No blog post from me on Ekiti this time, thankfully. But while we focus on money, I’ll share some thoughts on how Ekiti went the way it did, this time I watched from a distance.
I believe in most Nigerian elections, about 60% of the voting bloc have set choices. It’s the 40% that’s usually up for grabs, by any means.
By putting this man on the ticket, APC brought Ado back in play. Ado is easily 10/15% of the vote count; if you can’t win, close the margin of defeat. APC achieved the latter. 
Ikere was another place everyone expected a PDP blowout. But Fayose in his bullish ways had taken sides with one traditional ruler over another; the splintering helped APC reduce the margin of defeat.
Ekiti has a decent igbira population. Like in Ondo, the Governor who will not be named, did door to door campaigns. All these are important in close elections.
And finally, because there’s a huge distrust of politicians, there will always be the 30% who don’t give a toss about anything you say, and will simply vote themselves a pot of stew.
But that doesn’t tell the full story. Fayose lost his LGA how? He’s from Afao, a small town. Iyin, the major town was split 3 ways last time. MOB and Niyi Adebayo batted for the same side this time and delivered iyin and the LGA.
I’m on a WhatsApp group and recognized names from Ikole I never thought could support APC. That’s one of the big 3 LGAs, APC carried it for the first time in ages.
Money talks, but don’t let anyone deceive you that its all it takes. As a wise man said on WhatsApp, winning an election is like a salad; it usually takes a few ingredients to make successfully make one.
On that note, congratulations again, @kfayemi. Teacher, mentor, leader. The job of reclaiming Ekiti starts now.
