In Ekiti State, the governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and that of the All Progressives Congress, APC have come and gone. The candidates for the respective parties have emerged. For the PDP, Governor Ayodele Fayose’s man who is the Deputy Governor of Ekiti, Kolapo Olusola, is the candidate while, for the APC, a former governor, Kayode Fayemi, is the candidate. The focus now is on the governorship election scheduled for July 14, 2018.
There were no surprises as to the candidates that emerged. Bookmakers had predicted that those two would face each other in the main election. There are candidates of other political parties who are also in the race. However, the main attention is on the two candidates as they will represent the two main political parties.
Governor Ayodele Fayose has vowed to defeat his adversary, Fayemi, in the coming election while Fayemi has also vowed to defeat Fayose’s man, Olusola. From the feelers we are getting at The Next Edition, the election will be a keenly contested one.
In 2014, Fayemi lost to Fayose when the PDP was in control of Nigeria. That election witnessed heavy presence of security men. There were allegations of electoral malpractices.
Former Minister of Defence, Musliliu Obanikoro, was at the centre of it. Now he has been employed by the APC in what some say “to do a dirty job.” He is the head of the APC tax force team.
Kayode Fayemi is seeking a comeback in order to complete his “second term.” Fayemi lost his second term bid to Governor Ayodele Fayose of the PDP in 2014.
The problem the people of Ekiti had with him was that his style of leadership was too elitist. They did not feel connected to him the way they do with Fayose.
While he has clinched the ticket, if the perception about him is still the same, he may lose the main election to the PDP candidate.
The main strength of Olusola is that he has the backing of Governor Ayodele Fayose. Olusola, it was gathered is very loyal to his principal. His loyalty favoured him above other subordinates of Fayose. That earned him the PDP governorship ticket.
As a result of Olusola’s loyalty, Fayose never hid admiration and support for him. He came out openly to declare his support for him to emerge as the PDP flag bearer.
Another thing he has going for him apart from being Fayose’s man is that unlike Fayemi, people perceive him to be humble.
“As a deputy governor, he did not carry himself like one. The way he relates with people is excellent. His manner of approach is cordial,” an Ekiti indigene who pleaded anonymity said.
Also unlike Fayemi who fell out with Aiswaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu the people of Ekiti value loyalty. That is another thing that has endeared them to Olusola. They like the way he is loyal to the governor.
As a professor, he did well in the education sector. Many would recall his impact in the position of the state in the West African Education Council, WAEC which the state moved from 34th position under the previous administration to 11th position under Fayose. In the National Examination Council, NECO, the state came 1st for secondary schools in 2017.
Under his supervision, the state also came top in the JETS (Junior Engineers, Technologists, and Scientists) Interstate Quiz Competition in 2017. The state also was first in the STAN (Science Teachers Association of Nigeria) organised Science written and quiz competitions.
However, the party is divided as a result of the governor’s unflinching support for him. Some allies of Fayose who were also interested in becoming the candidate of the party alleged that Olusola was imposed on the party by Fayose. Some of them are ready to scuttle his ambition.
They say as a technocrat, he is politically naïve and that before he would learn the ropes; his first term would have been over.
Many within the PDP see Olusola as a stooge to Governor Ayodele Fayose. To them, Fayose would continue to rule the state, this time around by proxy, if his man emerges as governor in July.
Another problem they have with him is that he does not believe in stomach infrastructure like his boss, Fayose.
Like Fayemi, he believes developing the state beats handing out cash and food items to the people. As a result, he was nicknamed ‘Mr. Araldite’ by the people of Ekiti.
As for Dr. Kayode Fayemi, he is believed to possess a huge financial chest considering his position as a Minister of Solid Minerals and immediate past governor of Ekiti State.
Another thing he has going for him is that he has federal might. From the primary election where he emerged as candidate of the APC, it is clear for all to see that he has the backing of the Presidency.
When it comes to his political ambition, he does not relent until he achieves his aim. He is ready to throw in everything he has this time around to achieve his aim in July. The Next Edition gathered from a reliable source that he was the brain behind Obanikoro’s exit from the PDP. He specifically lured him to the APC in order for him to help him win the governorship election in July the same way he helped Fayose in 2014.
Fayemi completed projects he inherited from Segun Oni. Aside from that, created man programmes. His style of budgeting became a model to some states. He would go round all local governments in Ekiti to ask for their needs and the budget would be drafted based on that.
Idle youths were given job opportunities. For instance they were made traffic wardens and farmers. 25,000 elderly men and women were being paid N5, 000 monthly under the social security scheme. He also built the new government house in Oke Ayaba, civic center and remodelled Ikogosi which boosted the tourism potentials of the state.
However, Fayemi is going into the election with a divided house. Although he has tried to make amends with fellow aspirants, not all are willing to work with him.
The Next Edition gathered that Senator Babafemi Ojodu who believed that Fayemi had compromised the primary process and withdrew few days to the primary is not ready to support him.
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His relationship with the civil servants in the state is not cordial. There was a Needs Assessment Test he wanted teachers of public schools to partake which did not go down well with them. He also introduced examination as a condition for promoting civil servants. Some people argued that all those exercises were done to favour his own men.
They said those he delegated authority to were highhanded. They enforced laws without human face. Unlike Fayose, he does not believe in stomach infrastructure. That made them to tag him a ‘stingy’ man. He has also been accused of not coming down to the level of the people whenever he addresses them.
Mr. Ogundipe Adepitan, who is a chartered accountant from Ekiti State in a telephone interview with The Next Editon, anaysed the situation on ground.
His words: “The situation now is not clear. Olusola stands a better chance with the people. In Fayemi’s first term he sacked so many teachers. His policies were elitist in nature. The people of Ekiti State are not urbane enough for that kind of leader. They need someone who is down to earth, someone that can come down to their level. That was what they got in Fayose. They believe that Olusola would be similar. In politics you can never predict correctly until as some factors may change the tide. But as it is, I think Olusola is the favourite. By July it may be a different story. In politics you just can’t tell.”
From all indications, it is obvious that the governorship election slated for July 14, 2018, is not going to be a tea party. Fayemi and Fayose have very strong points to make and it is apparent that they would leave no stone unturned in making a lasting statement whether as a loser or winner.
