Ekiti 2022: Oni, Kolawole, Eleka,13 other aspirant’s calculations on PDP primaries

As the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the timetable for conducting the Ekiti governorship poll, the 16 aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state are sharpening their weapons against the battle of who would control the delegates to click the party’s ticket.

According to the INEC timetable, the conduct of the party primaries in Ekiti is between January 4 to January 29, 2022, but the PDP scheduled their primary to January 28, 2022. And the ground is being tilled for the coming governorship election in Ekiti State billed for June 18, 2022.

Barely 88 days (three months) to the governorship primary, the political tension is rising steadily as preparations for the battle over who clinch the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gradually gets underway.

The sixteen aspirants are already sharpening their weapons ahead of who would control the delegates for the primary election in the party.

By calculations, about 1,951 delegates of the PDP would vote in the party’s governorship primary election.

The delegates are drawn from the 177 wards of the 16 local government areas of the state.

About sixteen (16) governorship aspirants of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) obtained the governorship nomination form.

The aspirants come from all the three political zones of the state; Ekiti Central, Ekiti North, and Ekiti South.

Newsflash Nigeria understands that eight of the aspirants were male while 8 are also female.

They are the former governor of the state, Segun Oni; former deputy governor, Kolapo Olusola Eleka; Immediate past state chairman of the party, Bisi Kolawole;  outgoing National Treasure of the party, Wale Aribisala; Former GMD bank, Kayode Adaramodu; a Lagos-based businessman and senatorial aspirant of the party in 2014, Lateef Ajijola and Otunba Yinka Akerele.

Others are 2018 PDP deputy governorship candidate, Deji Ogunsakin; a former Tutor General in Ekiti State, Chief (Mrs) Arogundade Oluwatoyin Anike; Hon (Mrs) Olumide-Ojo Olukemi Olubunmi; a former House of Assembly member during the second term of Ayodele Fayose administration, Hon. Princess Titilayo Owolabi Akerele; the 2019 House of Representatives aspirant, Princess Adekemi Adewumi; 2019 House of Assembly aspirant, Mrs Cecilia Ebiesuwa;  the daughter of prominent Prince Adewumi Adegoke of Ado-Ekiti, Mrs Adewumi Adesoye, Mrs Module Asaolu, and Mrs Deborah Alo.

Check-in at the camps of the major groups revealed that the governorship aspirants are meeting and selling their aspirations to the party delegates across the 16 local government areas of the state in a bid to fly the party’s flag in the next year poll.

And to underscore its seriousness, the PDP seems to be witnessing the emergence of some of its best materials as aspirants for its ticket.

Though there were two major factions of the party in the state; the Osoko People’s Assembly (OPA) headed by the former governor of the state Ayo Fayose and the Repositioning Group headed by a serving senator, Biodun Olujimi. Another group is the PDP family headed by the former governor of the state Segun Oni.

Just concluded the PDP National convention held at Eagle Square, Abuja, the party accepted the delegates controlled by the Fayose group.

Fayose and Olujimi have been battling over who controls the party’s structure in the state.

Fayose is believed to be favoured by the control congresses conducted across the 155 wards of Ekiti State in 2020 while the remaining 22 wards are still pending. Though Olujimi has taken the battle to the Supreme Court after the High Court and the Appeal Court had validated the Fayose faction.

In February, Fayose endorsed Bisi Kolawole, the immediate past chairman of PDP in the state as his preferred candidate.

The choice of Kolawole endorsed by Fayose polarised his political platform, Osoko People’s Assembly (OPA) where two aspirants who are in the camp, his deputy during the second term, Kolapo Olusola Eleka and Wale Aribisala pull out from the group.

The Olujimi group recently elected, Lateef Ajijola as the group candidate for the party primary but later rejected Ajijola’s candidacy a month after conducting the mini primary.

Ajijola, a Lagos-based businessman and senatorial aspirant of the party in 2014, in the group’s mini primary held at Ajaleye Events Centre, Polytechnic Road, Ado Ekiti, the state capital on Friday, September 3, defeated Yinka Akerele and Sikiru Lawal to emerge the winner.

In the keenly contested poll, the Ado Ekiti born politician polled 50 votes while Otunba Yinka Akerele scored 26 votes and a former deputy governor of the state, Dr Sikiru Tai Lawal scored 4 votes.

Two months ago before the aspirants obtained the governorship forms, the Oyo State Governor Makinde met some aspirants who he believed are from his camp; the aspirants include Segun Oni, Biodun Olujimi, Olusola Eleka and others, discussing certain issues for his group to win the primary ticket in Ekiti.

He advised the aspirants to step down for one candidate in order to win the primary ticket.

The source gathered that the Makinde group in the South-West make a move on how to choose one of the aspirants for consideration to be able to stand a chance to face Bisi Kolawole, Fayose’s preferred candidate in the primary.

Those in the camp of Makinde are: Segun Oni, Kolapo Olusola Eleka,  Lateef Ajijola and Yinka Akerele.

The source gathered that no candidate from the group should obtain the governorship form until they reach an agreement but the aspirants failed to concede for one candidate.

However, Newsflash Nigeria understands that the number of delegates as of today was made up of 172 statutory and 1,779 elected party officers.

Newsflash Nigeria gathered that the statutory delegates comprised the past governors and Deputy Governors, present and past federal lawmakers, the past principal officers of State Assembly, serving and former members of National Executive Committee, former State Working Committee members, serving and former Board of Trustee (BoT), former LG party chairmen and 2018 gubernatorial candidate and deputy.

Also, elected party officers made up of current of all state executives, all LG executives, five principal officers per ward, three Adhoc delegates per ward, all zonal executives who are in the state, one physically challenged (PCM) per local government, one National delegate per local government.

DELEGATES

Statutory as of today = 172 (Decided)

State executives =39 (decided)

Local Government executives = 288; (252 decided, 36 yet decided)

Five principal officers per ward = 885; ( 775 decided, 110 yet decided)

Three Adhoc delegates per ward = 531 (yet decided)

One physically challenged (PCM) per LG = 16 (yet decided)

One National delegate per LG = 16 (yet decided)

Zonal executives from Ekiti State = 3 (decided)

National executive = 1 (decided)

As of today, Newsflash Nigeria gathered that the total number of delegates who would vote in the party’s governorship primary election is 1,951. Out of 1,951, the total number of the delegates decided is 1,242 while 563 were undecided until Friday, January 7 to Saturday, January 8, 2022, and January 15, 2022, to elect the three-man ad-hoc delegates, one National Delegates as well as one person living with disability from each local government area.

The remaining 146 delegates from two local government areas (22 wards) may likely not vote, because the congress of the 22 wards are still pending and there is no date for allocating the congress.

Obviously, numerous factors would be on the table of the aspirants for their consideration when the delegates choose their choice on January 28, 2022.

Such factors as his/her financial muscle, his/her support base and his/her control the structure of the party.

However, some factors, such as the political party itself and who the sponsors of an aspirant are, might subsume the preceding considerations.

By calculation gathered by Newsflash Nigeria, any aspirant who got above 700 delegates may likely click the ticket of the party.

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