It is not clear why people think these three men are those to watch out for, but there is a general consensus that they are the favoured ones. But who are these men and what are their pedigrees and standing?
WALE FAPOUNDA
He is the current Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice. He is a distinguished and trusted legal adviser to the governor. He was the Attorney-General in the first tenure and also served as an adviser to the governor when he was Minister of Steel and Solid Minerals.
He is generally calm, cool and collected. He is a brilliant and meticulous lawyer, a systems person and an introvert. He has a carriage that is imposing and a presence that is self-evident.
Because of his perceived closeness to the governor and an alleged filial relationship with the wife of the governor, some have even declared that Wale Fapohunda is the anointed candidate, as he is said to be the closest to the governor, being a longtime friend.
One of the Commissioners confided that Fapohunda is the only political appointee in the current dispensation who does not linger in the waiting room to see the governor; no matter who is with him, he always has a free pass.
He is also said to be a frequent late comer to meetings and events, where he would arrive after the governor must have sat down, which is considered offensive to protocol. In spite of this, he is generally well tolerated by the governor.
Those who fear that he might have started a subtle campaign points to his recent visibility positioning in state-wide tours, youth friendly appearances and politically inspired litigations.
He has used every opportunity to put himself in the limelight through media mentions. Observers believe this is contrary to his natural insular personality of being anonymous and disconnected.
For most observers, the sudden crazy for media spotlight is not the regular way of Fapohunda, who many consider as arrogant, cold and standoffish.
Nobody can however doubt his competence and high sense of ethical conduct as a lawyer. It is mostly believed that he would be a hard sell within the party and may cause rebellious responses among other interests within the party, if he is seen as the anointed.
ABIODUN OMOLEYE
He is the Chief of Staff to the governor. Omoleye bagged a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in History and previously worked within the university system as an administrative officer. Politically, he had previously served as Special Assistant to the Governor, Caretaker Chairman of Ijero Local Government and an adviser in the past. He also managed the JKF Centre and served as the link between the governor, when he was a minister, and his political base at home.
He is a trusted and loyal associate of the governor. It was not surprising when he was appointed as the Chief of Staff in 2018.
As Chief of Staff, he is the political leg man for the governor and he enjoys this part of his work. Some people believe that when it comes to political maneuvering and cold calculations, Omoleye is a deadly warhorse! He is however accused of gross incompetence in the handling of his main tasks as the Chief of Staff.
For example, during 2020 New Year prayers, an embarrassed governor listened to a popular Islamic cleric openly chide him for not making himself accessible and failing to interface with the people, as demanded of his office.
Traditionally, the Chief of Staff is the chief gatekeeper to the principal, especially in the area of administration, coordination and resource mobilisation for effective service delivery.
He is supposed to be the interface between the political appointees and the principal, so as to lessen the pressure on the principal. He is supposed to also be a go-to person by the public, who may not have direct access to the principal. Unfortunately, this is one task the Chief of Staff seems to detest most. He is said to be generally unavailable and not reachable. He is accused of not answering calls and it takes hours or days of waiting to see him, as he often avoids the office. A frustrated political figure in the State said, “after repeated calls at his office and having to wait for hours, I stopped going there. He is a perfect example of an office moonlighter”
A political appointee also revealed that “once Omoleye sees some scintilla of brilliance in you, you are not likely to have it easy with him. He is easily intimidated by brilliant minds, and finds it easy to relate with those who can only take instruction and not those with initiative”.
A lot of the people in government whom I spoke to have the impression that the Chief of Staff is very politically savvy but doesn’t seem grounded on the core issues of policy, governance and human management. His greatest undoing, from the assessment of the public, is his lack of accessibility and narrow-reach.
If loyalty is the only thing the governor will be interested in a successor, Omoleye will be a good consideration; unfortunately, the governor did not highlight loyalty as a requirement of his would-be successor, even though it can be taken for granted that every predecessor will like to have a loyal successor.
ABIODUN OYEBANJI
He is the Secretary to the Government of Ekiti State. He was a former university lecturer, a banker, private businessman astute administrator and consummate politician. He is married to a senior university teacher and is generally seen as highly articulate, intelligent and disciplined. He was a Special Assistant on Legislative Matters to the first governor of Ekiti State, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, before he later became his Chief of Staff. According to a recent interview by Hon. Dapo Karonwi, it was in Oyebanji that Adebayo had confided his intention of handing over to Dr. Kayode Fayemi should he win a second term in 2003. It would also be recalled that he was the youngest member and secretary of the Movement for the Creation of Ekiti, which had lobbied the late General Abacha for the creation of the State in 1996.
In the first term of the current governor, he served as Director-General, Office of Transformation, Strategy and Delivery; Commissioner of Integration and Inter-governmental Relations; and later on, Commissioner of Budget and Economic Planning. He is about the most experienced politician currently serving in government.
He has managed the executive-legislature relations, served as Chief of Staff, served as the policy coordinator of government in the OTSD, managed the economy of the state, served as interface between the State and the Federal Government, international partners and on regional matters, where he must have been well exposed to issues around regional collaboration and the DAWN Commission activities.
As SSG, he currently manages the security apparatus and is the chief coordinator of government programmes, polices and activities.
According to a top party chieftain from Ikole-Ekiti, “Oyebanji is the stabiliser for the government. He is accessible, generous, and compassionate and focused but does not seem to be interested in self-promotion and unnecessary spotlighting.”
What seems to be his greatest strength is also his greatest weakness. One of the issues that political analysts often say stands against him is being seen as one of the long time loyalists of Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, and some people believe he would not be absolutely loyal to what they call the JKF Tokantokan Group.
This seems to be ironic though, as what was generally believed before now was that JKF and Otunba Adebayo are politically like Siamese twins. It would suggest that two of them should ordinarily find comfort in a person that has served both of them as closely.
Besides, a notable politician who is often described as the mobile encyclopedia of Ekiti politics argued that, “none of those doing tokantokan sloganeering is as loyal, dependable, reliable, tested and straightforward as Abbey”.
He noted that although he is considered to be “strong-willed, conservative, careful and thorough, nobody can trace any act of betrayal to him”.
According to most people accosted on the standing of these “princes”, the most popular consensus is that Mr. Biodun Oyebanji scores high on integrity, generosity, competence, character, loyalty, accessibility, administrative and political experience; also popularity among party members and grassroots connectivity.
In spite of this, he does not seem to have begun any serious move to indicate interest like other persons have been alleged to have started what is called coded campaigns. It is also feared by those who have soft spot for him that his affiliation to his formal boss might be his Achilles’s heel.
Alaba Osatuyi, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
