By OSV
Politics, in layman’s terms, is the set of activities associated with making decisions in groups or in other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources.
Democracy, on the other hand, is a system of government in which power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or through freely elected representatives.
From these definitions, what is central to both politics and democracy is political power, the authority to administer the people and their resources. Political power simply means that an individual or group of individuals hold the authority in a national or sub-national government. Put differently, it is the process by which the sovereignty of the people is handed over to an elected individual or group to govern on their behalf.
Now, with the race for who clinches the sole ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) gathering momentum, the possibility of Governor Abiodun Oyebanji (BAO) emerging unopposed is high, given the overwhelming support he enjoys from relevant stakeholders within and outside Ekiti State.
Expectedly, however, there are desperate attempts to kick around fabricated narratives to discredit this popular choice ranging from outright lies, concocted innuendos, and baseless calls for his disqualification, to clamors for the cancellation of the yet-to-hold primaries. Some even go as far as referencing the Sarumi/Agbalajobi debacle or attempting to invoke the Ambode scenario in Ekiti.
But let’s be clear: in the absence of any valid reason or strategy to challenge Governor Oyebanji’s bid for re-election, resorting to such political blackmail is not only balderdash but also a mission impossible dead on arrival.
Unlike Ambode’s case in Lagos, Governor Oyebanji has, in less than three years, successfully carried on an all-inclusive style of governance that has endeared him to virtually all strata of society the elites, the middle class, and the average citizens. His government has ensured continuity, stability, and steady development, making it difficult for any rational opposition to dislodge his widespread acceptance.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, a shrewd democrat who understands the maxim that “there can be no leader without followers,” is well aware that virtually all political and apolitical leadership in Ekiti is firmly behind Governor Oyebanji’s re-election project in 2026 an alignment that also complements the President’s 2027 presidential ambition.
This is why all relevant stakeholders in Ekiti past governors, deputy governors, former National Assembly members, serving senators and House of Representatives members, all 25 members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, APC state, local government and ward executives, and well-meaning Ekiti sons and daughters both at home and abroad are united in their call for continuity. They recognize that sustaining the current momentum of good governance under Oyebanji is the surest path to further stimulate the state’s economic growth and political stability.
Anyone thinking otherwise is simply indulging in wishful thinking. The reality is clear: attempting to stop BAO in 2026 is nothing but mission impossible and such individuals should rightly be seen as enemies of progress in Ekiti State.
Slow and steady, they say, “wins the race, not the person who wants to climb the whole stairs in one stride.”
OSV