Guardian

The endorsement of the Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi for a second term by the leadership of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the state has sparked crisis, as Opeyemi Bamidele, a member of the House of Representatives, is set to battle Fayemi for the office.

WHEN former governor of Ekiti State, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, invited leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to his country home in Iyin Ekiti during the Yuletide season for an end-of-the-year party, the event was meant to feast them with the traditional pounded yam.

But it later turned out to be a political summit, where the party leaders discussed the future of the state and the 2014 governorship election.

Majority of them spoke glowingly about the Fayemi’s achievements in the last two years, which they described as unprecedented in the history of the state.

According to them, the massive construction of roads going on in the state; beautification of the state capital; renovation of public schools; tourism development; payment of monthly stipends to the indigent aged people; and revival of moribund industries are laudable programmes that the people of the state would want the party to continue to implement.

And for these projects to continue, the leaders unanimously endorsed Fayemi for a second term.

Some of them who spoke at the event included Adebayo; Senator Tony Adeniyi (representing Ekiti South in the National Assembly); Ife Arowosoge; Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Adewale Omirin; Dapo Karounwi; Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Ganiyu Owolabi; and Mrs. Ronke Okusanya; among others.

Adebayo said the he abides by the endorsement of the generality of the party men and women who want the governor for a second term, stressing that the Fayemi-led administration had impacted positively on the lives of the people of Ekiti.

“The government of Fayemi has done a lot to move the state forward and his developmental strategies and strides are quite laudable.

“I also think he deserves a second term, just as our people are clamouring,” he stated.

The Caretaker Chairman of Ado-Ekiti Council, Sunday Ibitoye, who spoke on behalf of the 16 Council Chairmen, said the state was lucky to have Fayemi at the helms of affairs, adding that his unique administrative style has brought a great deal of development to both the urban and rural areas.

Ibitoye cited the five-kilometre road construction by each of the councils and the social security scheme as two of the administration’s programmes that have endeared it to the people at the grassroots, aside the free education and free health programmes.

State Chairman of the party, Chief Jide Awe, said the testimonies of the leaders of the party and those of the average Ekiti man and woman were enough grounds to endorse Fayemi for a second term.

He noted: “The people have spoken. The leaders of our party have spoken, the people on the streets have spoken also in clear terms, and all they are saying is that the governor has performed and should be given a second term.

“I also endorse this position, because I can see the difference that the Fayemi administration has made in the state.”

If the Ekiti ACN leaders thought the endorsement of Fayemi would go unchallenged within the party, the reactions that followed that event from a member of the House of Representatives, Opeyemi Bamidele, must have made them realise that getting the party ticket for the 2014 election would not be that easy.

Though Bamidele has not declared his intention to contest the governorship election, but there are rumours round town that he has concluded plans to give it a shot.

Bamidele described the position of the leaders as their personal opinion, which does not foreclose other party members from challenging Fayemi at the primary and urged Ekiti people to discountenance the publication that he had no interest in the 2014 governorship election and that he had defected to the Labour Party (LP).

He described the rumours as part of the “evil machinations” of his detractors in their attempt to denigrate his political career and put him to ridicule in the eyes of the public.

Bamidele, in a statement signed by his media aide, Ahmed Salami, posited that endorsement of a sitting governor is normal in politics, but such cannot rob other party members the right to aspire for the same post at the primary.

He said he remains a leader in ACN, even in the face of the plethora of campaigns of calumny against his person by some people in the party he had laboured to build.

The House member stated that only endorsement from the national leaders of the party can deprive other ACN members the right to contest against the governor at the primary, adding that any endorsement at the ward, local and state levels must be ratified by the leadership of the party at the national level before it become binding on all the members.

According to him: “The endorsement of the Fayemi by a section of our party is a step that is allowed in politics. But I want to say that other party members who are interested in the position can still show interest.

“ACN is not a lawless party; it is a party that believes in the rule of law and democratic tenets, so I am confident that the rules will be followed strictly under this circumstance.

“The Electoral Act has made things very easy for political parties. Candidates can emerge through consensus or endorsement, but when there are dissenting opinions, then the primary election will be conducted, or else the party will be breaching the constitution.”

Although about 22 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state have started campaigns to clinch the party’s ticket for the election, it is only Bamidele that has shown interest to challenge Fayemi in the ACN.

But there are talks in town that the federal lawmaker is already romancing with the leadership of the LP, which he has denied.

Political watchers in the state are not surprised at the conflict of interests within the ACN, especially between those in favour of the governor returning for a second term and Bamidele’s political camp, popularly known as MOB.

MOB seems not to forgiven the leadership of the party in the state for the role it played during the National Assembly primaries between him and Senator Babafemi Ojudu on January 10, 2011.

Both of them keenly contested for the ticket, but the primary was halted midway and the party leadership announced Ojudu as the candidate for the Senate, but Bamidele’s supporters believed their leader was in a clear lead before the cancellation of the primary.

The party leadership later gave the House of Representative ticket already won by one Jimoh Ibrahim from Ado Ekiti to Bamidele ostensibly in compensation.

Even with that seeming political settlement, there was no love lost between Ojudu and Bamidele, but the crisis, until now, had been well managed by the party.

Many analysts see Bamidele as an “outcast” in Ekiti ACN and say the process to ease some of his supporters out of government was said to have started with the sack of the members of the Local Government Civil Service Commission and Ekiti State House of Assembly Service Commission.

Only on Wednesday, Fayemi dissolved the state cabinet, while the disengagement of other political appointees is believed to be under way.

The government said the sack of the cabinet was to re-energise, refocus and reinvigorate governance to meet the yearnings of the people.

According to Fayemi: “In a football match, when you get to half time, it is an onerous responsibility of the coach and team managers to review the team.

“There are some players who are full strikers and who can score goals, but there are also strikers who cannot score goals.

“Others score brilliant goals, but lack the stamina to stay till the end of the match, while some cannot score goals, but they have the stamina to play full time.

“There are those who are put in the wrong positions, so all these must be reviewed to be able to have a government that is connected to the people.”

Analysts still foresee more intra-party crisis within the ranks of the ACN, as the governorship election approaches.

There are speculations in the state that Adebayo is planning to contest the Ekiti Central senatorial election, which is certainly going to pitch him against Ojudu, the current representative.

A party source told The Guardian during the week that when the battle between Ojudu and Bamidele got to the head in 2011, some of the party leaders suggested that the only way out was to disqualify both of them and give the ticket to Adebayo, but the former governor was said to have rejected the ticket.

The source said it would be difficult for the party to deny Adebayo the opportunity this time, because he remains their leader, who they all tremendously respect.

Denying Ojudu a second term ticket in the Senate would certainly not be an easy task for the party, given the political relationship between him and Adebayo, which is not that rosy.

Adebayo and Bamidele are from the same town, Iyin Ekiti, which is part of the Ekiti Central that Ojudu currently represents in the senate.

With the planned re-entrance of Adebayo into active politics in the state, analysts believe the chances of Ojudu and Bamidele to re-contest under ACN is dim, a reason being touted for Bamidele’s alleged moves to join LP.

Though candidates for the governorship election holding in the first quarter of next year would emerge before the end of this year, according to the timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), some analysts believe it still too early to predict who will fly the ACN ticket.

But many believe that based on the achievements of Fayemi and his endorsement by many groups, including members of the state Assembly, okada (commercial motorcycle) riders, students union bodies, artisans and market women, Bamidele can only achieve his dream outside the party.

The direction the unfolding scenario takes would be clearer in the coming months, but it can only further divide the ACN in Ekiti, if not handled with caution, as PDP waits in the wings.