The ecstasy that greeted the Supreme Court victory of Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, last week, is gradually making way for the grim reality of another governorship contest in the coming months, reports Sam Nwaoko.
EKITI State is getting charged for the 2014 governorship election. The path towards the epoch is getting clearer by the day, just as many factors are beginning to germinate as the time ticks towards the raising of the curtain for the race to formally commence. But while that time is awaited, the curtain is gradually being drawn on the celebrations that greeted the striking out by the Supreme Court of a suit brought before it by erstwhile Governor Segun Oni, over his removal from office.
The 31 May judgment had left the state charged in anxiety, as the people were unsure of where the pendulum would swing. It was even more so on the day because the matter had the potential of completely changing the political situation in the state, considering the prayers of Chief Oni at the court and their implications. But the throwing out of the matter on the grounds of jurisdiction hammered in the final nail in the coffin of a squabble that had lived for as long as the Kayode Fayemi-led administration. The Supreme Court decision brought untold relief to the ruling class in Ekiti State and their party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and its supporters, just as the losers in the matter are believed to have returned to the drawing board.
Thus, with the courts done and dusted, the state is now primed for the high drama of who gets what in the inevitable political dispensation. Already, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is all over the state with its multiple aspirants. As of the last count, there were about 23 members of the party who have shown interest in vying for its ticket to contest the governorship in 2014. Among the lot are such notable PDP figures as former Governor Ayo Fayose who left the governorship seat in controversial circumstances in October 2006 after he was impeached alongside his deputy. His formal return to the PDP in September 2012, from the Labour Party where he contested Ekiti Central Senatorial seat in 2011, has set the party agog for both right and wrong reasons.
Other notable members of the PDP believed to be gearing up for the governorship contest include Fayose’s deputy when he was elected in 2003, Chief Abiodun Aluko. The only senator elected on the platform of the PDP from the South-West in 1999, Mr. Gbenga Aluko; a former Publicity Secretary of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Prince Adedayo Adeyeye; and a business magnate, Dr Peter Obafemi, are also in the race.
Also in the race are a former House of Representatives member, Mr. Wale Aribisala; a former Managing Director of Wema Bank Plc, Mr. Bisi Omoyeni, who also served briefly as deputy governor of the state under Fayose; a former aide of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mr. Bodunde Adeyanju; and a former speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Femi Bamisile.
These and the others have formally entered the race on the platform of the PDP, while it is believed that others could still join the race. For instance, it is rumoured among some of the supporters of the party that the Minister of Police Affairs, retired Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade, would still join the race. Another notable figure in the PDP that is seen as a potential aspirant is the senator that represented Ekiti North, Mr. Ayo Arise. Arise’s consideration for the contest is more on the card than that of Olubolade, going by what he told journalists in Ekiti State recently. Arise said since the court battle had been won and lost, he would consult with leaders and members of the party at all levels and that if the preponderance of their opinions showed that “I can make a positive difference, then, I might be facing my younger brother (Dr Kayode Fayemi) in 2014.”
However, all these are still in the realm of conjecture, as there are numerous issues still considered worthy of being sorted out by the leadership of the PDP in and outside the state. For instance, there is the issue of zoning, which Prince Adeyeye has brought to the front burner in the impending contest. It is believed among some observers of politics in the party that the high number of aspirants from the South senatorial district of the state might not be unconnected with the fact that the zone has never produced a governor of the state, and as such, it sees this as the time to do that.
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