Ahead of the next gubernatorial election in the state, political stakeholders within and outside the Osun state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are making frantic efforts to resolve their differences to forestall a repeat of the 2018 political misfortune that saw the party losing the governorship election to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), reports ‘Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor.
WORRIED by obvious cracks within its Osun State chapter ahead of the July 16 governorship election in the state, stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have stepped up fence mending efforts, The Nation gathered. The crisis rocking the party in the state assumed a new dimension last Tuesday when the PDP produced two gubernatorial candidates from two factional primary elections. The development, according to reliable party sources, has dampened the morale of many party members and chieftains who are desirous of seeing the APC defeated at the general election.
Senator Ademola Adeleke and Prince Dotun Babayemi are now laying claims to the governorship ticket of the PDP in Osun state amidst the confusion created by factional primary elections held during the week. A faction of the party led by Mr. Sunday Bisi held its governorship primary at Osogbo City Stadium, while Wale Ojo-led faction held another primary at WOCDIF Centre, Osogbo. Adeleke emerged at the City Stadium exercise while Babayemi was pronounced winner of the primary election held at WOCDIF Centre.
Babayemi, who insisted he is the authentic candidate of the party, described his emergence as a challenge to turn around the state for the betterment of its people. He said, “This, I promise, shall be pursued with every fibre of our being. This is because Osun, which is our common heritage, has suffered enough degradation in the hands of interlopers.” But supporters of Senator Adeleke say Babayemi and his co-travellers are jokers out to create confusion ahead of the 2022 governorship election in the state.
Hon. Toye Amzat, a former state legislator from Ife, told our correspondent that efforts are ongoing to ensure that all thorny issues within the party are resolved in good time. “We are politicians and we understand politics. There are those who are genuinely aggrieved. There are also those who are out to spoil our chances at the next election. They are being used to cause crisis. We are determined to appease all forms of grievances because the people of Osun are waiting for the PDP this time and we don’t want a repeat of what happened in 2018,” he said.
The deputy governor of Bayelsa State Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo who was also the Chief Electoral Officer in the Osun PDP governorship primary said any other primary election outside the one he supervised is a nullity. He said the election held in the stadium is the only credible one. “Any other primary held outside this place is invalid and will not be recognised. The crown is here, the palace is here and the authority is here. Any exercise not done here cannot be recognised,” he said.
Twists and turns
Trouble returned to the Osun State chapter of the PDP after a brief respite last December when Wale Ojo, who was weeks earlier appointed acting chairman of the party in the state as part of reconciliation efforts, was suspended by members of a group within the party loyal to Senator Ademola Adeleke. Ojo was appointed acting chairman after erstwhile factional chairman, Soji Adagunodo, was elevated to the post of South West’s National Vice Chairman of the party. But rising from an executive council meeting of the party, the Adeleke faction announced Ojo’s suspension and barred him from holding party office for one year.
The resolutions of the meeting signed by the State Publicity Secretary, Ayodeji Areola, read, “The report of the Osun PDP Disciplinary Committee recommending the removal of Wale Ojo (Vice Chairman, Osun East) and Alhaji Remi Arogundade (State Financial Secretary) as members of SWC/SEC and their immediate replacement from their various local governments as well as their debarment from holding any party executive office for the next one year is hereby approved.”
Weeks later, the renewed crisis in the party was further complicated when an Osun State High Court sitting in Ile-Ife, upheld all the ward Congresses conducted under the leadership of Olasoji Adagunodo led executive of the Osun State PDP and re-confirmed Barrister Wale Ojo as the acting Chairman of Osun PDP. The Sunday Bisi-led faction of the PDP had gone to court seeking the setting aside of a November 22, 2021 judgment recognising Soji Adagunodo as Osun PDP chairman.
However, barely 48 hours after the court judgement, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP affirmed the appointment of Bisi Sunday as the Acting Chairman of the Osun State Chapter of the PDP. A statement issued by Hon. Debo Ologunagba, its National Publicity Secretary, said the decision of the NWC on behalf of the National Executive Committee (NEC) which is pursuant to its powers under Section 29(2) of the Constitution of the PDP 2017 (as amended) was reached at its meeting on Wednesday, February 16, 2022, after very careful consideration of the situation in Osun State Chapter of the party.
The party said the newly appointed Osun State Acting Chairman is to lead the State Chapter until the end of the tenure of the current State Executive on March 25, 2022. The NWC urged all leaders and members of our Party in Osun State to remain united and focused on the task ahead. Expectedly, the Wale Ojo faction rejected the announcement and instituted yet another court action against the party, urging the nullification of the delegate congress of the party conducted by the Bisi-led executives.
Hours to last Tuesday’s primary election, a State High Court, sitting in Ijebu-Jesa, nullified the ward congress held by the Bisi faction.The court, presided over by Justice A. Aderigbigbe while ruling on an experte motion brought before it by some elected ward chairmen of the party, said the ward congress held by the Soji Adagunodo-led State working Committee on September 25, 2021, is the only valid congress, hence, the delegates elected from the congress are eligible to vote at the party’s primary on Tuesday, March 8, 2022.
A few hours later, in a dramatic twist to the raging crisis, an Osun State High Court sitting in Ikirun last Monday affirmed the ward congress conducted by the national leadership of the PDP in the state. According to the ruling, “It is only the National Executive Committee, either acting through itself or through the National Working Committee, in line with Article 29(2), 51(1), 2(b), (e) and 3 of the constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party, 2017 that can validly conduct and supervise the holden of ward congress to elect ward executive committee/officers of the party, 3-man ad-hoc ward delegates.”
Also, the order of the court mandated the respondent to make use of the Osun PDP ward delegate list containing the names of ward executive committee who were elected at the ward congress held on September 25, 2021, and duly ratified at the National Convention in 2021 for the purpose of Osun PDP gubernatorial primary slated for March 8, 2022. That was the situation until last Tuesday when the party held its primary election that produced Senator Adeleke as candidate amidst protest by aggrieved party chieftains and members.
Calming frayed nerves
Determined to give peace a chance, Adeleke, in his acceptance speech, called on the party to unite ahead of the governorship poll, adding that with cooperation, the PDP would defeat the ruling party at the poll. He said, “No victor, no vanquished. We are all winners. Let us work together to rescue people of Osun State from the current APC government. The good people of Osun State have suffered enough under the current APC government.”
The Nation gathered that Senator Adeleke is already reaching out to some of his co-contestants with a view to appealing to them to support him in his quest to wrestle power from the ruling APC in July. “Immediately after he was announced winner, Adeleke extended the olive branch to all other aspirants who wanted the ticket too. His idea is that we need everybody to succeed in July. He is open to reconciliation and has already started meeting with some of the people that opposed his candidacy.
“I can tell you that very soon, the likes of Akin Ogunbiyi and Dele Adeleke, and even Dotun Babayemi who is parading himself as a factional candidate, will come over and join Senator Adeleke’s campaign. I am optimistic because several efforts are currently ongoing to re-unite the party. The primary election is over and a winner has been declared and confirmed by the party. What is left is for all of us to work hard and ensure victory at the governorship election,” a party leader from Osun West senatorial district, said.
Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi had withdrawn from the governorship primary of the party on Monday. Addressing a press conference in Osogbo, he cited planned rigging of the primary and violence against his supporters as the reason for his withdrawal. “It is a very difficult decision for me because of the amount of investment and the hope that my personality and leadership would have given to Osun State. But when you have an umpire who is so biased to the extent of planning with the other group, what can you do? Senator Iyorcha Ayu has agreed to work with Ademola Adeleke and I am being told that I shouldn’t waste my money and we did everything possible. I can only come to the conclusion to withdraw from the race,” he alleged.
Similarly, another aspirant, Dele Adeleke withdrew from the race before voting started. A statement he signed and released to journalists in Osogbo said his decision to quit the race was in line with the decision of PDP leaders who have decided to harmonize forces, “within the school of thought that I subscribed to so that we can jointly prosecute the primary election and win. I respect this decision and believe in their capacity to lead us to victory.
This was just as a factional PDP elders’ caucus endorsed Prince Dotun Babayemi as its candidate. A statement signed by factional chairman of the party, Wale Ojo, said, “on behalf of Osun state party executives, BOT members, apex party leaders and the entire members of our party in the state, after a painstaking deliberation of the elders of the party, it was unanimously agreed that Prince Dotun Babayemi should fly the flag of the party. This decision is with the full backing and concurrence of other aspirants in attendance, who are also eminently qualified to occupy the exalted position.”
But Amzat is certain that a resolution of the current crisis over the PDP guber ticket is in the offing. “It is normal for politicians to disagree after an exercise as this one. The ticket was keenly contested because our party can boast of many qualified aspirants. But with Adeleke declared as the candidate, and given his willingness to seek peace with his peers, I can assure you the ongoing peace efforts will bear good fruits. Our candidate and all other party elders are meeting with the aggrieved persons like I said before,” he explained.
Ayu’s peace moves
As part of the concerted efforts to heal wounds and ensure the party goes to the general election united, the party’s national Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, decided to chair the 25-member Electoral Appeal Panel constituted to consider appeals that arose from the conduct of the Osun State governorship primary election. The Appeal Panel sat on Thursday, March 10, 2022, at the PDP National Secretariat, in Abuja. Party sources said the committee functioned more as a reconciliation committee as it did everything possible to reconcile aggrieved members of the party in Osun state with Adeleke, who it confirmed as the party’s governorship flagbearer.
Babayemi had on Wednesday warned Ayu, to be careful in handling the crisis bedeviling the state chapter, saying the party must tread cautiously if it desires to win the governorship seat at the July poll. He said: “I will win the July poll convincingly as the candidate of the party, due to my antecedents which have been evident in the support I have been receiving across the state. The onus is now on us to put our house in order and this is where the support of everybody, especially the national leadership of our party, is germane.
“Enough of bickering, the hide-and-seek and related shenanigans. The people of the state are already tired of the administration of APC, in the state and they’re desperately yearning for a change through me. So, if our great party, under the leadership of Senator Iyorchia Ayu, is truly desirous of clinching the governorship seat at the coming state election, then everything must be done rightly to rally round my emergence as the party’s candidate endorsed by stakeholders and members across the state.”
But acting chairman of the Osun PDP, Sunday Bisi welcome Adeleke’s election as an incontrovertible reflection of the choice of the overwhelming majority of members of the party in the state, saying Adeleke’s victory came without a surprise. He added that Adeleke’s candidature has sent jitters to the spine of the ruling APC. “We congratulate the candidate elect, Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke for the well-deserved victory. As a widely loved and consistent leader in the party, the victory came to us without any surprise.
“Our party also appreciates the immense goodwill Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke enjoys with the people both in and outside of the party. This we believe has sent jitters to the spine of the sinking APC, whose undercurrent moves to scuttle the primary election were effectively rebuffed and thwarted by an undaunted army of our people.
“As we step into the gear of full blast campaigns, we urge those with different standpoints before the emergence of Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke to scale through the walls of reality, no matter how difficult and come together to join forces with our candidate in the interest of the party and larger interest of the good people of Osun State, who have suffered enough in the hands of the treasury looting APC,” he said while urgin all members of the party to forge a common front to rekindle the fading hope of future generations.
The Nation learnt that Ayu opted to head the Appeal Committee himself because he wanted to ensure that all grievances arising from the primary election were addressed and laid to rest. “Senator Ayu specifically craved the indulgence of party leaders to head the committee because he said he will like to personally address the matters arising from the congress. He explained that there is not much time and the party must put its house in order promptly if it really wants to win the July governorship election in Osun state.
“And as a member of the Appeal Committee, I want to tell you that the committee under the leadership of Senator Ayu did a lot to appease angry party members in Osun. I am confident that with what we did on Thursday, our party is back as one united body. You will soon begin to see the results of our efforts. It is also important to note that Senator Adeleke, the party’s candidate is also a man of peace. He is similarly helping the efforts to reconcile the party and move on to winning the governorship election,” a party leader said.