While there are at least 30 candidates across many political parties, the Ekiti governorship election holding this Saturday is clearly between the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor Ayodele Fayose’s Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).
Fayose is putting all his incumbent might behind Kolapo Olusola. The task for Olusola, a newcomer politician who— until 2014 when Fayose brought him in as his running mate— was a university teacher, is to campaign with what the current PDP government has done and would like to consolidate if elected.
Kayode Fayemi, candidate of the APC and one time governor of the state, is in town with the list of things he did between 2010 and 2014 and how his return will revive most of his policies which this government has trashed.
For Fayemi, being a former governor and minister, Fayemi appears well experienced than his opponent. Belonging to the party ruling at the national level, he enjoys massive support from the president, ministers and APC governors who are pulling resources together in his support.
At the moment, Fayemi’s camp is loaded with notable personalities, two former governors of the state and a couple of former federal and state lawmakers. Some politicians who left the Fayose’s PDP have also joined his camp.
However, unlike Fayose whose perceived populist ideology—better known as ‘stomach infrastructure’— appeals to the locals, Fayemi, many think, is not connected to the grassroots.
Also, the bickering between his supports and that of Segun Oni, also a former governor of the state may affect his chances.
Recall that barely a month to the election, people in Oni’s camp accused Fayemi of not carrying them along. They filed a suit to challenge his candidacy. Some of these aggrieved members in the party might throw their votes elsewhere.
As for Olusola, his strength lies in the power of incumbency. Belonging to the ruling party in the state, he enjoys the authority of office. He is seen by many as a gentleman and not the regular politician. People also say Olusola comes with a clean record and would govern more differently if elected.
He is however seen not to have the charisma, and may not also have the boldness to make and stand by his own decisions. To some, this is evident in most of the billboards screaming ‘continuity’ where the picture of Fayose is bolder than that of Olusola, the candidate.
As it stands, Saturday election, political pundits conclude, is dicey.