Wole Balogun, Ado-Ekiti
The crisis currently rocking the Ekiti State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has continued to fester in spite of efforts by leaders to calm frayed nerves of those who have identified themselves as aggrieved party members.
Indeed, the seed for disunity in Ekiti PDP was sown shortly before the last July 14 governorship poll with the alleged imposition of the immediate past Deputy Governor of the state, Professor Kolapo Isola Eleka by the immediate past governor, Ayodele Fayose. Party stalwarts such as Senator Abiodun Olujimi, Senator Dayo Adeyeye, former Deputy Governor, Tai Lawal and a host of others who made the allegation of Elena:s imposition by Fayose were aggrieved that their leader brought a ‘new comer’ in the political terrain and one that could allegedly be ‘controlled’ by the former governor to succeeded him.
They questioned his sole right to so decide for the party who to succeed him and damning the consequences of rejecting Fayose’s anointed candidate.
Fayose urged them to sheathe their swords, promising that he would allow a fair play during the primaries of the party for the governorship poll. The primary poll held on July 5 amidst a tense atmosphere at the Eagles hall in Ado-Ekiti and after a tension-soaked session, Fayose’s deputy Eleka emerged winner in spite of Olujimi’s effort at the last minute to save Adeyeye by declaring that her supporters should queue behind the former national Publicity secretary of the party.
The stage was set for another battle, as Adeyeye in less than 24 hours to the primary election, declared for the All Progressives Congress (APC), shocking many party members to their marrows. Olujimi was wise enough to stay behind and fight the battle in another dimension, albeit dangerously.
The then opposition party in the state, APC, candidate was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the 2019 general elections even though reportedly characterised by several cases of alleged rigging, violence, security lapses, vote buying and selling as well as apparent display of federal might by the Federal Government.
With the election over, it was expected that PDP in Ekiti would have learnt her bitter lessons, and make prompt attempt to put their house in order. But the reverse seems to have been the case, as many now continue to ask for their pound of flesh from those perceived to have wronged them. The party leaders whose image have always been the identity of the party in the state have been rubbished by many who have decided to pitch their camps against these leaders for their own selfish desires/interests.
While some leaders, such as Tai Lawal, who have earlier left the party because of Fayose have returned to rebuild the party, others have resolved to fuel the crisis of division especially between two powerful leaders, Fayose and Olujimi only for their own selfish interests.
An arrowhead of this latter category of leaders is allegedly the current state chairman of the party, Gboyega Oguntuwase, a lawyer by profession and one who has benefited immensely from his rapport with the man whose image he now works towards destroying.
Just as Adeyeye had benefitted immensely from his rapport with Fayose as part of the PDP in Ekiti, and Olujimi has also been made by the same Fayose, Oguntuwase has been one of Fayose’s most fortunate allies until the recent crisis created mainly by abuse of loyalty, occasioned by selfish interests.
It is no news that Oguntuwase has recently waged a war against Fayose after pitching his tent with Senator Olujimi who had it quite rough with the former governor before the senatorial election that eventually handed her a comeback to the hallowed chamber.
In fact, the rift between Fayose and Olujimi had been so fierce that the former governor openly campaigned against her. But the tough woman moved on and eventually defeated Adeyeye after a legal battle that reclaimed her mandate. Seeing that the milk is now with Olujimi, Oguntuwase and his cronies in the Ekiti PDP State Working Committee (SWC), quickly switched loyalty to the Amazon and have since continued to benefit from this new found love.To continue enjoying the juicy rapport, they have to stick to damaging the image of Fayose, with a view to make him unpopular and unacceptable to the public so that Senator Olujimi becomes the ‘new overall leader’ of PDP in Ekiti. .
Instances of this war against the former governor by Oguntuwase caucus are among others, his public announcement that party members should rebuff a general meeting called by Fayose at his Afao home recently, a public denial of his involvement in the sale and refund of the money paid for the party secretariat complex in Ajilosun area of Ado-Ekiti and the allegation that Fayose was behind the alleged sale and that the former governor was high-handed and allegedly pocketed the party executives while he was serving the state.
Unfortunately for Ogintuwase, the meeting in the Afao home of Fayose was hugely successful as all leaders of the party in the state across all levels, attended. The old horse made good use of the august occasion to apologize to all aggrieved parties. Many party faithful and leaders who have benefitted immensely from the former praised him for his magnanimity. They reassured him of their continued support.
Perhaps agitated by his failure to armtwist the party structure in the state against Fayose, Oguntuwase went wild with an allegation that Fayose sold the party Secretariat complex in a press briefing held on Thursday, December 19, shortly after the historic Afao meeting.
He made very serious attempt to damage the image of his political god father and benefactor, saying: “I want to tell you that any document they say they have, it is absolute falsehood. It is true he (Fayose) approached me to sign a document, but I told him, it was going to be a disservice to the party . I still stand by that.”
When asked to react to Oguntuwase’s allegations against his principal, Lere Olayinka, Fayose’s spokesman had simply replied that the former governor would rather not bandy words with his former Commissioner for Information during his first tenure as governor. However, a prominent member of the SWC, legal officer to the party, Sunday Olowolafe decided to clear the air on the allegation. In a strongly worded reply to Oguntuwase, he told the party state chairman that he not only goofed on his allegation against Fayose but had also lied against him.
Olowolafe challenged Oguntuwase to swear in an affidavit in court if indeed he wanted to prove to the whole world that he wasn’t a signatory to the documents authenticating that the party SWC sold the Secretariat complex and later got a refund for it after revoking the sale.The PDP Ekiti State legal officer provided documents to substantiate his claims that himself, Oguntuwase and State Secretary of the party, Pastor Tope Adejorin were signatories to the documents authenticating the refund from one Rachel O.B Ajayi who had earlier bought the property from them. Olowolafe vindicated Fayose on the alleged illegal transaction and knocked Oguntuwase for damaging his benefactor’s image for a little pot of porridge from Olujimi. His words: It has come to my knowledge, the inglorious lies, perfidious statements and unacceptable press release credited to Barrister Gboyega Oguntuwase, the PDP Party Chairman in Ekiti State on the alleged sale of the PDP proposed Party Secretariat in Ekiti State by the former governor, Dr. Peter Ayodele Fayose. It is trite to state that as the State Legal Adviser of the party that I am privy to all documentary transactions and in custody of duplicate of same, more so that the Party cannot purchase nor sell any property without my knowledge and involvement.
“ It is also important to state that I have been in office to complete my predecessor’s tenure before Barrister Gboyega Oguntuwase was assisted into office as party Chairman by Dr. Ayodele Fayose, therefore, I am much more in privileged position to speak on issues especially those that border on documentation and those that transcend his ascension into office.
“True leaders preserve progress, they do not divide but build and sustain on relationship but in this instance, the reverse is the case with Mr. Chairman because of present pecuniary gain by his new found political allies. It would be recalled that the so called sale of the Peoples Democratic Party’s property has been the praise song of his deluded mind for sometimes now, to score very cheap political points against the personality of the former Governor, Dr. Peter Ayodele Fayose.
“Over time, the grandstanding of the party Chairman has been unbecoming, as if the acts and reasons for the sale of the property by the Party executives was done in secret immediately after the foundation level during the legal tussle between Sheriff Vs. Markafi and without recourse to the appropriate authorities concerned.
“Whereas Oguntuase, a lawyer like myself was fully a party to this sale upon assumption of office to complete the proposition by his predecessor in office, Chief Idowu Faleye, whereas the original owner of the property reneged to fulfill her undertaking to produce the deed of release on the mortgaged property.
“This necessitated the Chairman signing the letter of “”acceptance of refund”” dated the 18th of January, 2017, and if he wants to deny his signature, he should proceed to the court rather than his comical entertainment of the public at the expense of the party’s image. The same letter was also signed by the PDP State Secretariat.”
With the apology tendered by Fayose on all parties he might have offended, the stage is set for the Olujimi faction to respond positively or negatively as their next line of action will determine whether the party is ready for 2022 or not.