Ekiti State politicians have been calling for the transfer of power to the Southern Senate District (SSD) by 2022. Former Ekiti State Governor Segun Oni has come out against this call, saying that it would be a disservice to his party.
Priority should be given to those who can topple the ruling All Progressives Congress, Oni argued, rather than zoning.
Ekiti State’s governorship election is scheduled for June 18, 2022. The PDP’s governorship aspirant told the APC that the ruling party has lost the election due to its failures in security, employment creation, and economy.
Former Ekiti deputy governor, Prof Kolapo Olusola, and other politicians of southern extraction have been insisting that the PDP should zone its governorship ticket to the South, which hasn’t produced a governor in the region since 1999.
During an interactive session with newsmen on his goal to return to the Ekiti government house in 2022, the former governor of Ado Ekiti claimed zoning will do immeasurable damage to the PDP.
“When I left in 2010, I declared that we should help the South become the governor of the province. There had never been a governor who liked the South more than I did. I gave crucial jobs like Minister, Secretary, Commissioner for Works, and Commissioner for Public Works to the south.
A ruling party is the only one that can zone governorships. Those in opposition, on the other hand, should only focus on who can take over the reins. Governor Ayodele Fayose had the luxury of going for it, even if we lost the 2018 elections.
“Governor Kayode Fayemi, who is now in office, is the only one who can respond to the zoning call at this time because he is in office. The PDP should ponder about who can win the election, not who can lose it, before making its decision. A good and determined opposition party, not nice guys, is what we want to be this time around.
APC’s tenure in Ekiti, Oni said, was an abject failure and the population was already disillusioned.
They are ready to vote for us in Ekiti. This is the luckiest party of all. People have told us that the path to the government house is practically clear. Our differences will be resolved.
Asked about the insecurity in Ekiti, the former governor said it was very unfortunate. He said he would rise to the occasion and stem the tide if allowed to serve as governor of Ekiti State.
Ekiti is not the only place where there is insecurity, he said. Ekiti has a panic alarm system that may alert the police anywhere there was a gunshot.
When you allow insecurity to overpower you, that is exactly what we are experiencing right now. If you want to be at the forefront of the fight against insecurity, you must think outside the box. It’s time for the administration to reassess its approach to security”.
No less than a free and fair primary will be acceptable to the PDP members to select a credible candidate for the forthcoming governorship election, according to Oni.
If the candidate with the most appeal wins the primary election, they will be put on the ticket. We believe that will happen”, he said.
