The next gubernatorial elections in Osun and Ekiti states will hold next year, and those who are seeking to become the Chief Executives of the two states in question have already begun to fall over one another in the scramble for party nominations.
It was however observed that they have all had their attention on the APC and the PDP.
Interestingly, the current leaders of the two states; Governor Biodun Oyebanji and Governor Ademola Adeleke are seeking to remain the occupants of their respective Government Houses.
Two major political parties are well-established in Ekiti and Osun states; the PDP and the APC, and there is also the possibility of emergence of third force.
The aspirants have been busy consulting and talking to the stakeholders and those who eventually lose out in the scheme may angrily leave the PDP and the APC and strengthen the third force.
In Ekiti State, there is a possibility of the ruling APC getting factionalized as the bigwigs will in the coming months get busy with struggle for supremacy which no one can predict how it will end.
Governor Biodun Oyebanji though has a full grip of the party’s structures and he has masterfully cultivated network of loyalists across the state, he will face a fierce opposition from the camp led by Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr. Henry Dele Alake.
Chief Kayode Ojo, who many still refer to as the real winner of the 2022 APC gubernatorial primary election, is staging a comeback and he would be joining the 2026 guber race.
Alake is Chief Ojo’s cousin and he has told anyone who cares to listen that he is committed to righting the wrong.
Chief Ojo, who is the Chairman of the Federal University, Lokoja, is said to be popular among party members and this time around , he will return to get things done at full strength.
The leading opposition party in the state, the PDP, that is expected to patiently wait in the wing to get positioned as possible beneficiary of the imminent intraparty conflict in the state APC is also in disarray and currently singing discordant tunes
Governor Oyebanji has ‘excellent’ relationship with all his predecessors with Dr Kayode Fayemi and Chief Ayo Fayose coming out to declare support for his re-election already.
In Ekiti’s neighbor, Osun State, the governor, Asiwaju Ademola Adeleke is in total control of the structures of the ruling PDP and he will have no one competing for the party’s guber nomination.
APC is the leading opposition party in the state and there seems to be no prospect of third force because majority of those who had left to pick up nominations of other political parties in the past including Dr Akin Ogunbiyi and Hon Lasun Yusuf are currently prominent stakeholders and bigwigs of the two major political parties.
Despite that many believed there is a visible crack within the walls in the relationship among Osun State APC bigwigs centering on disagreement over who should emerge as the party’s guber candidate, there were feelings in certain quarters that the whole scenario may have been mere playacting and self-created until recent developments.
There are currently two major aspirants in the party; Barrister Ajibola Basiru , a former senator, who is currently the APC National Secretary, and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Lokoja, Mr. Bola Oyebamiji.
The NIWA CEO served as Commissioner for Finance under Oyetola.
Some party bigwigs are also interested in joining the race, some among them are getting things done ‘secretly’ , while there are also some others who are promoting ‘Osun West’ agenda in advance of their aspirations.
Sources told Team@orientactualmags.com that the Minister of Blue Economy, who is the immediate past governor of the state and the state APC leader, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola may still join the race and seek to complete his term while the governorship position will move to Osun West in 2030.
It was also reliably learned that Chief Bisi Akande gave Barrister Basiru Ajibola, who has shown that he really means business, tacit approval and encouraged him to join the guber race.
Ajibola met the former APC National Chairman as a member of Rauf Aregbesola’s kitchen cabinet and there has been a close bond between them since then.
It was further gathered that Chief Bisi Akande recommended the former senator as National Secretary while Oyetola supported his nomination.
Political intrigue is thickening ahead of the Osun State APC guber primary election and despite losing the Aregbesola’s camp recently, the party has continued to strategize on how to bounce back.
Having lost guber election in 2022, to avoid losing two successive elections, the party is determined to bounce back this time around.
In the meanwhile, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has gotten recognized as the numero uno in Osun State politics.
He has actually become the third most talked-about politician in the state leaving Governor Ademola Adeleke and his immediate predecessor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola to compete for the first most talked-about politician.
The Omoluabi Progressives, a group comprising members of Osun state APC, who are loyalists of Aregbesola, a one-time governor of Osun State and former Minister of Interior, had a few days ago, announced the decision to leave the party.
To show and prove his status as numero uno in Osun State politics, the former minister ,who had arrived in the state a few days ago, rather than attending one or two events and leaving for Lagos , had stayed put and he was busy getting in touch with supporters and holding meetings with them in batches and this development had led to an intense flurry of activity.
A thick cloud of uncertainty had since then been placed on the political decision being contemplated by Aregbesola..
Giving credence to this was a development that was recorded last week, a member of the House of Representatives, Hon Wole Oke ,had in an open letter urged Aregbesola to straighten relationship with his estranged political godfather ,President Bola Tinubu , and the Organizing Secretary of the Omoluabi Progressives, Oluwaseun Abosede not only attached importance to this but submitted that they will give some thought to it.
Considering that the political pendulum has been swinging from one end to another in shocking ways in a clear fashion that defied all theories of motion, fingers should be kept crossed as we watch happenings and await who would ultimately emerged victorious at the upcoming APC and PDP gubernatorial primary elections and the subsequent gubernatorial elections in Osun and Ekiti states-Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08035023079, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com. Thank you
