Why Oyebanji Remains APC’s Strongest Asset Despite the Noise
By Idowu Ephraim Faleye
Politics is always a game of struggle. Those who play it know that when it is time to fight for power, unity and loyalty are the watchwords. People team up, they put aside their differences, and they channel all their strength into making sure their party or their candidate wins. At that stage, sacrifices are made, resources are spent, and everyone talks as though they are one family united by one dream. But politics does not end with winning power. In fact, the more delicate game begins after victory. That is when the struggle over sharing spoils and positions comes in, and that is usually when loyalty is tested.
When victory comes, the sweetness of success quickly gives way to the bitterness of distribution. Those who feel entitled begin to calculate what they believe they deserve. Those who feel sidelined begin to grow silent grudges. Some are compensated but they believe the reward does not match the effort they invested. Others are completely ignored, and they see it as betrayal. This is when politics begins to show its true face. For while everyone came together during the struggle, it is not everyone that smiles after the reward.
It is at this stage that scheming begins. Those who are aggrieved start to gather. They whisper to each other, they form alliances of bitterness, and they start looking for an anchor. They know they cannot dislodge the incumbent on their own, so they search for someone with ambition, someone who is eyeing the seat of power, someone who is willing to carry their frustrations as a political project. In this search, loyalty to the state or even to the party itself no longer matters. All that matters is finding a vessel through which they can fight their revenge battle.
Once they find an anchor, their game of opposition begins. They start speaking against the same government they once supported. They condemn every policy, they magnify every mistake, and they spread narratives of failure. They begin to talk to other party members, urging them to withdraw loyalty from the incumbent. They move to the public space with propaganda and begin to paint the government as the problem of the people. Their language changes, their slogans change, and they begin to call themselves champions of change and rescuers of the masses.
But what really drives them is not the love for the people. It is not the progress of the state. It is not good governance. It is personal ambition and bitterness. They do not care whether the state is moving forward or backward. They do not care about policies that have brought relief to retirees, or programs that have encouraged development in education, health, or infrastructure. What they care about is removing the governor at all cost. Even if it means blackmail, lies, or mobilizing every crook to shout against the government, they are willing to do it.
This is why in politics it is often said that the fiercest opposition comes not from outside the ruling party but from within. Those who once fought with you know your strengths and your weaknesses. They know the cracks in the wall, and they exploit them with reckless determination. But the people must also learn to see through this game. They must ask: are these people really fighting for me or are they fighting for themselves?
In Ekiti state today, this scenario is playing out very clearly. Governor Oyebanji, who has been working to stabilize governance and carry along all the critical stakeholders of the state, is facing exactly this type of opposition from some politicians within his own party. These are not people who are speaking because they want development. They are not crying because they want better policies for the people. They are crying because they feel shortchanged. They are aggrieved because they believe they did not get what they deserved after the victory of the party.
So now they have found an anchor, someone who is eyeing the seat of power. This anchor is supposed to be their rallying point, their flag bearer, and their weapon to fight the incumbent. But here lies the irony: this anchor is not known to the people. He has not shown any special value or leadership quality that can make him preferable to the incumbent. He has not connected with the grassroots, he has not carried the people along, and he has not demonstrated the capacity to unite Ekiti people behind him. He is simply the product of grievances, not the choice of the masses.
Meanwhile, Governor Oyebanji is not only governing, but he is also commanding wide support across every important sector of Ekiti state. The traditional rulers are with him because they see his respect for culture and authority. Retirees are with him because they see efforts to ease their pains. Civil servants, teachers, medical workers, and local government staff are with him because they see policies that acknowledge their contributions. The unions and professional bodies are with him because they see a listening government. National Assembly members and even former governors are with him because they see stability in his leadership. And most importantly, the general population, the ordinary people who matter most, are also with him.
This is the true weight of politics. Elections are not won by the noise of a few aggrieved politicians. They are won by the support of the people and the stakeholders who make society function every day. This is why it is clear that the incumbent governor is the real electoral asset of APC in Ekiti. He is the one who can deliver the votes. He is the one who has the legitimacy of governance and the connection with the masses. He is the one who can stand before the people and say, here is what I have done, here is what I am doing, and here is what I still plan to do.
But the aggrieved politicians do not care about this arithmetic. They are not interested in what will make the party win again. They are not thinking about how APC can continue to dominate in Ekiti. Their only target is to ensure that Governor Oyebanji does not return. They would rather see the party lose than see him succeed. They would rather scatter the house than allow him to complete his project. This is not politics of principle. It is politics of bitterness. It is politics of selfishness. It is politics that endangers the stability of the party itself.
This is why their propaganda, their chicanery, and their calumny must be seen for what it is. It is not a struggle for Ekiti people. It is a struggle for their own pockets. They have become the kind of politicians who do not care about development, who do not care about progress, who do not care about the ordinary people. They only care about their own ambitions. To them, the friends of their enemy becomes their enemies, and the enemies of their enemy becomes their friends. They have no permanent loyalty except the loyalty to their selfish interest.
Yet politics is not blind. The people of Ekiti are watching. They know who has been with them, who has been carrying them along, who has been working for them. They know who comes around only when it is time to fight for power. They know who is shouting today not because of the masses, but because of personal frustration. They know who has the capacity to deliver real governance and who is only desperate to sit in power. The truth is that the people are not foolish.
In the end, governance is about building legitimacy. Power is not just captured; it is sustained by performance and trust. Governor Oyebanji has built that trust with critical stakeholders. He has extended his hand of governance to the grassroots. He has maintained support from leaders across the state. That is why, despite the noise of a few aggrieved voices, the majority remain solidly with him. The masses know that continuity with him is safer than gambling with an anchor who is only known by bitterness.
So, while the aggrieved continue to cry wolf, the reality remains that they are a minority fighting a personal war. Their anchor is not known. Their agenda is not clear to the people. Their propaganda is transparent. And their chances are slim. The governor’s advantage is that he is not just an incumbent, he is a performer with legitimacy and the weight of the people behind him. That is what wins elections, not the loud cries of a few shortchanged strugglers.
The lesson in all of this is that politics built on bitterness does not last. Alliances formed only around hatred of an incumbent usually collapse once the real test of popularity comes. But politics built on governance and stakeholder support is stronger. That is why the incumbent remains the most reliable asset of APC in Ekiti today. That is why the people continue to stand with him. And that is why, no matter the noise, the politics of bitterness will not triumph over the politics of governance.
Idowu Ephraim Faleye writes from Ado-Ekiti +2348132100608