The much-awaited Ekiti governorship election will hold on June 18.

In the past weeks, the political parties and their candidates have unfolded strategies and scaled up their campaigns to get the support of the majority of the Ekiti electorate towards succeeding outgoing Governor Dr Kayode Fayemi.

According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), there are 16 candidates in the race for the governorship position.

It also noted that four National Commissioners and eight Resident Electoral Commissioners had been deployed to ensure the conduct of a credible election, adding 749,065 voters representing 76 per cent have collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

Two female candidates are: Christiana Olatawura of the Action Peoples Party (APP) and Kemi Elebute-Halle of the Action Democratic Party (ADP).

There are 177 wards and 22,244 polling units in total.

Political watchers are of the view that the Ekiti election will be a keen contest among three parties – APC, PDP and SDP.

For the APC, the party with its candidate who is the immediate past Secretary to the State Government, Biodun Oyebanji, are banking on the achievements of the incumbent Governor, and support from government at the centre in winning the election.

In PDP, former Governor Ayodele Fayose and the PDP candidate, Bisi Kolawole, have been campaigning ahead of the election.

In SDP, the SDP has become visible in the state with the emergence of former Governor Segun Oni as the party’s candidate. He was governor of the state between 2007 and 2010.

For ADC, the party’s candidate, Dr ‘Wole Oluyede. He was in the APC for years until when he left and joined the ADC to contest for the governorship.

The full list of candidates are:

1. Biodun Oyebanji – All Progressives Congress (APC)

2. Reuben Famuyibo – Accord

3. Wole Oluyede – African Democratic Congress (ADC)

4. Debo Ajayi – Young Progressives Party (YPP)

5. Kemi Elebute-Halle – Action Democratic Party (ADP)

6. Moses Olajide – African Action Congress (AAC)

7. Olufemi Obidoyin – All Progressives Congress (APGA)

8. Peter Adegbenro – Allied Peoples Movement (APM)

9. Segun Oni – Social Democratic Party (SDP)

10. Bisi Kolawole – Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

11. Modupe Olatawura – All People’s Party (APP)

12. Daramola Roland – Labour Party (LP)

13. Oladosu Fatomilola – New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP)

14. Tope Iyaniwura – National Rescue Movement (NRM)

15. Olaniyi Agboola – People’s Redemption Party (PRP)

16. Kolade Akinyemi, Zenith Labour Party (ZLP). Continue Reading