Ekiti voters will decide their next governor among the three leading candidates. The election will also provide a mirror into the 2023 presidential poll.
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
On paper, 16 political parties fielded candidates for the governorship of Ekiti State. But on the ground, only three are visible. They are; Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC); Segun Oni of the Social Democratic Party (SDP); and Bisi Kolawole of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The poll, which is locked for any of the three parties to clinch, provides a mirror into the mathematics of the 2023 presidential election.
For the APC and PDP, the election is not only about the people of Ekiti State choosing their next governor, it is also a guide towards understanding the voting behaviour of the people ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
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A win for the APC in the governorship contest will serve as a morale booster for the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who has the state and South-West as his stronghold. If by some upset the PDP or SDP wins the governorship contest, the presidential campaign of Tinubu would have suffered a devastating blow, if not a death blow.
The fact is, the ruling APC is the party to beat in this poll with most of the key metrics in its favour since it is both the ruling party at the centre and the state.
But again, some surprises could spring up. Recall that a former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, displaced the ruling APC and its governorship candidate, Kayode Fayemi from the government house in the 2014 election. In 2018, Fayemi came back from the sideline to defeat the ruling PDP in the election. So, Ekiti voters are not easily predictable.