A FEW days before the Ekiti election, the competition is fierce among the contestants as each tries to outdo one another in an outdoor promotional campaign.
Sixteen candidates are jostling to replace Dr. Olukayode Fayemi as the governor of Ekiti State in the Saturday, June 18 election.
The ICIR observed posters of several candidates on the streets of Ado-Ekiti, the capital city.
Prominent among them are the posters of the APC candidate Abiodun Abayomi Oyebanji, PDP candidate Olabisi Kolawole, SDP candidate Olusegun AdebayoOni, ADP candidate Elebute-Halle Josephine Kemi and ADC candidate Oluwole Olumayokun Oluyede.
Oyebanji, a former lecturer, banker and businessman, was the former secretary to the state government. He holds BSC and Master’s degrees in Political Science (International Relations & Strategic Studies). He is 55 years old. Bisi Kolawole, 66, a former Commissioner for Environment and former House of Assembly member in the state, hails from Efon-Ekiti, in the Central senatorial district. He was the immediate past chairman of the PDP in Ekiti State until he joined the gubernatorial race.
Kolawole holds Higher National Diploma (HND) in Graphics Design and a Master’s degree in Public Administration at Ekiti State University (EKSU).
Olusegun Oni, 54, is the former Governor of Ekiti State[1][2] between May 29, 2007, and October 14, 2010. He lost the governorship seat to Dr.Kayode Fayemi through a court ruling.
He was a member of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) until 2014, when he defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and held the position of Deputy National Chairman South.
An engineering graduate from Obafemi Awolowo University, Oni is currently contesting under Social Democratic Party.
Another engineer in the race is Elebute –Halle Josephine Kemi, born in 1982. The graduate of Federal Polytechnic Ado Ekiti and University of Technology Minna, Niger State, is the flagbearer of the Action Democratic Party (ADP). She is from Ikole, Ekiti and is well-known for her philanthropy.