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From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
For many political watchers, although winning the June 18 poll is the next goal for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti, the January 27 governorship primary it held in the 177 wards seems to have further deepened the crises in the state’s chapter.
After the tension-soaked exercise, the primary election committee led by Governor Mohammed Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State, had declared the immediate past secretary to the state government, Biodun Oyebanji, as the winner of the election. Oyebanji who is believed to be the anointed candidate of the state governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi had polled 101,703 votes to emerge the party’s flag bearer for the coming election
However, the exercise raised a lot of dust.
Seven other aspirants had contested alongside Oyebanji; they include, Senator representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District, Opeyemi Bamidele who was Oyebanji’s strongest rival, former Minister of Works, Senator Dayo Adeyeye, Kayode Ojo, House of Representatives member, Femi Bamisile, Aviation expert, Demola Popoola, former House of Representatives member and immediate past Commissioner for Public Utilities, Faparusi and Mr Oluwasola Afolabi.
But before the January 27 primary election in the state, the tensed atmosphere had created some political uncertainties as to who was going to wear the crown among the aspirants and was further heightened when rumours had it that Oyebanji was the preferred candidate of Governor Fayemi.
Though Governor Fayemi denied endorsing any candidate but political watchers believed the endorsement was an open secret.
Many had based their claim on some reasons including that Oyebanji was the first to resign his position as the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) soon after Governor Fayemi issued a deadline to all his appointees who had political ambitions. Also, some officials of government had used government vehicles and security personnel to accompany Oyebanji to the National headquarters of the party in Abuja where he went to obtain his nomination form. In addition was the carnival-like welcome accorded him on his arrival in the state after picking his form. Also, Oyebanji’s campaign started earlier against INEC’s timetable, where billboard’s carrying his pictures were seen all over the place. So, all those among other things according to political watchers were suggestive of the governor’s support for him.
Following the alleged endorsement that triggered some reactions, accusations and counter accusations by political gladiators, influencers, analysts, watchers, party men and other stakeholders in the party, all the other aspirants – Adeyeye, Bamidele, Bamisile, Faparusi, Kayode Ojo, Popoola and Afolabi had called on the party leadership to adopt direct primary, and ensure fairness to all to forestall the imposition of any candidate. They also used various platforms to vehemently oppose the imposition of any candidate, and warned that it would be a fatal mistake for the APC to allow an unpopular individual to be forced on them at the primary.
There have been deafening agitations from Ekiti South for power shift to the zone. Stakeholders from the zone have continued to protest its alleged exclusion from the political equation and insulation from producing a governor since the inception of democracy in 1999. Both Ekiti Central and Ekiti North have had it twice each.
Indication that the ruling party in the state would have its hands full after the primary election emerged, when seven of the eight aspirants announced their boycott of the exercise hours before the commencement of the shadow poll over alleged skewing of the process in favour of the immediate past Secretary to State Government.
The dust over the exercise and threats by some of the aggrieved aspirants to challenge Oyebanji’s emergence in court, prompted some APC stakeholders to warn against dismissing such threats given the Zamfara State experience. The party won all elective positions in the state during the 2019 elections but lost all of them to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) due to a faulty nomination process.
In view of that, heeding the call for reconciliation, Oyebanji, whose initial stance on the claims by his co-contestants was that his popularity won him the shadow poll, seems to have realized that he would be doing himself more harm than good if he fails to extend the olive branch to the aggrieved aspirants.
It is against the backdrop of the need for members of the party to close ranks ahead of the July 18 election that his camp is said to have made moves to reach out to the aggrieved aspirants, and Oyebanji, who confirmed this in a recent interview said he is already in conversation with co-contestants.
His words: “I have reached out to some of them and we are already in conversation and in the next few days, I hope to deepen the already agreed conversations with them. I believe that the APC is strong and has the capacity to resolve amicably issues arising from the primary.
“One thing that is certain is that in every contest, there will always be different views and opinions and it behooves on each and every one of us to be flexible and resolve the issues in the interest of our people, in the interest of the state and for the sake of the party and I’m confident that all those things will be done.”
On what gives him the confidence that the raging issue would be settled out of court, he said: “I am very comfortable for two reasons. Those are allegations that are currently being investigated, so we wait for the result of the investigation. That’s number one. Secondly, I have a solid personal relationship with all of these aspirants and I know that they are great men in their own right.
“They want the best for the state, they want the best for the party and in the spirit of ensuring that Ekiti State develops and we don’t rupture the APC, reason will prevail when we talk to them and at the end of the day I am confident that it is going to be resolved.”
No doubt, many sources within the party had confirmed that most of the aspirants were open to reconciliation and that the process was ongoing, Senator Bamidele’s decision to sheath his sword has offered Ekiti APC the opportunity for genuine reconciliation ahead of the governorship election.
The senator had in a statement last Friday, said he was no longer interested in suing the party or individuals over the outcome of the governorship primary.
According to him, he had to change his earlier position after “critical stakeholders” intervened and appealed to him to have a rethink. He added that though he still harboured resentment about the primary election, he would not seek redress in court or defect from the APC.
The former Commissioner for Information in Lagos State and one-time member of House of Representatives, who is currently Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary and Legal Matters, described the exercise as a “sham, a charade and flagrant abrasion of democracy ethos.”
The statement entitled: “Ekiti 2022 governorship primaries and my stand,” read in part: “Today, Friday, 11th February, 2022; I choose to break my temporary silence and release a short statement with respect to the current crisis in which our party, the All Progressives Congress, is embroiled in Ekiti State. I am doing this because I am not unaware that a lot of stakeholders, including many of my supporters, kinsmen, friends, family members, colleagues and associates within and outside Ekiti are expecting to hear from me regarding the next political move, especially in response to the manner in which I (like six other governorship aspirants) was treated.
“The need to widely consult in situations like these cannot be overemphasized and it is in that respect that I had spent the last 10 days engaging in broad spiritual, political, legal and personal consultations and I remain entirely grateful to all those who had given quality time and attention to my matter in the course of the consultations.
“As it is today, whatever I decide to do and in whichever direction I choose to go, it is clear that I cannot possibly respond in a way that will satisfy all the shades of opinion or make all the tendencies, with varying and sometimes conflicting perspectives, simultaneously happy. I, therefore, choose this day to take some final decisions based on my personal convictions and accept responsibility for them. Sometimes, leadership is also about standing up to posit even when such positions may not be popular with some or even majority of our admirers and supporters at the very beginning and in the face of initial and raging anger and disappointment.
“Has my position changed on the fact that what took place in Ekiti on the night of Wednesday, 26th and the morning of Thursday, 27th January, 2022 in the name of governorship primaries was a charade and sheer impunity? No. I still strongly hold the position that it was a mockery of democracy that should be condemned by all means. Am I happy with the present political situation in Ekiti? Not at all! Am I hurting like many genuine democrats are doing in Ekiti today? Yes. Am I convinced that failure or any further hesitation on the part of the national leadership of APC to specifically and decisively address the current and previous crises in Ekiti State would amount to playing the Ostrich and waiting for a dooms day? Yes. Am I giving up on the ongoing struggle for justice and internal party democracy in Ekiti State? Never!
“Yet, in spite of my strong convictions as expressed above, I have come to some irreversible conclusions and these are the messages I need to pass on to all and sundry today as I temporarily break my silence on the way forward. One is to say that I have chosen to drop the option of going to court to sue the party. The other is to make it crystal clear to everyone that both my supporters and I will not defect from APC.”
While the lawmaker, noted that details of the reasons which informed his choices would be communicated at a later date when he and his supporters address Ekiti people and Nigerians at large, he warned against the dangers of exclusion politics, which according to him, will not augur well for the APC in the state.
“It is not just about me. It is about the unity and progress of Ekiti State and her politically undermined and economically afflicted people. It is also about ensuring that the ground is not prepared for reactionary beneficiaries to take advantage of seeming lack of capacity to manage our affairs as a ruling party in the state. I also must coordinate and lead my own aspect of this popular struggle in a way to ensure that my supporters and stakeholders who had been isolated from the mainstream of the party become relevant again, for anything short of that can only be a highway to nowhere.
“We have all contributed so much to building this party in Ekiti State and the management as well as its decision making process cannot be an exclusive preserve of a few. That is the new reality that those in control, including our national leadership must accept or it becomes a popular subject matter of a struggle around which a popular movement must be built,” he said.
Many agree on the need for the leadership of the party to pursue a genuine reconciliation as Oyebanji’s triumph in the shadow poll is only momentary considering that the ultimate prize would be won or lost on July 18 when all the political parties especially the PDP would file out for the governorship race.
Quote: “for many political watchers, although winning the June 18 poll is the next goal for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti, the January 27 governorship primary it held in the 177 wards seems to have further deepened the crises in the state’s chapter”
