Come Saturday, January 22, 2022, the battle for the destiny of Ekiti State, also known as the “Fountain of Knowledge”, will kick off with the primary elections of the All Progressives Congress. The primary election will decide who picks the flag of the ruling party for the governorship election which has been fixed for June 18, 2022 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Already, political activities in Ekiti are gaining audible volume as some aspirants in the ruling party have been signifying intention to contest the Ekiti number one seat. And because Ekiti has been a state where succession has always been a hard nut to crack, a lot is expected from the aspirant that will break the jinx of inconsistency in governance to ensure continuity this time.
Investigation has revealed that the ruling APC is divided into two major factions in Ekiti State, with a fraction loyal to the incumbent governor, christened “Tokantokan” holding sway for the moment while the other, which seem to be in the majority are venting their anger under the South West Agenda for Asiwaju 2023 (SWAGA).
The SWAGA group are uniting to present a single candidate they plan to rally round to win the January primary and so take away power from the Tokantokan group, which they view to be vicious and vindictive. The SWAGA says it wants to restore order for the party to stand.
Also, in preparation for the battle ahead, different parties are already gearing up for the primaries which will eventually throw up their party flag bearers. Even though PDP has been out of power in Ekiti State, the State remains a strong PDP State and dominant too, with several frontline and influential politicians.
The air of zoning is also blowing ferociously across major parties, PDP inclusive. Major personalities in the party like Senator Dayo Adeyeye, Dr Oluwole Oluyede, Senator Tony Adeniyi, Abiodun Aluko from the South, are rooting for a shift of power to the southern part of the state in the coming election. Several other notable politicians as well as influential party leaders are receptive to this idea and have also alluded to this fact in their recent comments. Hence, in the interest of justice, equity, inclusiveness and popular demand, both APC and PDP will much likely uphold zoning as a factor and go south.
