Peter Ayodele Fayose, the Governor-Elect of Ekiti State, is an enigma in
Nigerian politics. Nobody seems to understand his style and
strategies. Until the declaration of the results of the governorship
election of June 21st, 2014, which proclaimed him as winner, by a large
margin, it was confusing whether, indeed, this ebullient politician was
truly a man of the people or merely a self-conceited rabble-rouser.
Compared to the quiet, soft-spoken and shy-looking incumbent Governor of
the State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Fayose appears loud and too much of an
extrovert. He exhumes so much confidence that when he speaks, he is
easily taken for an arrogant person.
Yet, underneath Fayose’s outward appearance is a caring, humane and
generous personality, attributes once tasted by the people of Ekiti
State, but only for a few years, after his victory over sitting Governor
Niyi Adebayo, at the election of 19th April, 2003. Between 2003 and
2006 when Fayose was politically manipulated out of office, the people
found in him a unique brand of compassion and commitment to service,
never experienced in the State. Like old lovers, Fayose and the people
of Ekiti State have been searching for one another. And now, they have
been re-united.
Governor–Elect Fayose’s second coming is also the return of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to Ekiti State. The major infrastructure
and social development, by which Fayose endeared himself to the people
of Ekiti, was achieved on the platform of the PDP, deploying the party’s
political expertise, and in keeping with its manifesto. Therefore, a
substantial part of the credit of Fayose’s achievements in Ekiti State
went to the party under which he served. Which explains why the PDP has
been firmly entrenched in Ekiti State for a long time, in spite of the
incursion of the All Progressives Congress (APC) into States of the
South-West Zone?
Apart from Fayose’s past record of excellent performance in Ekiti
State, his victory was made easy by the woeful, if not total lack of
performance of the APC Government of Fayemi. Like other APC States in
the South-West, the Fayemi administration operates more as a propaganda
machinery, rather than one devoted to practical efforts and concrete
projects. The reason for the poor performance of the Fayemi
administration in Ekiti State is that it lacks the necessary framework
and policies for service delivery to the people. Not only is the APC
without men and women of vision and commitment, the party lacks unity
and focus, thereby making it easy for the PDP and a formidable
politician like Fayose to reclaim the State. It should be noted that
the bulk of members who joined the APC were frustrated members of the
PDP who could not have their selfish interests in the party.
In preparing for the Ekiti governorship election, the superior
experience and political skills of the PDP were amply demonstrated,
especially in the selection of the party’s flag bearer. Out of over 26
aspirants who contested the PDP primaries for the position, most of whom
were eminently qualified, the party, under the supervision of former
Rivers State Governor, Dr. Peter Odili, was able to choose Fayose as its
candidate. Naturally, some of the participants protested but, again,
the party was able to calm frayed nerves and reconcile its members for a
unified contest against the APC candidate. It was a clear
demonstration of the advantage of experience which the PDP has over all
other political parties in the country.
The Ekiti governorship election has been universally declared as
transparent, free and fair. Even the opposition parties, including the
APC and Labour parties, have accepted this position. The defeated
incumbent Governor, Kayode Fayemi, has conceded defeat and congratulated
Fayose. There is not a single protest or threat of court action
against the conduct or results of the election. The credit goes to
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, whose electoral reforms are already
yielding fruits. Compared to what elections in Nigeria used to be in
the past, the Ekiti case has shown that we are, indeed, close to the
Promised Land, as far as elections are concerned. The President’s
proclamation of “one man, one vote – one woman, one vote and one youth,
one vote”, is now almost a reality.
Over the years, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
has been the proverbial whipping boy in all matters relating to
election failures. All that is now changing! In the Ekiti election,
accusations of late arrival of voting materials were virtually
non-existent, nor were there charges of bias or collusion against INEC
officials. Indeed, Ekiti is the best in INEC’s performance in the
conduct of elections in Nigeria. Professor Attahiru Jega and his
officials must be commended for their roles in the success of the
election in Ekiti State.
Of course, the conduct of the Ekiti election was successful because
there was adequate security. The nation’s security agencies, the
military, police and civil defence organizations, were adequately
deployed to protect life and property during the election. Indeed, the
security arrangements were so impressive that the United States Mission
in Nigeria had to issue a statement, commending INEC, the nation’s
security agencies and other electoral stakeholders for their
preparations and logistics. Prominent politicians, including state
Governors and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Chief
Tony Anenih, also commended the Federal Government, INEC and the
Security Forces for the peaceful conduct of the elections in Ekiti
State.
While all those responsible for the success of the Ekiti election
deserve commendation, the incumbent Governor of the State, Dr. Fayemi,
must be applauded for his unusual courage in accepting defeat and
pledging to work with the winner in the interest of the people of Ekiti
State. Governor-Elect, Peter Ayodele Fayose has proved himself to be a
popular and truly grassroots politicians, highly loved in Ekiti land and
as one of the most charismatic leaders in Nigeria. No other person
could have generated the kind of excitement and mobilization experienced
in Ekiti State during the election.
The Ekiti election results, with the PDP winning in all the 16 Local
Government Areas of the State, are a pointer to what will happen in
subsequent elections in Nigeria. The results also show a new trend in
the politics of the South-West geo-political zone. It will be recalled
that most of the States in the zone were under the control of the PDP.
That was before the judgements of the Electoral Tribunals. With the
Ekiti election, PDP’s process of reclaiming its rightful States has
truly started.
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