The euphoria of winning the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State should whittle down. To observers, there are many hurdles to cross and delay in forging cohesion could be dangerous.
Not willing to leave anything to chances, the standard bearer, Biodun Oyebanji, has embarked on reconciliation with an unparalleled visceral commitment.
The peace move, which has started bearing positive fruits, is meant to cement the cracks triggered by the primary and put the house in order ahead of the governorship poll.
Oyebanji, according to party insiders, is planning to foster inclusion by setting up a broad based campaign committee comprising representatives of the major tendencies within the Ekiti EPC, particularly the aspirants.
He is also approaching the campaigns, not from the point of view of individuality, but as a collective party assignment.
It is the wish of party members that APC should retain the State House for the continuity of progressive policies and programmes.
Historically, primaries in progressive platforms in the Southwest have often been characterised by strife and rancour, with the parties, including Alliance for Democracy (AD, Action Congress (AC) and APC, being assailed by avoidable protracted post-primary crises.
The reason is that there are many experienced, competent and qualified chieftains who can serve as governor and do the party and the state proud.
In the past, reconciliation was usually hectic, due to perceived injustice and clash of egos.
But, the current experience of the Ekiti APC is a cheering news. It is devoid of prolonged tension.
For Opeyemi Bamidele, Femi Bamisile and Dele Faparusi, who have been showing interest in the ticket for 12 years, the primary was challenging. The outcome was more challenging, especially when the converted ticket was eventually picked by a supposedly green horn in governorship contest, but acknowledged by many delegates as a servant of the state, who has paid his dues as a member of Committee for Creation of Ekiti State, Chief of Staff, Commissioner and Secretary to Government.
Oyebanji has adorned the cap of humility, waving the olive branch and urging co-aspirants to collaborate with him and Governor Kayode Fayemi so that the dream of continuity can be realised in June.
Many stalwarts of the ruling party, who have noted the past contributions of the aggrieved contenders to the political family, have also implored them to make additional sacrifices in the interest of the party.
In the absence of a united front, the party may face a perilous time. Division may continue to breed disaffection and bitterness, leading to defection. This implies the prospects of vote split. In addition, aggrieved supporters may stay on in the party only to undermine the platform during the poll. The act of subversion or sabotage within may not be detected until it is too late.
In a recent television interview, Fayemi said he trusted the aspirants who lost to Oyebanji to reiterate their dedication to the party as loyal chieftains. He believes the eminent politicians who lost at the primary will stand behind the winner like the wall of Gilberata during the governorship election.
Also, Oyebanji said he had reached out to the aggrieved contestants, immediately after the shadow poll. He said: “I have spoken to some of them. We are in conversation and in the next few days, I’ll be going to them one-on-one for further discussion and to deepen the already agreed conversations with them.
“I believe strongly that the APC is strong and the APC has an inbuilt mechanism to resolve issues arising from the contest. One thing is clear; in every context, there will be different views and opinions and it behooves each and every one of us to bend back and resolve the issue in the interest of our people, in the interest of the state and interest of the party and I’m confident that all those things will be done.”
Since last week, the aspirants have been down playing personal interests and demonstrating a readiness to elevate collective agenda over particularistic motive.
Their actions have further created more opportunities for genuine reconciliation. For example, personal ambition has been jettisoned by Bamidele, who in a recent statement, assured that he will neither go to court nor defect to another party.
Bamidele, lawyer and senator, had complained about the shadow poll, which threw up the former university teacher, saying that it was not fair.
Many chieftains have lauded his gesture, which has brightened the prospects of reconciliation, cohesion and harmony. Unlike when he defected to the Labour Party (LP) in 2014 after the shadow poll, Bamidele even assured that his supporters and followers will maintain an abiding faith in the chapter.
The lesson of the past is instructive. To observers, the mistake, if repeated, could spell doom on poll day. Party chieftains have realised that only in unity can the ruling party wade off threats by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to recapture power.
Bamidele’s defection in 2014 to the LP unsettled the party. Both Fayemi and himself lost to Governor Ayodele Fayose.
Bamidele said he has been consulting after the primary. The consultation heralded his wise decision to be less inflexible and more condescending.
“I have chosen to drop the option of going to court to sue the party,” he said, meaning that the post-primary crises have fizzled out.
Also, the senator made it crystal clear that he and his supporters will not defect from APC. “The implication is that there will be no polarisation.
Bamidele said he would inform Nigerians later about his reasons for the two options.
However, the senator from Ekiti Central District still indicated a residual hostility, which should be looked into. He said: “It is about the unity and progress of Ekiti State and her politically undermined and economically afflicted people. It is also about ensuring that the ground is not prepared for reactionary beneficiaries to take advantage of seeming lack of capacity to manage our affairs as a ruling party in the State.
“We have all contributed so much to building this party in Ekiti State and the management as well as its decision making process cannot be an exclusive preserve of a few. That is the new reality that those in control, including our national leadership, must accept or it becomes a popular subject matter of a struggle around which a popular movement must be built. This is where I stand.”
Bamisile has followed in the footsteps of Bamidele, saying that the Zamfara scenario should not happen in Ekiti. The federal lawmaker said he entered the race to demand for power shift to Ekiti South. He promised not to rock the boat in whatever form.
Bamisile said: “I am standing with the party. Whatever the party wants us to do, we would do. I cannot destroy the party I joined others to build and I have penchant for building political parties.”
The lawmaker, who said he had dropped the option of challenging the primary in court in the interest of the party, added: “We are not going to leave the party. I can’t be sent out of a house that I built. Nobody can send me out of APC.”
As if he was reading his lips, Faparusi, a former House of Representatives member, who resigned as Public Infrastructure commissioner to contest, said it is not a do-or-die affair.
Reiterating his support for continuity, he said it is better to retain the APC in power in Ekiti than to allow PDP to displace the ruling party.
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