Wole Balogun, Ado-Ekiti

Kole Ajayi, a.k.a Aberekolokunludi, was the 2014 gubernatorial candidate of Accord Party in in Ekiti State. He is now a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

He spoke with Daily Sun on the political goings on in Ekiti and his chances of winning the next gubernatorial primaries.

How would you describe the political situation in Ekiti State?

It is just as expected. The APC is set to flush out the current insensitive Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration and the beauty is that Ekiti people are set to effect the historic change.

The situation in Ekiti is very worrisome and our innocent people have been perpetually decimated economically which they do not really deserve.  How do you see a situation where workers are not paid for almost eight months and the government is spending lavishly on projects that are not directly adding any economic value to the lives of the people? To me, any project or programme that would not directly or indirectly bring food to the table of the masses and take care of their basic needs of life is a waste of resources.

The last ACN administration was far better than this because the issue of workers welfare was paramount. Salaries were given prompt priorities in view of the fact that Ekiti work force occupies almost 80 percent of the entire population. The state economy relies so much on monies flowing from their pockets until we have a government that would venture into proper arears of ecomonic development.

What is happening now in APC?

The situation is normal.  Every aspirant is going about his normal activities to strategise for victory. It is normal to have intrigues and bickering, and I pray the best candidate emerges.

Who is taking the lead?

As it is now, it is nobody’s game. It is always a game of surprises and do not forget the factor of grace.

Some people seem not to be comfortable with the involvement of former governors in the race. What is your take?

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I do not see any abnormality in that. They have the constitutional rights to contest.

But they cannot force themselves back to the throne without going through the primaries and general elections, which will require endorsement and this is left to the Ekiti people.

I do not see any former governor as a threat because the game is not by strength but by grace.

The omnipotent God that ensured their emergence as governors then when they were relatively nobodies without personal strength is still very much on the throne.

As a lawyer, what do you make of the ban placed on former governor Kayode Fayemi by a panel of enquiry set up by the state government?

The law is very clear and the Supreme Court has pronounced on that severally that it is only a competent court of jurisdiction that can disqualify any aspirant or candidate from contesting.

Hence, the panel’s verdict on Fayemi lacks substance and does not have any effect on his eligibility to run.

Why have you not picked the nomination form?

When I realised the volume of aspirants vying to be governor, I have been talking to other aspirants for a possible consensus candidate. It is not hygienic for about 30 aspirants to slog it out in a primary election as that may break the party into an irreconcilable fragments. But it seems majority are determined to make the nomination list at all cost. My decision at  this stage is to dwell more on how the party will win not minding the candidate or individual.

Are you now out of the race?

No, because the race is a race of life and it involves a lot of processes to get there. This is just a phase at times you stoop to conquer. The only thing that defeats a man is death and we thank God for the gift of life. It gives us the hope to re-strategise and forge ahead with our eyes focused on the ball