Two Key Incidents Nigerians Need To Take Note From Ekiti Guber Election In Relation To 2023 Polls

By Saturday, the people of Ekiti State will march to poll to elect their new governor who will succeed the current Governor Kayode Fayemi and take charge of the state affairs for another four years.

Presently, the state is tensed up with political activities as parties are already putting finishing touches to their campaigns.

Among the three leading contenders for the state top job are Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressive Congress, Bisi Kolawole of the People’s Democratic Party and former governor Segun Oni of the Social Democratic Party.

The three candidates who are believed to be well grounded in the politics of the state will have to slug it out with one another on Saturday.

But beyond the governorship election and politics of the state, the election in itself is quite significant to the 2023 politics and the political tune currently being echoed by Nigerians.

After the election must have been contested and won this weekend, these  two things are expected to form the opinions of Nigerians ahead of 2023.

The first is the political parties acceptability. As earlier said, the contest is majorly between APC, PDP and SDP. The state is currently being ruled by the the APC.

In the last four years, some groups of people in the state believed that Governor Fayemi has not done enough for the party to remain in power after his tenure. Ekiti is one of the most insecured States in the southwest. Hardly will a week pass without a report of kidnaping.

Just like Nigerians are complaining about the APC administration at the centre, so is the situation of things in Ekiti. However, loyalists of the party are of the opinion that the Governor has done creditably well to be commended in the state.

Similarly, the PDP through former governor Ayo Fayose is believed to have left the state in a mess at the time his tenure ended in 2018. SDP is the only party that has never governed the state since the return to democracy in1999. 

However, its governorship candidate, Segun Oni is one of the Governors who brought the state to where it is presently either positively or negatively, having ruled the state for four years and only had his second term cut short through Court pronouncement in 2010.

If any of these three parties win the election on Saturday, it simply means that Nigerian should not be surprised if either PDP or APC wins the 2023 election despite the present situation of the country. It also means the people are not yet ready for the real change they are yawning for.

The second thing to note is preparation of the INEC towards the election. In the last stakeholders meeting held in Ado Ekiti by the commission and political parties, Civil society organization, royal fathers and others, INEC unequivocally expressed its readiness for the election.

If INEC successfully conducted the election and it is free, fair and credible, then it shows that Nigeria is one step closer to the success of 2023. But if it is on the other hand, Nigerians may have to brace up for the unexpected from INEC in 2023.