Koye Kekere-Ekun, the son of Nigeria’s newly appointed Chief Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has found himself embroiled in a political controversy. A Twitter user named Taofeek T. Gawat has drawn attention to Koye’s old social media posts in which he expressed strong support for Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate.
Gawat sarcastically congratulated Koye on his mother’s appointment as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and then demanded that he “delete all your Anti-Tinubu posts.” Referencing Koye’s previous statements, Gawat quoted him saying, “He’s not my president” but now his mother is being sworn in as the CJN.
The backlash from Gawat and his followers highlights the polarized political landscape in Nigeria, where supporting a candidate outside the ruling party can be seen as a controversial stance, even for family members of high-ranking officials.
In response to the calls for Koye to remove his anti-Tinubu posts, another Twitter user, Tosin, questioned the rationale behind such demands, asking, “Why should he delete anti Tinubu post? How is that a sin? She’s Nigeria CJN not Tinubu CJN.”
Gawat’s dismissive response of “Oya now” suggests a prevailing sentiment that the new CJN’s son should align his political views with the ruling party’s candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Delving into Koye’s social media history, it becomes apparent that he was a vocal supporter of Peter Obi, praising the Labour Party candidate’s “compassion, empathy, sincerity, integrity, and capacity.” In a tweet on February 22, 2023, Koye urged his followers, “Papa, mama, pikin. Your vote is your vote. A vote for Obi/Labour Party is exactly that. Don’t let these political jobbers online and offline fool you.”
