The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 625 (June 12 - 25 2024)

Page10 TheTrumpet JUNE 12 - 25 2024
Opinion
Ekiti, Osun: Getting the battle
lines drawn
By Abiodun Komolafe
Barring unforeseen circumstances,
the 2026 Ekiti and Osun
Governorship elections are less
than 27 and 28 months away respectively.
In Osun State, it is believed in the All
Progressives Congress (APC) family
circle that former Governor Rauf
Aregbesola’s tendency worked for the
then Candidate, now Governor Ademola
Adeleke and the People’s Democratic
Party (PDP) in the July 2022 election.
Prominent among this tendency were
Wale Bolorunduro and Kolapo Alimi
who eventually became the State
Commissioner for Information and
Public Enlightenment. On the flipside, it
is also believed that a major tendency in
the PDP, as represented by the Shuaib
Oyedokuns and the Dotun Babayemis,
also worked for former Governor
Gboyega Oyetola and APC in the same
election. So, there’s a counter-balance of
forces!
As 2026 fast approaches, it is too
early to predict where the pendulum will
swing! But, whichever way, Adeleke is
the incumbent Governor; and, despite his
administration’s contamination by
terrible management, poor decisionmaking
and policy instability, the
Governor is perceived to be performing.
For instance, he is paying the backlog of
salary arrears owed Osun workers during
the APC years and this may work in his
favour. Nonetheless, there is nothing
permanent about incumbency. After all,
Oyetola was the incumbent Governor
when he was removed from office.
Truth be told, PDP is unsettled in Ekiti
just as APC is gasping for breath in Osun.
But it is interesting to note that, in Ekiti,
PDP has been reduced to a non-existent
political party. It is in tatters, with the
umbrella torn into many parts, to the
extent that Ayo Fayose who is seen as the
leader of the party has already declared
support for Governor Biodun Abayomi
Oyebanji’s 2 nd Term bid, that he
(Oyebanji) may have an edge. The same
goes for former Governor Segun Oni,
who also contested as the Governorship
candidate of the Social Democratic Party
(SDP), in the last exercise.
Still on Osun APC, to say that there
are no challenges for the Tajudeen Lawalled
party will only amount to an attempt
at lubricating the ego of pretence.
Conversely, those who may be thinking
that giants cannot be defeated had better
interrogate how David defeated Goliath
(1 Samuel 17: 50-53) and how the
fearless Caleb and Joshua reconnoitered
the Land of Canaan (Numbers 13:30). Be
that as it may, a political party that wants
to wrestle power from a very stubborn
ruling party must truly take the bull by
the horn! Since election victory is a factor
of the number of votes lawfully secured,
Osun APC must try to win the people’s
hearts, including the State civil servants’.
For Osun APC, South Africa’s
landmark elections have again shown that
there’s strength in unity! Therefore, the
search for unity and peace has become a
sine qua non if it is to stand a better
chance against the ruling party in the
State. Towards achieving this, the starting
line is to sincerely admit that avertable
mistakes were made before, during, even
after the July 16 2022 Osun governorship
exercise; and that genuine efforts are
being made to rebuild the party.
In a three-part intervention entitled
‘Osun APC and some hard home truths’,
seven months ago, yours sincerely did
highlight some of the ills that have
deepened mistrust in Osun APC and I
believe that a word should be sufficient
for the wise! Therefore, as 2026 nears us
by the eyelids, let the party prefer selling
its sweet stories as an attractive
alternative to getting drenched in the
miasma of political brickbats. What Osun
APC needs at this crucial time is
prioritizing election victory over
humiliating ‘monkey-dey-work-baboondey-chop’
attitudes. Most importantly, it
will be in President Bola Tinubu’s
objective interest as APC National
Leader to reconcile all the feuding
factions in the State chapter; and that’s if
Osun APC sincerely wants to draw
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Governor Abiodun Oyebanji
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lessons from the past.
Yes, Osun and Ekiti are a tale of two
destinies and it is all about transformation
capabilities. Take, for instance, while one
Governor is acting in line with the
common sense interpretation of
development by building an exportoriented
economy and the right types of
infrastructure that can generate revenue,
the other is just feeding his herds and
emphasizing white elephant projects,
thereby mindlessly diverting the meagre
resources that are meant to construct
Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and rural
roads to unnecessary charades.
Since Oyebanji is on the right track,
the opposition doesn’t seem to exist in
Ekiti. His considerable investment in the
power sector in a bid to fix power
infrastructure and boost economic
activities in line with his Shared
Prosperity agenda is a demonstration of
the seriousness of intent. Thankfully, the
National Electricity Regulatory
Commission (NERC) recently transferred
electricity regulatory oversight to the
State in line with the new Electricity Act
2023. Surely, this momentous milestone
has made an immeasurable impact on the
lives of the people.
Continued on Page 11