With the next governorship election in Ekiti State barely 8-months away, the South senatorial district of the state has called an emergency meeting of its influential sons and daughters to immediately converge to chart a course forward to mitigate against any form of marginalisation.
According to a statement issued by representatives of the district, ‘If indeed democracy is the consensus of the people, for the people and by the people, then the people of Ekiti South Senatorial district must be resolute in seeing that the next meritorious Governor of Ekiti state emerges from the South Senatorial district of Ekiti State in the spirit of equity, fair distribution of ownership and to foster a balanced sense of belonging amongst her citizens’.
‘We therefore call on our Traditional rulers, Elder statesmen, Stalwarts, Party faithfuls, Political appointees (serving and non-serving), sons and daughters to firmly resist any kind of imposition across all political parties and to stand and be counted where it matters most. The conference of all indigenes of the South Senatorial district of Ekiti State is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, 1st of December , at Eagle Hall, Ado – Ikere road, Ekiti’ the statement added.
Giving the background into the antecedents of elected past governors of the state, the group wrote’, ‘since its inception as a state under the Federal republic, Ekiti has enjoyed several good administrations albeit largely tilted towards specific demographics within the state. Some of the most recent being Governor Kayode Fayemi who hails from Isan Ekiti in the North Senatorial district; Governor Ayodele Fayose from Irepodun/Ifelodun in Ekiti Central Senatorial district; Engr. Segun Oni from Ido-Osi in Ekiti North Senatorial district; then Otunba Niyi Adebayo from Iyin Ekiti, Irepodun/Ifelodun in Ekiti Central Senatorial district. It is worthy of note that the South Senatorial district of Ekiti State has until the end of this dispensation not produced an Executive Governor in the state’.
‘Following a prolonged political crisis under the then President Olusegun Obasanjo in October 2006, Ayodele Fayose who was Governor of Ekiti until the crisis was succeeded by a military administrator General Tunji Olurin in a Democratic twist. In the PDP primary of 2006, the first-place finisher Yinka Akerele and second-place finisher Prof. Adesegun Ojo were supposed to be in a run-off to determine who would be the nominee of the Nigerian ruling party when President Obasanjo summoned them to Abuja and imposed the candidate who came third, Engineer Segun Oni. He was later elected in the 2007 election as the Governor of the state in an election marred by widespread irregularities although the APC candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi challenged his election and forced a rerun in May, 2009’.
‘The May 2009 rerun was characterized by even worse rigging and the election was disputed again. Eventually, after three years, the election of Oni was thrown out and Dr. Fayemi was declared the duly elected Governor of Ekiti State’.
‘The short history of democracy in Ekiti state, though has not been without these challenges highlighted, has been remarkable so far with high points such as Governor Fayemi’s tribunal victory. It is on the premise of this and many other benefits of democracy which has been conferred on the present Governor that we express dissatisfaction over his conduct in signalling that he will be succeeded in office by his beloved servant Abiodun Oyebanji who also hails from Ekiti Central Senatorial district; in blatant disregard for the skewed manner with which Governors have emerged in Ekiti from only specific senatorial districts’.
Whilst we do not know where the other parties including PDP are going to pick their candidate from, we thought it would be nice to sound this note of warning before any of their primaries.
We also call on all eligible and interested sons and daughters of Ekiti State South Senatorial district to go out and pick a form from their respective parties and not shy away from this clarion call.