won the election. Senator Gbenga Aluko For three times, he had tried his hands for the governorship but lost to realize his dream. In 2007, he was the Labour Party candidate. In 2014, he was an aspirant on the platform of the PDP and this time around he is seeking the ticket of the APC to realise his ambition. In 1999, he won the senatorial seat on the platform of the PDP; thus becoming the only PDP senator that won in the Southwest, believed to be the enclave of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD). Aluko, who is from Ode-Ekiti, Gbonyin LGA in Ekiti South District, was subsequently elected Senate Deputy Minority Whip. Babafemi Ojudu He is a journalist and presently the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters. Ojudu was a firebrand journalist, who used his platform, The News Magazine to ‘fight’ the then military junta headed by the late Sani Abacha. Ojudu in 2011 excused himself from the newsroom to seek a seat in the Senate on the platform of the then ACN. He won the ticket by defeating Mr Ayodele Fayose of the then Labour Party, to represent Ekiti Central Senatorial District. Ojudu declared his intention at the party’s secretariat about two weeks ago. Senator Ayo Arise He is from Oye Ekiti, in Ekiti North, and a former Chairman Senate Committee on Privatisarion. He was in the Senate between 2007 and 2011 on the platform of the PDP. He contested the ACN gubernatorial primaries with Dr Fayemi but lost and subsequently defected to the PDP alongside a former publicity secretary of the PDP, Prince Dayo Adeyeye and 10 other governorship aspirants over alleged imposition of Fayemi by the party’s leaders. He was rewarded with Ekiti North Senatorial ticket by the PDP, which eventually brought him to the Senate.
Arise, politician of note and extremely generous was reputed to have influenced the citing of the Federal University in his home town, Oye-Ekiti. He joined the APC with multitude of his supporters following a disagreement with Governor Ayo Fayose. Bamidele Faparusi This engineer-turned politician is a grassroots player, who has his eyes fixed on the state’s top job. He was a member of the Seventh House of Representatives where he represented Ekiti South Constituency 2. Faparusi is popular among the youths and he brought smiles to the faces of party members during the last Christmas with the donation of bags of rice and other gifts items. He is making waves on the field and the social media on his 2018 governorship bid. Faparusi is from Ode-Ekiti, Gbonyin LGA, Ekiti South District. Michael Opeyemi Bamidele He was a former commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State. He resigned to contest the House of Representatives election in Ekiti State under the banner of the then ACN. He, however, left the party following a disagreement with former Governor Fayemi over the governorship ticket of the party in 2010. He joined the Labour Party and flew the party’s ticket in the governorship election of 2010, which he lost to the PDP’ candidate Ayo Fayose. Bamidele or MOB as he is fondly called by his admirers has since returned to the APC. The former lawmaker has also joined the list of aspirants who indicated interest at the party’s secretariat. The deciding factor One of the issues that might work against some of the aspirants is if the APC decides to use zoning formula. The PDP had zoned its ticket to Ekiti South.
Unarguably, zoning still dominates the Ekiti governorship race and out of the three senatorial districts, only Ekiti South has not produced an elected governor. Ekiti North has produced governor twice (2007 - 2010, 2010 - 2014). Ekiti Central has equally tasted the governorship thrice (1999 - 2003, 2003 - 2006 and 2014 to date).
This accounts for reasons why some of the aspirants have been agitating for zoning of the party’s ticket to the South.
The agitators of the zoning formula, such as Aluko, Faparusi and Aduye are of the view that the zone has the highest number of votes.
The leadership of the APC has, however, promised to create a levelplaying ground for all the aspirants. The Deputy Chairman of the party, Mrs. Kemi Olaleye, at different fora with the aspirants have indicated the party’s resolve to please all the aspirants but reminded them to be united and work for the victory of the party.
Amidst this is the influence of the ruling PDP in the state. Governor Fayose has long ago anointed his deputy, Kolapo Olusola-Eleka, as successor, saying it was God who directed him to do so.
“Olusola never said he wanted to be deputy governor, but God instructed me to pick him. I said we will go together after our tenure, but God said I should allow him to stay; that what I said was my own opinion,” he said in January this year.
It is left to be seen how the contest would unfold in the coming weeks ahead of the real battle.