A socio-cultural group in Ekiti North Senatorial District, the Ikole LGA Renaissance Group (IRG), has called on the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State and the senatorial district to zone the district’s Senate seat to Ikole Local Government Area ahead of the next general elections.
The group said the demand was based on the principles of fairness, equity and justice, noting that since the return to democratic rule in 1999, Ikole remains the only local government area in Ekiti North yet to produce a senator.
In a statement issued on Friday in Ikole Ekiti and jointly signed by its Chairman, Chief Abiodun Ogunleye, and Secretary, Mr. Kolawole Akeredolu, the group warned that denying Ikole the seat in the forthcoming elections would amount to “a great injustice.”
According to the statement, the call on the APC leadership is rooted in the need to ensure political balance among the five local government areas that make up the district.
The group recalled that at the beginning of the current democratic dispensation, Senator Olatunji Ajayi from Moba Local Government Area represented the district in the Senate from 1999 to 2003, before Senator James Kolawole, also from Moba, served from 2003 to 2007.
It added that Senator Ayo Arise from Oye Local Government Area held the seat from 2007 to 2011, while Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi from Ido/Osi Local Government Area served from 2011 to 2015.
The statement further noted that Senator Duro Faseyi from Ilejemeje Local Government Area represented the district from 2015 to 2019, after which Adetumbi returned for another term from 2019 to 2023. The incumbent senator, Cyril Fasuyi, is also from Ido/Osi Local Government Area.
The IRG argued that Ikole LGA has remained loyal to the APC and its predecessor parties over the years and deserves to be rewarded with the opportunity to produce the district’s next senator.
“Ikole Local Government Area has been patient, supporting the APC and its parent parties before now without wavering.
This is the time for the leadership of the APC in the state and in the senatorial district to reward Ikole Local Government Area for its loyalty, commitment and unwavering support for the party over the years,” the group stated.
The group also cited the newly enacted 2026 Electoral Law, which it said provides for consensus candidacy, arguing that the provision makes it easier for the party to adopt a fair and equitable zoning arrangement.
According to the IRG, no other local government in Ekiti North is better positioned to benefit from the consensus principle than Ikole, given its historical exclusion from the senatorial seat.
It further pointed to Ikole’s strong voting population, describing the council as the second largest in Ekiti State, and said zoning the ticket to the area would be politically advantageous to the APC.
While appealing to APC leaders in the other four local government areas to support its demand, the group specifically called on Governor Biodun Oyebanji, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, and former Governor Dr. Kayode Fayemi to intervene.
The group urged the party leaders to ensure that justice is not only done, but is also seen to have been done in the choice of the district’s next senatorial candidate.
