Ayodele Fayose Defeats Senator Biodun Olujimi In The Battle For Control Of Ekiti PDP

The politics of Ekiti state is one that usually has an unpredictable outcome since the creation of the state in 1994. It’s political brouhaha usually come with surprises and outcomes. Ekiti state is the only state that has seen a particular opposition candidate in the person of Chief Ayodele Fayose, twice defeat two different incumbent governors, Otunba Niyi Adebayo and Dr Kayode Fayemi, in two different gubernatorial elections in the state; vis-à-vis the 2003 and 2014 gubernatorial elections respectively.

However, the latest political drama in Ekiti state is the in-house power tussle within the state chapter of Peoples Democratic Party. Specifically, the power tussle is between a former governor of the state, Dr Ayodele Fayose and the senator representing Ekiti south senatorial district in the National Assembly, Senator Biodun Olujimi.

Background of Political Feud

Chief Ayodele Fayose, a former two time governor of the state that served from 2003 to 2006 and later from 2014 to 2018, was the de facto and undisputed leader of the party in the state between 2014 and 2018 when he was in power as the executive governor of the state. During his reign as governor, he determined who got what in the party and was famously christened the “professor of modern politics” by his admirers and members of Ekiti PDP.

Fayose’s fame and influence was also felt at the national chapter of the party, especially when he was made the chairman of the PDP Governors Forum. During the period leading to the 2018 gubernatorial election in the state, Fayose anointed his deputy, Professor Olusola Eleka as his preferred successor. His decision to back professor Elena pitched him against Senator Biodun Olujimi, Prince Dayo Adeyeye (who later defected to All Progressive Congress) and other senior members of the party who were hoping to fly the PDP flag in the election. Despite stiff opposition from these aggrieved senior party members, Fayose was able to deliver the party ticket to Prof Eleka at the PDP gubernatorial primary. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to repeat the feat at the gubernatorial election as Prof Eleka was defeated by Dr Kayode Fayemi of All Progressive Congress, APC, and the state was subsequently lost to APC. After PDP lost the state to Fayemi and APC, Senator Biodun Olujimi, who as at then was the minority leader of the Senate, confronted Chief Fayose, claiming that the former governor ceased to be the leader of the state chapter of the party from the moment he handed over the state to Dr Fayemi. She argued that in the absence of Governor from the party, she is meant to be the leader of the party in the state as the minority leader of the Senate and highest ranking political officer of the state in the PDP. Senator Olujimi, who was the deputy governor to Fayose during his first administration, vowed to relegate the former governor to political obscurity.

The confrontation pitted both Fayose and Olujimi against each other to the extent that the former governor vowed to ensure that Senator Olujimi does not return to the Senate at the 2019 gubernatorial election. In fact, he mobilised and asked his followers to work against Senator Olujimi in the National Assembly election despite the fact that they both belong to the same party. Although Senator Olujimi lost the February 23, 2019 senatorial election to Prince Adedayo Adeyeye of the APC, providence however smiled on her as the Court of Appeal voided Adeyeye’s victory and awarded it to her.

Latest Feud

In February 2020 Chief Fayose and Senator Olujimi renewed their political rivalry. This time, the battle was over the control of the party from the state level down to the 177 Wards at the congresses that was forthcoming. The battle was over whose camp will win the congress and control the party executives in the state. 

Chief Fayose is backing his former commissioner for environment, Bisi Kolawole as his preferred choice for state chairman of the party, while Senator Olujimi camp, which also has the current state chairman, Chief Gboyega Oguntuwase and majority of the current executives, has thrown their weight behind a former member of the federal house of representatives, hon Kehinde Odebunmi to emerge as the next chairman.

Fayose Triumphs…

At the conclusion of the Ward Congress that was held in March, it was Fayose loyalists that emerged triumphant according to the results announced by the PDP National delegation that conducted the exercise. The aggrieved camp of Senator Olujimi protested the outcome and wrote petition to the national secretariat of the party asking that they should not accept the results as announced by the party’s delegation. Unfortunately for Senator Olujimi and her loyalists, the national leadership of the PDP found no merit in their petition. The party national leadership not only dismissed their protest, but took a step further to ratify the Congress outcome and ordered for the inauguration of the newly elected Ward Executives of the party in Ekiti state (which has been done). The unsatisfied camp of Senator Olujimi further approached a high court to obtain an interim injunction to stop the inauguration of the newly elected Ward executives of the party but the court refused to grant their prayer.

With the outcome of the ward congress and the inauguration of Fayose loyalists as ward executives of the party, the former governor has reestablished himself as the political force to be reckoned with and has consolidated his influence in the state party chapter. He is also has the upper hand to deliver his candidates and ensure that his loyalists emerge state executives of the party at the forthcoming state congress.

2022 Gubernatorial Permutation

The outcome of the state congress will have a spillover effect in 2022 when the race for the state’s gubernatorial election opens begins. The ultimate prize in this political drama is about whose camp would get gubernatorial ticket of the party at the election. Senator Olujimi, who is interested in running for governor in 2022 is aware that she would her hope of becoming governor can only be materialised if she is in control of the soul of the party in the state. Chief Ayo Fayose on the other hand is not an aspirant but he knows that he can only remain the primary determinant and factor in the 2022 contest when he has the control of the party under him.

With the ward congresses in favor of Chief Ayo Fayose, he is well positioned to determine and influence who will fly the ticket of the party when the time comes.