By Oludamisi Ojo
At last, the long-awaited governorship election in Ekiti State is here. Next Saturday, June 18 is the D-day. Preparations have been made particularly by the umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, and other relevant stakeholders. It is a crucial national assignment that comes every four years.

Sixteen political parties are participating in the exercise. But out of these, three of the parties are most prominent.

These are the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The candidates of the parties respectively are Biodun Oyebanji, Bisi Kolawole and former governor, Segun Oni. The contest is serious between these three party flag bearers.

APC
It is the ruling party. Governor Kayode Fayemi is currently occupying the position. For the party, there are many opportunities to remain in office beyond 2023 because of many factors viz: Federal might, power of incumbency, strength of APC in the South-West with formidable party leaders, and the recent victory of its national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the presidential candidate of the party. All these will boost the chances of APC at the polls.

That apart, the party’s flag bearer, Biodun Oyebanji, is very marketable in all senses. His antecedents and popularity would assist the party. He is a former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), former Chief of Staff (CoS), as well as many other key positions in government, with track records and impeccable character.

Even at a very younger age of below 40 years, he served as the Secretary to the Committee on Ekiti State Creation.So, Oyebanji has garnered immense experience and administrative traits that will secure him many votes at the poll.

Many Ekiti stakeholders, including traditional rulers, have a passion for Oyebanji, and in their belief, this is the pay back time for him to serve the entire state.

The recent victory of Tinubu as APC presidential candidate will also encourage many eligible voters to go for Oyebanji.

However, the only impediment against Oyebanji is the grudges by many Ekiti residents against Governor Kayode Fayemi for his alleged nose-diving style of government, and inability to pay pensioners as at when due.Also, they accused Fayemi of ruling Ekiti from abroad (traveling excessively).

But with the overwhelming love and popularity of Oyebanji, voters may overlook these ‘sins’.

PDP
The PDP candidate is Bisi Kolawole, from Efon-Alaaye. He also at a time served as a commissioner in Ekiti State under the administration of Ayo Fayose. He is now banking on the popularity of Fayose to slug it out with other contestants.

The PDP is the major opposition party in the state. However, the outcome of its primary election was not without grumblings by some party stalwarts, leading to defection into another party, particularly the APC.

It was even rumoured that Fayose, who is the political godfather of PDP’s candidate, Kolawole is romancing with the APC. There have been no serious campaigns on the side of the PDP. However, Kolawole having been in politics for some time in Ekiti State and occupied some key positions too, he may spring surprises with the support of Fayose and other PDP leaders in the state, if they can still mend their fences with the aggrieved members.

Vol. 3 Edition 56

SDP
The party in Ekiti State was not well known until the former governor, Segun Oni dumped the PDP and secured its governorship ticket.
Oni is banking on his excellent performance while he served as the governor of the state.

Many residents in Ekiti state still have trust in Oni, especially in areas of workers’ welfare and that of pensioners.

His popularity still transcends the length and breadth of Ekiti, and many eligible voters may still give him their votes to return to power in the state.

The only hurdles he may contend with is that SDP is not so popular in the state, and the structure is not there to favour him in garnering votes.

Besides, Oni lacks the financial muscle to contest against the ruling party in the state, with federal backing, especially now that monetised politics is in vogue. If it is goodwill, he has it in abundance, but people want ‘Dividends of Democracy’ on the spot.

Meanwhile, six of the governorship candidates have signed a pact on good governance, but the candidate of PDP, Bisi Kolawole, was absent from the program.

They signed a pact with the people of the state to usher in good and responsive governance if elected.

The programme was organised by the Justice Development and Peace Initiative (JDPI) of the Catholic Mission, in partnership with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Ekiti Council of Elders.

Those candidates that attended the programme include Biodun Oyebanji of the ruling APC; Segun Oni, Social Democratic Party (SDP); Wole Oluyede of the African Democratic Congress (ADC); Kemi Elebute-Halle of Action Democratic Party (ADP); Debo Ajayi of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), and Ben Agboola of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).

The Catholic Bishop of Ekiti, Felix Ajakaye, urged the candidates not to walk away after winning or losing the election.

Three slump at Democracy Day parade as Kingibe gets VP’s recognition

The cleric advised the candidates to go into the race with love, rather than acrimony.

According to him, they should be ready to support whosoever emerges as the winner at the poll, if truly they loved Ekiti.

Also, the Chairman, the Council of Obas in Ekiti, Gabriel Adejuwon, urged whoever emerged as the winner to extend the hands of fellowship to others and share ideas to move the state forward.

The Director, Justice Development, and Peace Initiative, Emmanuel Akingbade, said the manifesto of whoever emerged as the governor should be printed out and pasted on the billboards across the state to serve as a reminder while promising to carry a survey to score the new governor to enable people to always call his attention to areas that had not been touched in the course of running his administration.

The State Chairman of NUJ, Rotimi Ojomoyela, said the union partnered with others in organising the event, as part of its social responsibilities to the society toward engendering good governance.

Ojomoyela urged politicians and their followers to pursue the election project with the utmost fear of God and the spirit of peaceful co-existence.

Who is your preferred presidential candidate?

He urged journalists assigned to cover the election to be mindful of their safety in performing their duties and report events accurately without sensation or unverified information.

For this election, there is a need for fortified security to prevent violence that is capable of claiming human lives and valuable.

Just on Saturday, one person was reportedly shot dead during a clash between supporters of the ruling APC and SDP in Itaji-Ekiti, Oye local government area of Ekiti State.

The violence was said to have erupted when the campaign train of both parties ran into each other in the community which led to the bloody clash by their supporters.

It was learned that there were gunshots that were allegedly fired by supporters of both parties leading to the death of an unidentified person.

Apart from the casualty, two persons who were said to have been shot during the violent act, and being presently treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti (ESUTH).

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Sunday Abutu, confirmed the clash, saying the investigation had commenced to determine the number of victims.

The week ahead will witness tension here, as the contestants and parties will struggle to secure power. Security of lives should be a matter of priority to guarantee violence-free election.