By Victor Ogunje, Ado Ekiti
The Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, on Tuesday emerged the candidate of the People\’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the July 14 governorship election in the state.
He beat the former national publicity secretary of the party, Prince Adedayo Adeyeye to the ticket.
The leader of the Governorship Primary of PDP in Ekiti state and Governor of Delta state, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, had earlier announced the accreditation of 1968 delegates while only seven votes were voided.
Olusola, the preferred aspirant of his principal, Governor Ayodele Fayose, polled 1190 votes while Adeyeye scored 770 votes.
The accredited votes according to Okowa were 1968, total valid votes 1961, voided votes 7.
He appreciated Adeyeye for being a good sportman.
The Delta State Governor declared Olusola as the duly elected governorship candidate of the PDP.
One of the governorship aspirants, Senator Abiodun Olujimi had earlier stepped down for Adeyeye.
Olujimi, who is representing Ekiti South at the upper chamber of the National Assembly is the only female aspirant contesting on the platform of the party.
She announced her withdrawal from the race shortly before the commencement of voting by the delegates at the Eagle Event Centre, where the exercise held.
She said her decision to collapse her structure for Adeyeye was in the interest and progress of the party.
According to her, \”For the benefit of our party I offer myself as a sacrificial lamb to make our party great. I am collapsing my structure for Prince Dayo Adeyeye.\”
The governorship primary held, with heavy security presence in and around Eagles Event Hall, Ado Ekiti. the venue of the exercise.
Policemen, NSCDC, DSS, Prisons Immigration and other security operatives were deployed in the venue to maintain law and other.
There were also private security agents with sniffer dogs on ground to ensure that the venue was adequately secured.
To ensure that only authorised people voted, accreditation of delegates was done at an adjacent hall before they were conveyed in a luxurious bus to the venue of the election.
After announcing her withdrawal from the contest, Senator Olujimi and her agent were asked to step down from the stage .
He said Olujimi\’s withdrawal had reduced the contending aspirants to only two. \”This means that only two aspirants are contesting. \”
Addressing the delegates before the commencement of voting, Okowa who disclosed 1968 delegates voting to elect the party\’s flag bearer promised that his team would organise free, fair and credible primary for the party.
He also commended the arrangement put in place for the exercise.
The voting , which started with the members of the state executive, was done local government by local government.
Delegates accredited for each of the 16 LGs are as follows:members of the state executive members 28; former national and state assembles 38; local government chairmen and vice 32; Ado LG 124; Ekiti West 110; Ise Orun 115; Ikere 117; Irepodun/Ifelodun 99; Idols 128 and Ikole 128.
Others are Emure 109; Moba 120; Ekiti S\’West 116. Efon 105; Gbonyin 109; Ilejemeje 108; Ekiti East 131; Oye 126; Ijero 123 while the last local government, Ido-Osi 113, had delegates. The two aspirants and Governor Ayodele Fayose were last to cast their votes at 5. 07pm when voting ended.
The two aspirants had expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the exercise and promised to cooperate with whoever emerges as the candidate of the party to ensure the victory of the PDP in the July 14 election.
Olusola in his acceptance speech, said his victory came as a result of the support of people promising to put in place a people oriented government.
He also predicted victory for his party in the governorship race across the sixteen local government areas of the state.
Fayose promised to reach out to Olujimi and Adeyeye on the need to work together for the success of the party in the impending poll.
He advised APC in the state to emulate the PDP model by inviting Okowa to assist them in the conduct of their governorship primary slated for Friday.
THE BUILD UP
In the build up to Tuesday’s primary, the election was seen as a direct battle between Fayose, main backer of Olusola, and Adeyeye. A third aspirant and current senator, Abiodun Olujimi, stepped down for Adeyeye on Tuesday.
Adeyeye and his co-aspirants refused to be intimidated by the governor\’s “area politics.” Instead, they stood their ground and pushed harder against the governor’s stand. The governor’s alleged overbearing posture was almost going to destroy the party before the primaries, but for the timely intervention of the reconciliation committee led by former President of the Senate, David Mark.
. It had been said that the governor had the right to support his candidate, but the aspirants did not trust him in ensuring a level playing field for all of them. Adeyeye had accused the governor of double standards, because he had earlier promised that he would leave the government house along with his deputy, only to change in the end, seeking to “succeed himself” through his deputy.
The governor had said he had no apologies for supporting his deputy, and that his support did not preclude other aspirants from pursuing their dreams of becoming the governor of the state. The manner the governor went about it was viewed by his opponents as creating an opposition within the same party.
Several agreements reached between Fayose and Adeyeye broke down almost immediately after the mediators, the David Mark-led reconciliation committee, was near Abuja. There were fears that the PDP would lose the election to the rampaging APC if the party fails to post a rancour free primary election.
The raging desperation to have an upper hand showed at the ward congresses, with pockets of skirmishes recorded across the state.
The national leadership of the PDP has a peculiar interest in what happens during the primaries. Adeyeye had said in one of his interviews that the outcome of the Ekiti and Osun primaries would determine the PDP’s fortunes in the 2019 general election.
Adeyeye and Mrs Olujimi agreed that provided Fayose allows a transparent process, the candidate who emerges on Tuesday would get their support. Fayose, although confident that his “candidate” would win, also assured members of the party that should Adeyeye get majority of the votes of the delegates, he would get his support for the July 14 election.
“Adeyeye, Olujimi and others are free to contest. The PDP belongs to all of us . But let me say this , I stand with Prof Olusola, he is my candidate,” Fayose said in one of his interviews.
“Though I am a leader, no law says I can’t have preference. The only thing that can’t happen is for me to manipulate the primary.”
Adeyeye’s position was clear. He believed he had the delegates and would win if Fayose does not manipulate the process.
“Nobody can stop my aspiration. I am qualified by age, education and I have the mental capacity to hold any exalted office in Nigeria,” were his words of confidence.
