Opposition Alignment Signals Possible 95% Landslide for Oyebanji in June 20 Ekiti Governorship Election
The position earlier expressed by former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, on the need for continuity in the administration of Governor Biodun Oyebanji has gained fresh weight following remarks by a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee, Bisi Kolawole.
Fayose, widely regarded as the undisputed leader of the PDP in Ekiti State, had openly declared his support for the continuation of Oyebanji’s administration, stressing that the state should not interrupt the progress being recorded under the current government.
According to him, allowing the governor to complete a second term would help consolidate ongoing development projects and prevent the cycle of abandoned programmes that often accompanies abrupt changes in leadership.
“The state cannot afford to disrupt the progress already achieved,” Fayose had said while explaining his position. “Continuity is necessary to consolidate developmental gains and give ongoing programs the time and stability they require to produce meaningful results.”
However, the conversation within the party took a sharper turn at the weekend when Kolawole, who serves on the PDP National Working Committee, spoke shortly after the party’s congress that produced a new state executive in Ekiti.
Kolawole reaffirmed the party’s alignment with its national leadership, while also acknowledging Fayose’s influence within the Ekiti chapter of the PDP.
“PDP is alive,” Kolawole said. “We believe in our national leader, Nyesom Wike. The leader here, Ayo Fayose, who happens to be Wike’s friend there, they are leading us right and we are happy about it.”
When asked by reporters to offer advice to the person being projected in some quarters as the PDP governorship candidate in Ekiti, Dr. Wọle Oluyede, Kolawole dismissed the claim, saying he was unaware of any such candidate.
“I am not aware of anything about him,” Kolawole said. “I am not aware that the party has a candidate for the June 20 governorship election. I don’t have any idea and I don’t have any advice for him. He’s on his own, not known by the PDP.”
He added that as a member of the party’s National Working Committee, he could not comment on a situation that, according to him, does not officially exist within the party structure.
“As far as I am concerned as a member of the NWC, I cannot offer advice in a situation I don’t know what’s happening,” he said.
Kolawole’s remarks have further reinforced the political direction already hinted at by Fayose, whose position on the need for continuity in Ekiti governance has continued to shape discussions within the PDP ranks in the state.
His remarks have now removed whatever ambiguity existed around the direction of the party in Ekiti. With the endorsement earlier expressed by former governor Ayo Fayose and the validation coming from a member of the PDP National Working Committee, Bisi Kolawole, the alignment within the opposition camp appears settled.
The implication is that the traditional voting bloc of the major opposition party is drifting toward the incumbent governor, Biodun Oyebanji.
With the structure of the PDP in Ekiti firmly under the influence of Fayose and with national figures within the party openly acknowledging his leadership, the likelihood is that the bulk of the party’s electoral strength will ultimately line up behind the governor in the June 20 governorship election.
As things stand politically in Ekiti today, Oyebanji appears poised for what could become one of the most decisive victories in the state’s electoral history. The governor could record an unprecedented landslide, potentially securing as much as 95 percent of the votes and sweeping polling units across the state in a convincing show of political dominance.
