From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
Former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Gboyega Oguntuase, in this intervie spoke on various issues including his party, the current administration in the state and the 2026 governorship election.
The PDP in Ekiti State has been enmeshed in crisis, can you tell us the situation of things now?
Thank you very much. There are no crises in Ekiti PDP again.
There are no divisions within PDP again.
The PDP has come out of its crises and I want to tell you now that the party is a very united family and it has just one vision moving towards 2026 with a galvanized attempt to regain power in Ekiti State. The PDP has set up a Caretaker Committee headed by Hon. Dare Adeleke from Oyo State and the Secretary is from Osun State and the two of them are very dynamic and very purposeful in their decisions to make sure that the PDP is totally united and they are moving round the state, getting leaders who had gone out of the party to come back to the party. And that is bringing about very positive actions. Secondly, leaders like former governor Segun Oni, we are talking to him and recently we caught a big fish, and that is, the former Ekiti governorship candidate of the Action Democratic Party(ADC), who incidentally was a former chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), that is, Dr Wole Oluyede. All these people are coming together with one determination and that is rebuilding the PDP and positioning it to be the party that will form the next government in Ekiti State.
Some political analysts have described the PDP as a toothless bulldog and a sinking party over its failure to play its role as a major opposition party in the state. What do you say here?
That question is a question of yesterday. Personally, I have granted more than six live interviews in some radio stations in the state in the past one month and I am still going to grant more. I am just one out of several leaders that are working on a dynamic party that the PDP has become. So, as far as we are concerned, we are doing our best to make sure that we play our own role as a positive opposition party and that is the only thing we can do. We cannot embark on armed struggle.
The governor of Ekiti State, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, has spent first half of his tenure in office. What is your assessment of his administration in the last two years?
I have seen him as a loveable man. But I have seen most of his actions as either irrelevant or not touching on the lives of the ordinary people. I have seen very clearly the flyover that he is building. And we keep on saying in the PDP that in terms of priority, the issue of the flyover is so far from the immediate needs of the Ekiti person. The Ekiti person is battling with hunger, the Ekiti person is battling with how to settle school bills, the Ekiti person is battling with how to buy essential drugs, the Ekiti person is suffering from not being able to get employment for all the children that have left school. Ekiti people are suffering from lack of pipe-borne water, when we have four dams in Ekiti. There are two major dams in the North Senatorial District, there is one in the South and there is one in the Central and if properly harnessed, all these dams can be sources of pipe-borne water across the state. For a government not to be doing that, I don’t see that government as performing, this government is not really getting in touch and in tune with what the people need. So, those are the important things to us and I want to tell you that this government is only embarking on projects that people are suspecting to be avenues for the government or governor to make quick money. I am aware of the ring road, I am aware of the flyover, but these things are not convertible to bread and butter. They are not convertible to opportunities for employment, they are not convertible to reducing the prices of foodstuffs. Those are not the immediate things.
Some members of the PDP have been appointed as aides of Governor Oyebanji. What does this mean to you and your party in the state?
Reasonable men on the streets, and reasonable people in our party don’t see those people as genuine, reliable and loyal members of our party. And that group is headed by former governor, Ayodele Fayose. And that is the beginning of the major division you thought was in existence. Fayose has declared that he is helping the party by his declaration that he is for Oyebanji come 2026. And that is kind of him and that declaration has said something that he is not for a better PDP. He is not for a PDP that will win election in 2026. He is for the opposition to win in 2026. So, that’s kind enough for us. So, we have started rebuilding our party and laying down strategies that will make us win without him. Thank God majority of those people that have left our party had left because of him and it is good riddance to bad rubbish because as far as we are concerned, his telling us that he is for APC or he is for APC candidate has clearly shown those people that he no longer controls the PDP. He is for APC and thank God his declaration is even splitting the APC. The two former governors of APC in the state are not happy with the incumbent governor for bringing Fayose to the forefront in their party, and majority of their members are angry because the job that ordinarily ought to be given to the party men are being given to somebody who rebelled against the party and supported him in the governorship race. So, as far as we are concerned, we have not lost any member. We have only lost members or supposed members who could do injury and harm to the party. So, it is a positive development.
Don’t you think what you just described as a positive development may help to depopulate your party and also affect your chances in the 2026 gubernatorial election?
That is what I am saying. His action is like something that will detoxify the party. You see, when a person thinks of injuring you and he has proclaimed he will injure you, he has done you good. So, your strategic plan will not be known to him. We have only been depopulated in terms of disloyal men. The quantum of disloyal men has been reduced because Fayose and his followers we have known them not to be loyal people and their moving out of the PDP has attracted people who are genuinely committed to PDP but who were sent out of that party by the presence and actions of Peter Ayodele Fayose when he was holding sway. He is no longer holding sway. And when you look at our current caretaker committee, you will see that he has lost strength, he has lost power, he has lost influence in PDP and that was why he and his boys were crying over the composition of the caretaker. So, we are moving and planning, knowing that he is not for us, and we are getting those who want to be for us. Segun Oni will not want to work with Fayose, for instance. Some other people are scared of him and do not want to come to the party. But thank God he has moved out of the party in action and by declaration. Reasonable men are now saying PDP is a very safe party to join.
But Fayose has not officially declared that he is no longer in the PDP?
That’s what I am saying. We will not wait until he declares and we are not even intending to suspend or expel him. By his actions, he has alienated himself from the PDP. There is no reasonable man on the street or within PDP who will want to embark on strategic planning will involve somebody who has told you, I am going to work for your enemy. That is the truth of the matter.
How do you defend this that some members of Ekiti PDP still see Fayose as an octopus or a heavyweight that when he sneezes, they catch cold?
I don’t know of how many people that have caught cold in his sneezes. Fayose is no longer the mysterious personality we knew. I served under him as a Commissioner for Information, I served under him as Chairman, Due Process and part of my tenure as PDP chairman was under him. So, I know him inside out. So, what will be missing in Ayodele Fayose is his political mischief and violence. And we do not want any of those things. We just want to embark on practical planning, strategic planning and campaigns free of violence, free of mischief. Now if the other party wants that, it is not strange that APC will want violence or will be interested in violence. So, somebody like Fayose will be very useful to them in terms of violence, amassing violent machinery and instruments and his mischief in terms of politics will be useful to them and when you go to his local government, Irepodun/Irepodun, go to his town, Afao, and ask questions from people on the street, you will know that he is not on ground there. Majority of the people that hold sway in Irepodun/Ifelodun are no longer with him. Those who have served as council chairmen, how many of them are with him? How many councillors from Irepodun/Ifelodun local government are with him? How many past deputy governors are with him? Eleka is not with him, Surveyor Aluko is not with him, Chief(Mrs) Olujimi is not with him, former Wema Bank MD, Omoyeni, is not with him. The former Speakers, Tope Ademiluyi, Pastor Oluwawole are not with him, former party Chairmen Ogundipe and others are not with him, former acting Governor, Idowu Odeyemi is no longer with him. I am not for him. He should bring out those who are for him. Remnant members of our political party are those that are with him, that is the thing. Does a tree make a forest? Before Fayose could win the previous elections, there were strategic people in various local governments acting for him. There is nothing too mysterious about him. Politics is about having connections, having strategic people in various places. Those people who were the symbols of Fayose in various local governments are no longer with him. He is on his own. He was still able to deceive us during the last election. He went to the national, I was at that meeting and he said, “If you give me the governorship ticket, if I do not win Ekiti for you, expel me from PDP.” Quote and unquote, I am using his words. They surrendered the ticket to this man, he did not deliver. PDP I think is not ready to do exactly what he said should be done otherwise if we were as frivolous as him, his words have testified against him that he should leave. But leave him alone, this time around, he cannot have it so easy, he cannot be playing with the destiny of so many people, some of who are older than him and who are eminently qualified to be governors ordinarily.
You said you are rebuilding your party at least to ensure it changes the current leadership at the Ekiti Government House in 2026, how do you subscribe to the belief that opposition parties don’t always have the wherewithal to dislodge the government in power?
Now, what are the wherewithal? You talk about men that is the important thing because even if you have finance and you don’t have men on ground, it is nothing. Now, as far as we are concerned, the Caretaker Committee has set up caretaker in all local governments in the state and that will be replicated in all the wards and in next one month, we will be having meetings in all the wards across the state. So, we are really and genuinely preparing for that election in terms of men. In terms of money, as far as we are concerned, it is going to be money for money. Before now, Fayose was the only person that could have bankrolled our taking of forms during Congresses. When he said he would give us N50 million, we rejected his N50 million naira. The next day somebody within PDP gave us N50 million and we bought all the forms for everybody in the state. But the congress has been suspended.
When is the congress coming up?
That will be the decision of the National Working Committee. It is not my own decision. But all the candidates that will emerge of course, by consensus, we have already picked them.
Now, putting into consideration the crisis in your party in Ekiti, the appointment of PDP members as aides of the state governor and the public endorsements of Governor Oyebanji for second term by Fayose. Do you think your party will have that strength to wrest power from the ruling APC in 2026?
I have told you whatever we have lost in Fayose, we have gained three times back in terms of genuine, committed and disciplined people who are flowing into the party. I have just told you that the former governorship candidate of ADC, and a big fish has come to our party. And his main purpose of coming is to help with other leaders to rebuild the party. People like Senator Olujimi, Senator Duro Faseyi and all other leaders are still there. They are going to make sure they rebuild the party. We have not lost any major leader. All those boys who have just taken SAs from Governor Oyebanji, who among them was a former Commissioner? Who among them was a member of the House of Assembly? Who among them was a member of the House of Representatives? Who among them was a Senator? Now, the highest ranking of them is Bisi Kolawole and may be Funmi Ogun. These are the only former Commissioners with him. Funmi Ogun still flirts with PDP and we are not sending her out but we know who she is representing. And my own brother and friend, Bisi Kolawole, still does not know where he is going but we have already conceded that to Fayose. He cannot now say he is leaving Fayose after all, Fayose gave him the ticket for the governorship, and the two of them are busy enjoying the goodies Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji(BAO) is giving them. And let me quickly tell you why we will win the 2026 election; it is because of the non-performance of this government. Anybody who is living in Ekiti and who says this government is performing is not stating the truth, let me just be decent. The ordinary man in Ekiti State is hungry. The ordinary man in Ekiti is like everybody in the country complaining about the fuel pump price. The ordinary man in Ekiti is talking about increase in the bag of rice, and how he will purchase garri, beans and all those things. They are affected by the harsh and hard economic policies of the Federal Government, the grandpa of the state government. So, as far as we are concerned, the APC in Ekiti has been giving us meaningless and visionless leadership. Even look at the man who handed over to BAO, he spent several billions of naira on an airport that has not been useful. That cargo airport up till today is non-functional. When he wanted to declare it open, he had to use a military plane that could just land anywhere. So, look at where Fayemi has landed us. By the time he was leaving, there was no single road that was passable that could link us to Ekiti. Now, this man has not improved upon it. Coming from Oyo State and you want to drive into Ekiti through Itawure, it is hell between Itawure and Igede; the distance is over about 20 kilometres. If you look at the road from Ado-Ekiti to Akure, that is Ondo State, it is hellish. And when you look at the roads within Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, it is traumatic. So, all these situations make us believe that an average Ekiti person is tired of this nonsense called APC structure and government.
You just said Governor Oyebanji is not performing, but there have been multiple endorsements for him to continue in office beyond 2026
You see, if you have been in government and you have served under a governor, you will see that there are a lot of drama when election is coming. Sponsorships of people to endorse you are there. The teacher that is serving under this government and who does not want to risk losing his job will say he will not sign that the governor should come back again?. All of them are signing without having the capacity to tell their spouses when they get home that I want BAO there. Or they cannot tell their children that look today, I endorsed BAO to come back again because they will say daddy are you ok? That’s the truth of the matter. So, as far as we are concerned, all those endorsements are melodramas. And you see some of the people that endorsed him like the Senate Leader and former governors who are members of the APC have started denouncing that they did not sign any such document. I am not even particularly interested in that. But what I am interested in is that the Labour is supporting BAO, why? Have they told you that they have increased their salary? Have they told you that their salary is now stronger to really purchase all the things that are available in the market? So, as far as we are concerned, everybody is hard up and they are tired and looking for a messiah that could represent Ekiti very, very well, not embarking on this drama of the governor, prostrating all over the place, that is the issue. We are happy that we are respecting our leaders, prostrating to them, showing respect to them. But show respect to humanity. Provide food, provide pipe-borne water, make sure the roads within the towns are okay. Not embarking on projects where you people will just make money preparatory to primary and general elections. That’s not the thing. We are tired of all those drama.
President Bola Tinubu has spent more than one year in office, what can you say about his administration?
Well, I am a Yoruba man and I thank Nigerians for the opportunity of having a Yoruba person there. But I must tell you the man has disappointed everybody. When he came with this coinage Emilokan, Nigerians had thought he had an agenda, that he had a programme that would immediately start positively affecting people. Now everybody knows the former President, Muhammadu Buhari, was a disaster. And you ought to have started your planning from there. That you are going to take up a government that was particularly bad. Then ask yourself, do I have the capacity? Am I strategizing? Do I have options? Do I have alternative policies that will help alleviate things? Immediately he got there, without looking into documents, he announced the removal of fuel subsidy. Granted that all other presidential candidates had said they would remove subsidy on fuel, but all those people have options and alternatives on how to cushion the effects of the removal of subsidy. This man has nothing to indicate that he has option, alternatives to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy. His removal of fuel subsidy resulted into disaster now. People cannot purchase food stuff, drugs and other essential commodities. Now, people go out not eating in the morning, they find something to eat in the afternoon, and they deceive their children to let them go and sleep at night without food. So, all these trauma and humiliating things that Tinubu is bringing upon Nigerians are terrible. What have they done about insecurity? Nothing! What have they done about revamping the economy? Nothing! What have they done even about planning the future? Nothing! And again, what have they done about disciplining those who were corrupt, who have landed us in this huge crisis? I have not seen a single minister under Buhari who has been called to question. The former governor of Kogi has been acting drama. They said he is hiding somewhere. Hiding somewhere in Nigeria and you do not have the capacity to arrest just one person? So, as far as I am concerned, their tolerance for indiscipline is so high. They tolerate indiscipline, they tolerate corruption, they tolerate evil so much. President Tinubu still has more than two years. I pray that the future of Yoruba land will not be endangered within the geopolitical setting called Nigeria. He should just turn a new leaf, I beg him. So that he does not destroy the future for Yoruba people.
