Segun Oni, Former Ekiti Governor Or Not?

By Ayodele Oni

Again social media have been inundated about the status of Chief Segun Oni’s tenure as Governor of Ekiti state.

Segun Oni won election on the ticket of People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) as elected governor of Ekiti state and was in the saddle between 2007 to 2010, when he was removed by a Court of Appeal sitting in Ilorin, Kwara state.

The suit was filed by former Governor Kayode Fayemi and the Action Congress of Nigeria, (ACN) to challenge victory of Oni.

Fayemi started his first term in October, 2010 after the Court judgement, thus stopping Oni to complete his first term as Governor.

Fayemi was equally stopped from second term by Ayodele Fayose who defeated him in June 2014 in an election described as 17 zero victory for the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) and Fayose.

On his assumption, Fayose decided to honour Oni as a former Governor by hanging his portrait at the government office and restored some of his benefits as a former Governor. Fayemi had earlier removed the portrait.

Along the line, Oni decamped to the All Progressive Congress, (APC) saying it would be an insult to regard Fayose as his Governor, despite being an incumbent.

Oni again contested for the APC governorship primary in 2018 with Fayemi and lost, thus his return to the PDP.

In 2021, he again lost the governorship primary of PDP to Fayose annoited candidate, Bisi Kolawole, which prompted him to pick the governorship ticket of the Social Democratic Party, (SDP).

He lost the election to APC candidate, Biodun Oyebanji, but he is currently at the Appellate Court to challenge the dismissal of his petition filed at the tribunal.

The latest debate about Oni’s status is prompted by a group photograph of former governors of the state, Niyi Adebayo, Fayose and Fayemi, probably taken at a public function.

The picture is captioned “Behold the only three Ekiti former Governors that are known to law.

“The Court said the remaining one was an impostor and meddlesome interloper in the Government House of Ekiti State because he never won the 2007 Gubernatorial election and the 2009 re-run election and was never a Governor. R-L, (accordingly to seniority) Niyi Adebayo, Ayo Fayose and Kayode Fayemi.”

This has generated reactions with one of them stating that “Why are all these on the fountain of knowledge for God’s sake?

“When H E, Kayode Fayemi took over the governance of Ekiti State in 2010,  he removed the portrait of H E, Chief Segun Oni at the Governor’s office and referred to him as a person who did not rule the state  constitutionally as Governor of this state, ditto Ayo Fayose.

“But H E, Ayo Fayose replaced the portrait of Chief Segun Oni back as a former Governor of Ekiti State during his second time in office as Governor.

“When Chief Segun Oni was in APC, you people always referred to him as the former Governor of Ekiti State.

“You praised him to the high heaven. Because he is not with you now politically, you are changing the narrative. Why are we like this on the fountain of knowledge?

“Fayose is with you again doing your bidding. What happened to Ekiti State between 2007 and 2010? History had been made and you can’t change it. Why are we so hypocritic? Stop distorting history.”

Another on wrote “Segun Onis foot prints in three and half years supercede eight years of Fayose and Fayemi put together.

“It was  the golden era of local governments in ekiti in terms of unambiguous autonomy. Brothers were not set against brothers under politically motivated autonomy.

“Salaries, pensions and gratuities are paid as at when due. Leave grant, Xmas bonus were never  privilege. Anyone hallucinating on Oni not being governor was illogical.”