Senator Babafemi Ojudu, former Senator representing Ekiti Central following his ground slide defeat of Mr. Ayodele Fayose in the 2011 general elections, is currently the Special Adviser Political Matters to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari.  Ojudu is also the man among many others who the Ekiti people appear to see as capable of helping them cure the political “poison” they took, in sacrificing Kayode Fayemi for Ayodele Fayose in the 2014 governorship election in the Ekiti State.  This is an extract from a media interview the 2018 Hopeful in the state once granted. Excerpts:

If the PDP governorship candidate is coming from Ikere and his running mate is coming from Ado-Ekiti as it is being proposed by Governor Ayodele Fayose, will that affect the calculations and permutations of the APC?

I am the only one who had defeated Fayose in the whole of Ekiti. The only thing that will do for the APC is that, if the PDP is picking its candidate from Ikere, the APC should pick its candidate from Ado-Ekiti. As you know, Ado-Ekiti, of all the local governments, has the largest electoral vote.

It is almost three or more times bigger than that of Ikere. It will be foolhardy for our party to leave Ado-Ekiti and go and pick its candidates from other places. Ado and Ikere have the largest electoral votes.

So, if Fayose picks the PDP candidate from Ikere and his deputy from Ado, and the APC picks its candidate from somewhere, it means you are leaving it for the PDP. But, if Fayose picks his candidate from Ikere and his deputy from Ado, and the APC picks its candidate from Ado, you know you are on the path to winning. It is a logical calculation. In Ekiti State, Ado determines who wins and becomes the governor of the state.

What is your chance at the primary?

It is very bright. We are working very hard. We are not there yet. But, we are going to be there. We have our strategies. We have set up structures. There is no structure now on ground than our own. We are everywhere that we have to be. Nobody comes to us because he wants to chop. All those working with us are committed. We have fanatical supporters because of our agenda.

We have a strong agenda. I am the only one who had defeated Fayose in the whole of Ekiti. I led the push for his removal when he was maltreating our people. I am the only one who can stand up to him to say, what you are doing, we are not going to tolerate it. I am the only one who can chase him out of that state. We are mobilizing efforts in Ekiti, Nigeria and outside Nigeria that will sent him packing in July next year.

Individual aspirants are nurturing their structures. Why are they not collectively building the party?

I can talk about myself. I have been moving around preaching unity; to pacify people. I have been visiting our leaders. A couple of weeks ago, I went to see the Elders’ Forum. I had a passionate discussion with them on the need to bring everybody together. We need to come together to end Fayose’s bad governance. My group does not attack anybody. We are canvassing our position. We are offering our agenda to the people. We are everywhere trying to enlighten people.

Generally, what is your message to Ekiti as the state warms up for the election?

There are few aspirants trying to offend one another. That should stop. One person will represent us in the election coming up next year. And all of us have to queue behind that person. If we make enemies of ourselves now, it will affect our push to get the PDP out.

So, I am calling for unity, purposefulness of action, patriotism on the part of members of the APC so that our votes, our energies and strength will not be divided. In unity, we can win that election. If we are united, taking Fayose out will not be difficult for us. So, we must stand up in unity.