History does not always arrive with noise.Sometimes it enters quietly, takes a seat, watches the room, and waits for men and women to realise that division is expensive while unity is profitable. Ekiti has reached that moment. It is a moment that calls not for erasure of difference, but for the intelligent harmonisation of conviction.
After sustained consultations, deep introspection, and courageous realignment, the Ekiti State Strategic Committee of the African Democratic Congress has resolved all internal differences and emerged re-centred, disciplined, and forward-focused. This resolution is not cosmetic. It is consequential. It marks the point at which hesitation gave way to purpose and internal arithmetic yielded to collective destiny, without negating the legitimacy of past aspirations or the sincerity of earlier positions.
The committee has spoken with one voice. The party has chosen one path, not to silence diversity of thought, but to harmonise it in service of a shared objective. And that path is anchored on the emergence of Ambassador Dare Bejide as the next Governor of Ekiti State.
This is not merely about winning a governorship. It is about building the leeway through which ADC’s formidability in Ekiti will be secured and through which success will radiate across every level of political engagement, National Assembly, State Assembly, Local Government elections, presidential mobilisation, and future appointments on the party’s platform. It is also about reassuring every ward, every structure, and every loyal member that their labour and sacrifices remain central to this collective journey.
THE ROOM THAT CHOSE HISTORY OVER EGO.
There is an old story often told in African councils. When hunters quarrel, the forest grows bold. When hunters unite, even the forest listens. That truth came alive when Ekiti ADC Strategic Committee members gathered, not as camps nursing grievances, but as patriots defending possibility, conscious of the expectations of grassroots members who look up to leadership for direction and reassurance.
What could have become another arena of accusation instead matured into a chamber of candour. Differences were acknowledged without bitterness. Truths were spoken without hostility. No one pretended the past did not exist, yet no one allowed it to hold the future hostage. In that room, unity was not begged for. It was reasoned into existence, with empathy for supporters whose emotions had been stretched by the intensity of the process.
A CONTEST, A CRISIS, AND THE COURAGE TO HEAL.
It must be stated with honesty and maturity that His Excellency Prof. Olusola Eleka and His Excellency Ambassador Dare Bejide keenly contested the ADC governorship primary and also other aspirants, all of whom brought vision, energy, and commitment to the process. The intensity of that contest, coupled with irregularities in the conduct of the primary, generated tensions that momentarily unsettled internal coordination and produced periods of flat-footed navigation within the party, particularly among supporters who had invested time, trust, and emotion.
Yet, history rarely remembers parties for the crises they encounter. It remembers them for how they resolve them, and how they carry every stakeholder along in the process of renewal.
At the height of reconciliation efforts, Prof. Olusola Eleka rose above grievance and personal disappointment and articulated the spirit that ultimately healed the party.In words that have since become the moral compass of this realignment, he stated:
“Politics must never be allowed to fracture purpose. Whatever grievances arose from the primary process belong to yesterday. What belongs to today is Ekiti, and what belongs to tomorrow is our collective responsibility. I call on all our supporters, all aspirants, and all stakeholders to come together and work in unison, placing the interest of our party and our state above every personal consideration. I sincerely thank the national and state leadership of our great party for their wisdom, patience, and mediation. Their intervention has restored balance, and it is now our duty to consolidate it.”
That intervention by the party leadership did more than calm tempers. It restored direction. It reaffirmed that while internal democracy must be protected, unity must be preserved. From that point onward, reconciliation ceased to be rhetorical and became operational, extending beyond leaders to supporters at ward, local government, and state levels.
ELEKA AND BEJIDE: WHEN STATESMEN CHOOSE CONVERGENCE.
The subsequent coming together of Prof. Olusola Eleka and Ambassador Dare Bejide were therefore neither accidental nor performative with the intervention of the leadership of the Party. It was deliberate. It re-ordered the internal balance of the party and restored its centre of gravity, signalling to all tendencies that inclusion, not exclusion, would define the future.
That convergence spoke volumes. It said wisdom had triumphed over rivalry, maturity over ego, Ekiti over personal calculus. Two men of stature chose convergence over competition, and in doing so, gave the party something far more valuable than rhetoric—stability.
Other participants in the last ADC primary followed suit, not reluctantly, but with clarity. They understood a fundamental political truth: elections are not won by isolated brilliance but by disciplined collectivity. Personal ambition yielded to collective momentum, and the party expanded from personalities into purpose, carrying along supporters who had once stood on different sides.
VOICES THAT SEALED THE UNITY.
The convergence was further strengthened by voices that once stood on different sides of the primary contest but now speak with one moral cadence, reassuring members that disagreement within a party need not translate into disunity.
Hon. Yemi Arokodare, who supported Prof. Olusola Eleka during the primary, framed the reconciliation as a triumph of conscience over comfort:
“My support for Prof. Olusola Eleka was driven by conviction, not conflict. But conviction must always bow to collective wisdom when the party speaks. Today, the party has spoken clearly. What matters now is not who we supported yesterday, but what Ekiti needs tomorrow. I am fully committed to working with Ambassador Dare Bejide ,Prof Olusola Eleka and all stakeholders to ensure that ADC presents a united, disciplined, and formidable front.”
From the other side of the primary divide, Hon. Akin Omole, a key supporter of Ambassador Dare Bejide, emphasised restraint, humility, and the necessity of inclusion:
“Victory has no meaning if it alienates brothers. The strength of ADC lies not in triumphalism but in togetherness. Those who stood with Prof. Eleka did so out of love for the party and the state. That love must now be harnessed, not dismissed. We move forward stronger because we have chosen unity over vindication.”
These interventions did not merely echo reconciliation; they normalised it. They demonstrated that loyalty to individuals can coexist with loyalty to the institution, and that every supporter has a place in the collective future.
BEJIDE: LEADERSHIP WITHOUT TRIUMPHALISM.
At the centre of this renewed alignment, His Excellency Ambassador Dare Bejide struck a tone of inclusion and responsibility, deliberately rejecting any posture of conquest and recognising the contributions of all tendencies within the party:
“This journey is bigger than any one individual. Prof. Olusola Eleka is not an opponent to be erased but a partner in the task of rebuilding Ekiti. Those who supported him, those who supported me, those who supported other aspirants and those who stood undecided all belong to the same future. I thank the party leadership for their mediation and maturity, and I assure every stakeholder that this campaign will be driven by consultation, inclusion, and collective ownership.”
That statement set the seal on the process. It reassured former rivals, empowered supporters, and repositioned the candidacy not as a personal project but as a shared mission, grounded in respect and consultation.
From that point onward, unity ceased to be aspirational. It became operational.
WHY BEJIDE, WHY NOW
Ambassador Dare Bejide’s candidacy has crystallised because it answers the present hunger of Ekiti people, a hunger for competence without arrogance, diplomacy without detachment, leadership rooted in the grassroots yet confident at the national and international table. It also reflects the collective judgment of party structures after exhaustive reflection.
The Strategic Committee understands a simple law of political engineering: when the gubernatorial spine is firm, the entire structure stands upright. With Bejide as flagbearer, ADC in Ekiti is not merely contesting power. It is constructing a launchpad, with room for every stakeholder to contribute meaningfully.
UNITY AS INFRASTRUCTURE, DISCIPLINE AS STRATEGY.
This resolution has become the master key. It unlocks coherence for National Assembly aspirants. It provides credibility for State Assembly candidates. It empowers Local Government mobilisation. It strengthens presidential projection. It stabilises the moral authority of future appointments.
Unity has become infrastructure. Discipline has become strategy. Consensus has become currency.
FROM RECONCILIATION TO CONQUEST.
What emerged from the Ekiti ADC Strategic Committee is not peace for peace’s sake. It is peace with a mission. A peace designed to organise, mobilise, and prevail, while carrying along those who once felt uncertain or marginalised. Structures will be reinforced. Messages harmonised. Grassroots activated. Energy will no longer be wasted on internal skirmishes.
Ekiti ADC has crossed a psychological bridge. It now understands that relevance is not inherited. It is engineered.
A WITNESSED RESOLUTION, A DECLARED MANDATE.
As deliberations unfolded, reconciliation replaced suspicion, clarity displaced confusion, and purpose overran hesitation. I witnessed firsthand how differences were not merely suspended but resolved, how egos yielded to necessity, and how the party rediscovered its balance in a manner that respected all tendencies.
At the same meeting, following clinical assessment, robust dialogue, and exhaustive deliberations conducted under a formidable leadership atmosphere, the Strategic Committee unanimously ratified Chief Ayodeji Babatola (Omo Olora) as the Deputy Governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress in Ekiti State for the 2026 Governorship Election, affirming the party’s commitment to balance, competence, and collective confidence.
Speaking from the responsibility entrusted to me as Secretary of the Ekiti ADC Strategic Committee, I affirm with full clarity that this unity is total, this resolve is firm, and this commitment is irreversible. The committee is aligned. The structure is stabilised. The mission is unambiguous.
Ambassador Dare Bejide does not walk alone. He walks with a party that has chosen seriousness over sentiment, strategy over spontaneity, and victory over vanity. Ekiti ADC is no longer rehearsing relevance. It is organising victory.
History is watching Ekiti. And this time, it is not merely observing. It is recording.
Aare Amerijoye DOT.B
Secretary, Ekiti ADC Strategic Committee
