From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
The Local Government elections held in Ekiti State on December 2, 2023 has come and gone, even as winners have emerged and are preparing to take their respective offices
The election which held in 2,195 polling units across the 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs), 22 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) and 177 Wards of the state was marred by apathy and witnessed low turnout of voters; it was also peaceful and free of violence.
In all, 14 political parties fielded candidates for the election at the end of which the APC cleared all the elective positions.
Announcing the result, the Chairman of The Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission (EKSIEC), Justice Cornelius Akintayo (Rtd), returned the candidates of the ruling APC as winners of the 38 Chairmanship and 177 Councillorship seats.
The breakdown of the score sheet shows that 56 female candidates were elected into various offices, seven as local government Chairpersons, 16 as Vice Chairpersons and 33 into councillorship positions.
The major opposition parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), however boycotted the election.
It is noteworthy that the unprecedented number of the women that emerged victorious in the election may not be unconnected to the fact that Ekiti State prioritises the welfare of women and has been encouraging more women participation in politics.
It is also noteworthy that women featured prominently as winners during the Hose of Assembly election in the state on March 18, 2023, making that election as one that returned the highest number of female legislators in the history of the state.
The current administration in the state under Governor Biodun Oyebanji has also given due attention to the welfare of women with the appointment of a good number of them into leadership positions and their performances so far have been impressive.
However, despite the good records Gov Oyebanji has shown so far, many analysts, observers and those familiar with politics of the state and the grassroots argue that there is more to the outcome of the local government elections than the way the electorate cast their ballots.
To them, a soothsayer was not needed to predict that the local government elections would go the way it did, though, there are some instances where the opposition parties were allowed some chances.
Governor Oyebanji had pledged before the local government election that he would interfere with the process or impose any candidate on the people.
He also promised to be fair to all contestants, and warned political parties and their candidates against desperation, or any attempt to lobby him for possible imposition.
He said, “I will be fair to all of you. I am a process person, so nobody should put me under pressure because the party has been handed into the hands of the leaders. They are the owners of the party, so all of you, particularly the contestants must cooperate with them. I am not going to impose anybody.
“Many of you are now scrambling for council positions because you now consider it juicier, even than being appointed a commissioner. Whoever doesn’t respect the leaders of the party will mismanage the councils if elected. I have instructed the leaders to take charge. Those running from pillar to post, I wish them well, but I am with the party”.
But those words, are not enough to convince some observers that the poll went well.
Analysts have expressed different views on the victory of the APC. While some have attributed the victory to the incumbent factor, some posited that the governor in one year in office has positively impacted the lives of the people through his pro- people projects, humanitarian assistance, policies and programmes. Some others, however believe the victory of the APC is due to the absence of credible opposition to checkmate the APC as the major opposition parties did not field candidates for the election.
Meanwhile, analysts wonder why the opposition in the state has gone silent. It is observed that the two major opposition parties – the PDP and SDP have become “toothless bulldogs” since the current administration came to power.
It is alleged that Gov Oyebanji may have bought over some of the opposition parties’ bigwigs, an allegation the governor dismissed.
According to those that hold this opinion, the PDP was silence-struck after the party’s candidate, Chief Bisi Kolawole, came a distant third at the 2022 governorship election as well as the failure of its candidates to win any seat in the National and State Assembly elections earlier this year.
The close relationship of former Governor of the state, Ayodele Fayose to the APC is also cited as another factor for the dwindling fortunes of the PDP in Ekiti State.
Similarly, the SDP is said to be inactive because most of the members of the party are aggrieved APC and PDP members whose spirit never truly resonated with the SDP.
It was observed that shortly after Oyebanji was inaugurated on October 16, 2022, some of the SDP bigwigs with their supporters started to defect from the party to bigger parties in the state.
The former governor of the state and candidate of the SDP in the 2022 governorship election, Chief Segun Oni, came second in the election, while the SDP did not win any seat during the National Assembly election, though it managed to win two seats in the state House of Assembly election.
A former State Chairman of the PDP, who is also South West Chairman of the party, Makanjuola Ogundipe, said his party boycotted the Local Government election because the outcome was expected.
He said, “ it was not a contest, so I cannot comment on what was not a contest. A contest is when you have many parties contesting with one another and that didn’t happen. It was winner takes all.
“We decided that we were not going to participate because we saw a lot of atrocities that were perpetrated in connivance with the party and EKSIEC. Were you expecting any credible election from EKSIEC? It is like going to a battle ground with the opposition in your bedroom. So, what are you going to achieve? I think the PDP took the best decision by not participating and that decision stands. It doesn’t take anything away from the party, it doesn’t reduce our status and it will never reduce our standing in public opinion.”
For the Chairman of the SDP, Dr Dele Ekunola, his party did not field candidates because the results were decided by those in power.
He said, “ the practice of operation all over Nigeria is that the party in power clears everything. It is not only here in Ekiti State and it is not starting here.
“The National Assembly can help in changing the system by giving it back to INEC. They should cancel SIEC generally. With SIEC, there is no state that will release a councillor to anybody.
“We were just very lucky that INEC conducted the last House of Assembly election in Ekiti State, that was why we were able to have the two legislators in the House of Assembly in the state.”