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Tag: African Democratic Congress (ADC)

  • Coalition: Too many unknowns

    Coalition: Too many unknowns

    • By Ray Ekpu

    There are several things that I hold strong views about. But today I will name just three of them. One, I believe that Nigeria must be a united country to be stable and progressive. That is why I do not, cannot, will not support any movement for the bifurcation or trifurcation of Nigeria. All those who call themselves separatists, who want to have Nigeria split into several countries will never find me in their corner. I believe that a big Nigeria is better than a small Nigeria. That is part of the reason that China and India are resilient today. They have a large population and land mass to help them weather the storms, political storms, economic storms and climate storms. But I want a united Nigeria that works for everyone, that works for fairness, equity and justice for all.

     Two, I believe in the rotation of power between north and south. If rotation works, the country will work. God in His infinite wisdom gave different assets to different regions of Nigeria. If crude oil and gas were found within the territory occupied by the majority tribes, Nigeria would have split a long time ago. They would have used their majority power to perfect injustice against the minority tribes. But God placed these assets largely in the minority tribes so that Nigeria can remain united. That is my belief. And even though I am from the Niger Delta region, I have never in my 51 years of journalism practice advocated that the people of that region should own the oil and gas assets 100%. That would not make for a united country. But some selfish politicians have said that since they have the numbers, they should hold on to power for ever because democracy is a game of numbers. My answer to that is if you hold on to power, don’t you think other people can also hold on to what they have because power is infact divisible.

     Three, I believe that Nigeria’s democracy will only be largely stable and progressive if we evolve into a two-party entity basically. Being a two-party entity does not mean there will be no other parties but a situation where we have scores of parties is rubbish; rubbish because they will never have the ability to achieve anything or to make any significant contribution to the evolution of our democracy. So the conversation about the ruling APC growing into a near behemoth and posing the possibility of becoming the only dominant party in the country is an important conversation.

    Read Also: We cannot defeat Tinubu in 2027 divided, says Edo PDP

    However, the emergence of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a coalition that seeks, according to its proponents, to “rescue Nigeria from bad governance” is something of interest to those who wish to see two formidable parties in the country. This is not the first time that the ADC has been chosen as a rallying canopy to seek to overthrow a sitting government. In 2018, former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, had packaged what he called the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) to challenge the President Muhammadu Buhari government in the 2019 general election. It failed to unseat Buhari who won a second term as president. The present coalition which seeks to defeat President Bola Tinubu in 2027 seems to be an imitation of what happened in 2013 when Tinubu, leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN), stitched together four parties namely ACN, CPC, ANPP and a faction of APGA to form the APC. That coalition led to the defeat of Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 election. That became the first time that a sitting government at the centre would be defeated in an election by an opposition party. The fellows responsible for the ADC coalition apparently believe than an encore is possible and that the Tinubu government can be defeated in 2027. If Tinubu is defeated in 2027, it would mean that Nigeria is, once again, becoming a democracy with two strong parties.

     Let us look at the faces and facts behind the ADC coalition. The most prominent proponents are former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party presidential candidate in 2023 election, Peter Obi, former Senate President, David Mark, former Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, former governor of Rivers State and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai and former governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal. All of them had been in positions of power in the states or centre either as vice president, governor, minister or senator. That is why some analysts describe them as “old wine in new bottles.” Some critics feel that they had enormous opportunities in those positions they occupied over the years to make significant transformational contributions to Nigeria’s development. They belonged to either of the two parties, PDP and APC which have ruled Nigeria since 1999. If Nigeria is in a state where rescue is needed today, shouldn’t they bear part of the blame? They should. The other question would be when they were in positions of authority, what did they do to ensure that Nigeria did not sink into a hole, that warrants its being dug out of the hole today?

     Since none of them is a new face in governance, since all of them had played important parts in governance in the past, what is the level of credibility that they have when they say that they are here on a rescue mission from bad governance?

    Did this bad governance start only in the last two years that all of them have been out of power? In any case, when they were in power, can their achievements be regarded as overwhelmingly justifiable or justifiably overwhelming?

    Or is there any visible evidence that they have turned a new leaf that will enhance their performance if Nigerians decide to vote for them in 2027? Nigerians would like to know if they are truly agents of change. Did they cause a review of the 1999 Constitution to be made, an issue that Nigerians have called for since 1999? Did they cause the economy to grow? Did we make by their effort, money from solid minerals that are exploited in the 774 local government areas by illegal miners?

    What improvements did they bring about in agriculture so that we do not continue to import ship loads of food or stay hungry? Did they succeed in getting Nigeria to bring on board new measures to stem the growing tide of insecurity in various parts of the country? What contributions did they make towards the drastic reduction of poverty and unemployment in the country? As people who had played significant parts in the governance of the country, they have a trust deficit to deal with. It is not simply a matter of wanting to remove Tinubu. It is not simply a matter of criticizing Tinubu. That is the easy part. The important part is for them to convince us with facts and figures, with solid verifiable evidence that they have an alternative policy option that can rescue Nigeria on several developmental fronts. It is not simply a matter of rhetoric. That is the big challenge that they must overcome, the challenge of believability.

    They come from basically PDP which is in tatters, the LP which has problems and some of them are APC rebels. If they come from parties that have not been able to manage successfully the crises in their parties, how can they convince Nigerians that they are well equipped to run a country which is a bigger entity effectively, efficiently? That is a challenge they have.

    Most of the prominent persons in the group want to become president of Nigeria. They need pure magic to be able to manage these conflicting ambitions so that the group can maintain sanity and work towards its goal. And only one person can be Nigeria’s president at a time. Will these ambitions of the principal promoters not be a hindrance to the successful prosecution of their agenda? That is something they must work on if they want Nigerians to trust them.

    Finally, Nigeria needs two strong parties for its democracy to work efficiently and to make the government transparent and accountable to the people. Will the ADC be the new messiah, the medium that will take us to Eldorado? I don’t know.

  • ADC: The stirrings of an abiku

    ADC: The stirrings of an abiku

    Since its formation in 2005, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has never been a force to reckon with as a political party. It is more of a vehicle which utility value can only be guaranteed for the period that any user needs it. It is the same vehicle, wait for it, that Pat Utomi used to contest the presidential election in 2007.

    Wikipedia, the online information portal, even describes Utomi as ADC founder. This information may not be entirely correct. I stand to be corrected, though. I say so because Utomi cannot be the founder of such a party that has no ideology and stands for nothing, according to Dumebi Kachikwu, its presidential candidate in the 2023 elections. It has been 20 years since ADC was formed in 2005, and 18 years that Utomi was adopted as its pioneer presidential candidate in 2007.

     That was the party’s first-ever participation in national elections, and over the years, it has consistently failed to pull its weight in the polls, apparently due to the calibre of the candidates it presented. Elections anywhere in the world are not prosecuted by parading academic qualifications and pontificating on social and economic theories which a contestant cannot marry with the needs of the country (s)he wants to lead. The party and the person flying its flag must be versed in the art of politics, as well as its intricacies, and engage in acts that will endear it to the electorate.

    Utomi parted ways with ADC in the 2011 election, as he contested that year’s presidential poll on the crest of Social Democratic Mega Party (SDMP) and lost again. Since then, he has been rolling with the waves like ADC. ADC has become the spirit or wanderer child known as abiku in Yoruba mythology. It is not a party in the true sense of the word. It is also not a platform. It is more of a vehicle that ambitious politicians board and disembark from when they get to their destination. If it does not take them to their destination, they dump it, and look for another.

    This has been the fate of ADC. Its presidential candidates come and go. They do not stay to build it to a structure that can stand its own against other parties. Some strange bedfellows have now found home in the party. After a long search for a platform to build their so-called national coalition to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027, they finally settled for ADC. They may have berthed, but from the look of things, they seem not safely anchored yet. They are facing threats from some of those they met in the party who are protesting what they called the ‘hijacking’ of ADC.

    The coalitioners or coalitionists, if you like, are desperate. Their desperation drove them to takeover ADC from a pliable national chairman, Ralph Nwosu, who has since stepped down from office for the soldier-politician David Mark, who was senate president for eight years. The row which broke out after the coalition’s takeover of ADC is proof that the deal was not tidy. Many things go into the signing, sealing and delivering of such arrangements, really.

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    Certain, if not all interests must be taking care of to avoid any fallout, the sort of which we are now witnessing in ADC. Kachikwu, who is leading those against the takeover, by virtue of his status as the party’s presidential candidate in 2023, should from all intents and purposes, be one of such interests. His candidacy may have expired with the election won and lost, but that should not have diminished his importance within the party. If he had won in 2023, he would have automatically become the party’s leader. His loss should not deprive him of that status, to the extent that deals would be struck behind him.

    Though, strange bedfellows, Atiku, Nasir El-Rufai, Rotimi Amaechi, Rauf Aregbesola and Mark, among other leaders of the coalition settled for ADC because the party was divided. Where the Social Democratic Party (SDP) which they intially sought to ‘acquire’ stood firm because of the principled stand of its presidential candidate in 2023, Prince Adewole Adebayo, ADC was an easy pick.

    Reason: Nwosu had the upper hand in the fight for ADC’s control with Kachikwu, and went with the coalition. He was excited when he gave away the party to the coalition in Abuja. Amid the pomp and ceremony, the crack within ADC surfaced. ADC is not for sale, Kachikwu thundered at another ceremony where he held court. ‘What the coalition bought is bad market as you cannot build something on nothing’, he said. This has always been the case with ADC in its 20 years of existence. Dead today and alive tomorrow.

    It is this abiku nature of the party that has stunted its growth. Beyond the singing and dancing at the coalition’s ‘acquisition’ of ADC is the character of its champions. They are worlds apart on many fronts. They are diametrically opposed to one another on many socio-economic issues. They are only united now in their desire to wrest power from Tinubu. It is their right to seek to lead the country, but first, they should tell the people what they have to offer. Some of them had the chance to lead as vice president, senate president, governor and minister in the past, with nothing to show for their tenures in office.

    Today, they are claiming that there is hunger in the land because of the economic policies of the present administration. What was the economy like in the immediate past administration in which Amaechi and Aregbesola served as transport and interior ministers? How did Atiku, who has suddenly become an anti-graft czar, help to fight corruption as vice president between 1999 and 2007? It is funny to see these people coming out to seek office again, considering how they ran the country in their own time.

    Nothing best describes how some of them are than what Atiku and El-Rufai said about each other a few years ago during a rift sparked by the former Kaduna State governor’s memoir: ‘Accidental public servant’. It was a messy affair as the duo engaged in verbal warfare. El-Rufai, who believes that he is a saint, spoke of how Atiku influencèd things in the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) then in order to get favours for some firms. El-Rufai was BPE director-general and Atiku, National Council on Privatisation (NCP) chairman, by virtue of being VP.

    In a statement entitled: ‘Atiku haunted by his corrupt demons’ on November 15, 2016, El-Rufai challenged Atiku to visit the United States (US) if the ex-VP was not culpable in wiring $40 million to that country in the famous Halliburton case. He added that Atiku was obsessed with the ambition of becoming president, and as such, ‘fond of spewing out lies in an attempt to rejuvenate his image’. What more can anyone add to this? As the Yoruba saying goes: fun r’awon niwon ma fun r’awon l’ogun je (they will poison themselves with their own hands).

    How then can they redeem themselves under a party that is dying and returning to life every now and then? After 2027, that is if the party survives the Kachikwu onslaught, the electorate may not hear of ADC again until 2031, which is another election year.

  • 2027 and premature obituaries

    2027 and premature obituaries

    In 2013, when a stellar cast of opposition figures across the political spectrum, unveiled the All Progressives Congress (APC) as their platform to break the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) 16-year grip on power, then Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, reportedly invited people to ‘call me a bastard’ if the party survived one year.

    Two years later, after his principal was dethroned at the ballot box, many Nigerians obliged him with name-calling. In April of 2015 he posted a clarification on Facebook. What he actually said was ‘I will change my name.’ Never mind. The import of his words was contemptuous dismissal of a band of politicians he felt didn’t stand a chance against the PDP behemoth.

    Ever since former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his collaborators announced the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the vehicle they would use to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027, their action has been greeted with feverish political chatter – much of it pessimistic.

    A couple of days ago, Special Adviser to the President on Public Communications, Daniel Bwala, predicted that the group would scatter in six months. He’s not the only one to take such a position. Many independent analysts have equally been sceptical about this patchwork of strange bedfellows.

    While there is a surfeit of reasons not to take Atiku and his co-travellers seriously, it would be unwise for the ruling party, or even the main opposition PDP – who they seek to supplant – to do so.

    First, let it be said that elections in Nigeria are not necessarily determined by reason, an abundance of good works or ideological clarity. Rather, many contests have been resolved by ethnicity, religion, emotion, personality and pecuniary factors.

    All of these factors were in strong play in 2023 and many would still be there in two years. Who can forget the impact of the Muslim-Muslim or same faith ticket across large swathes of the South and Christian-dominated areas of the North? Who can forget the millions of votes that were garnered on account of ethnic or regional solidarity?

    But the greatest reason why ADC – a me-too project that aims to reprise the APC experiment of 2015 – should be monitored by its rivals is the desperation factor. The opposition wilderness isn’t a place the typical Nigerian politician who has ever tasted power wants to be. And I use the word desperate more in an adjectival sense than pejoratively.

    Read Also: Tinubu not distracted by 2027 election discourse, says Idris

    Take ex-VP Atiku, for instance. There is a sense that this could be his last shot at the presidency given that he would be 80 in two years. Many expect him to run again – defying strident calls for the presidency to remain in the South on the basis of zoning.

    But wouldn’t it be expecting too much to think he would now accept power rotation, when his rejection of the principle in 2023 led to his defeat at the polls? In all his comments after defeat, not once did he attribute his loss to a disastrous performance down South. Instead, he chose to blame Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rigging and collusion with APC for his humbling.

    It is possible that he may have had an awakening, realising that Southern sentiments which back a regional hold on the presidency till 2031 are still as strong as ever. In that event, he could choose not to run and back a candidate from the same region as Tinubu just to spite him.

    The smart money, however, believes the serial contestant would make the same old noises about competence, his constitutional right to aspire and the democratic imperative of open primaries – and by so doing torpedo this latest contraption. Indeed, some believe it’s his creation for one final push for the presidency.

    The other indication of desperation is that even before ADC has been able to identify what it stands for, Atiku’s would-be rivals are already offering to serve just one term of four years.

    It’s not for nothing that the framers of our constitution provided for two terms of four years. It could be that they understood that not much can be achieved in the initial period when incumbents are busy paying political IOUs and are too wary to take adventurous steps.

    Whether they are governors or presidents, many who have held office since 1999 were careful not to alienate those they needed to secure a second tenure. That’s why the pledges by former Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi and ex-Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, to serve just one term, have been met with mockery.

    Their offer isn’t because both possess magic wands. It isn’t something driven by altruism but by a desperate realisation that the window of opportunity is closing. If they don’t get the ticket this time, in four years it returns to the North for another eight years. That is to say power won’t rotate down South again until 2039 – by which time Obi would be 78, Amaechi 74, and irrelevant in most political calculations.

    What is looming is the retirement of a generation of politicians who have been active for the last four decades. For them, the fear of irrelevance is a powerful motivational factor. It’s akin to what drives a cornered animal to fight for survival.

    While the desire for relevance may be pushing many to ADC, their flight is also fuelled by the assumption that PDP is done for. But anyone who understands the power of incumbency in determining electoral outcomes in these parts knows that people may be writing premature obituaries.

    So far, the much-hyped ADC is just a congregation of ex-this, ex-this – many exhumed from deep retirement. At inception, the legacy parties that formed APC had 11 governors. This number rose to 16 in November 2013 when five PDP governors broke away to join them.

    The same group that had sneered at the defection of Delta’s Sheriff Oborevwori and Akwa Ibom’s Umo Eno, to ruling party, saying the next elections would be between ‘Nigerians’ and the incumbent, are desperately searching these type of defectors. We’ve also been reminded about how Obi secured six million votes without a governor on his side. Sure, but see where it got him.

    There’s no question that like most incumbent administrations, Tinubu’s government is in for a tough fight. Unlike two years ago, it now has a record that opponents can savage and voters assess. What makes it more difficult is the deep cynicism and polarisation within the polity. He faces foes who are unwilling to acknowledge that he has achieved anything in two years – even in the face of evidence. 

    He took the risky gambit of picking hot potatoes that his predecessors fled from. It would be his challenge to reassure the electorate that the bitter medicine has been worthwhile. It’s a tough sales pitch but not an impossible one.

    On the positive side, he’s been able to neutralise a lot of the demonisation that polluted the voting climate last time. For instance, by his appointments and governance style he’s been able to banish the Muslim-Muslim bugbear, making it a non-factor going forward. After all the talk, Nigeria hasn’t been Islamised.

    He was painted as ill and bedridden. But the same man has been crisscrossing country and globe, so much so that his foreign travels have become a point of opposition attack.

    Those among his foes who have been excitedly writing him off on account of economic challenges forget that he won last time amid similar turmoil.

    In 2015 an incumbent was beaten because there was a united effort that brought together all the major opposition parties root and branch. The copycat bid of 2025 doesn’t come close. PDP, LP and APGA would still go into the next elections in current form, only to be joined by the nascent ADC to further fragment the votes of those want to unseat the incumbent. This was the undoing of the opposition in 2023. The more things change the more they remain the same!

  • ADC’s one-term ‘presidents’

    ADC’s one-term ‘presidents’

    Nearly every presidential aspirant in the newly adopted African Democratic Congress (ADC) is promising to do only one term if elected. This promise, each aspirant hopes, will help secure nomination. Would their fellow travelers believe them? It is unlikely. Would the country as a whole also believe them? It is even more unlikely. Power is an aphrodisiac, and its charm difficult to resist. The public may already see insincerity in the one-term promise, but the aspirants will make it anyway, for to do otherwise is to doom their aspirations even before they get off the ground.

    Former vice president Atiku Abubakar was the first to make that promise in other to snag Labour Party’s Peter Obi. If nominated and goes on to win the presidency, he vowed, he would hand over to the former Anambra governor at the end of his first term. He presumes to have the power to hand over the presidency to his running mate or vice president regardless of what the voters think. More, Alhaji Atiku hopes not only to snag Mr Obi but also to corral the Igbo Southeast because they must believe that it could be their surest path to the presidency.

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    But in a different way too, former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi is making the same promise to spend only one term in office if elected in order to complete the second term they hope the electorate would deny President Bola Tinubu in 2027. The presumptuousness does not end there. Mr Obi himself has declared magisterially that anyone who plans to contest the presidency against President Tinubu must know for a certainty that he would spend only one term. Even if the electorate would be dumb enough to believe Alhaji Atiku because of his age – he is 78 years old already – they would not believe both Mr Amaechi and Mr Obi.

    Expect potential running mates, like former Kaduna governor Nasir el-Rufai, to join the one-term boondoggle. They stand to gain from a southerner spending one term in office should the ADC win the next presidential poll. The campaign, they have signaled, will not be about issues or ideologies or Nigeria’s political dynamics; it will be about one term or two terms. For now, however, that still leaves the advantage with the APC.

  • Oyo ADC stakeholders disown Lanlehin

    A faction of Oyo State African Democratic Congress (ADC) has distanced itself from  the purported withdrawal of the party’s candidate in the last election, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, from the alliance with the People’s Democratic Party ( PDP).

    The faction said the ADC, its teeming members and supporters across the state are solidly in support of the governor, “believing that we are on the same page.”.

    A letter addressed to the state governor of the state, Seyi Makinde and signed by the former secretary to the state government, on behalf of the party, Chief Busari Adebisi.

    Stakeholders of the party have not abandoned the original leitmotifs, especially good governance for the people of the state which was the bases of the alliance.”

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    The statement reads: “Following the recent political development in Oyo state, as it affects the purported withdrawal of senator Olufemi Lanlehin from the African Democratic Congress  coalition with your government, I am compelled to make the following observations; that the prime motive of bringing ADC to Oyo State, was to ensure the termination of the eight-year agonizing rule of the APC administration and importantly to ensure that the administration does not succeed itself by other means, so as to free the good people of Oyo State from the regrettable APC’s socio-economic bondage.

    “Another reason for the ADC was to participate and ensure the emergence of a credible alternative to Ajimobi’s  lackluster administration in the state. As it is customary in such political arrange, nets, the parties in the coalition usually agree on a set of conditions, the basis of which they go into elections together. The summary of the agreement reached with the PDP for our party was 30 percent participation in government.

    “Without prejudice to the above observations, I wish to unequivocally declare to you that our party, the ADC, its teeming members and supporters across Oyo State are solidly in continued support of your government, believing that we are still on the same page.”

  • ADC national chairman affirms Ogungbemi as Ondo chair

    The National Secretariat of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has affirmed Hon. Bisi Ogungbemi and his deputy, Iyalode Tokunbo Saka as credible leaders of the party in Ondo State.

    In an affirmation letter by the national chairman, Dr. Ralph Nwosu, the party noted it had declared the purported suspension of the chairman and his deputy as unacceptable, null and void.

    It added the few disgruntled members of the party lack the power to carry out a suspension of the chairman.

    “Hon. Bisi Ogungbemi and Mrs Tokunbo Saka remain the Chairman and deputy chairman of the party in Ondo State as stipulated in the party’s constitution.

    “The NWC directs all parties to maintain status quo as the party has set up a disciplinary committee to look into the matter”

    In a related development, The Ondo State chapter has suspended some members for gross misconduct and anti-party activities.

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    While reading the suspension letter, the chapter chairman Ogungbemi said the members were suspended for conniving with the opposition to work against the party in the last elections and also working with opposition to destabilise the party.

    He added that they were also said to have disrupted a reconciliatory meeting chaired by Dr Bode Iwaloye to resolve the issues in the party.

    Those suspended are; Jephthah Obapolo- secretary, Samuel Adeusi-Treasurer, Barr Femi Balogun, legal adviser, Idowu Akinrinlola – PRO, Helen K Ogunboye-Women leader, chief John Olatunji- Welfare,  Com Fape Omodara- Youth leader, Adeola Omoogun-Financial secretary, Evang. Olympus Akinlosotu.

    Ogungbemi stated that a disciplinary committee would be subsequently set up to look into the matter and submit their report in two weeks.

  • ADC lawmaker denies being sponsored by Faleke

    A House of Representatives member-elect from Yagba Federal Constituency, Kogi State, on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Hon. Leke Abejide has debunked insinuations that he was sponsored by Hon. James Falake, a member representing Ikeja Federal Constituency of Lagos State at the House of Representatives.

    According to a statement signed by the newly elected lawmaker and made available to reporters, he described the story published by a section of the media as a cheap blackmail orchestrated by his political detractors.

    He added that he was shocked by the way the All Progressives Congress was roundly defeated at Yagba Federal Constituency “our great party, the ADC, some disgruntled elements resorted to blackmail and mischievous propaganda to make the world believe I cannot stand on my feet.”

  • 24 ex-council bosses declare support for Adelabu

    NO fewer than 24 former local government chairmen, who dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and left the party for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State have returned to the ruling party.

    The former chairmen who served during the first tenure of Governor Abiola Ajimobi between 2011 and 2015, had last year dumped the APC due to what they termed as breach of agreement after working for the success of the governor’s re-election.

    The former council bosses, who explained that they had worked assiduously to ensure the governor’s second term bid, said they were surprised that they lost out when it was time for them to seek re-election to their respective local government council areas.

    They later moved to both ADC and PDP.

    But, the council bosses, among whom are Yekeen Popoola (Irepo), who served as Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) Chairman between 2011 and 2015, said they decided to dump their various political parties and work for APC considering the performance of the ruling party at the February 23, 2019 presidential and National Assembly elections.

    Other former chairmen at the meeting held in Ibadan, the state capital on Tuesday are: Olabiyi Niyi (Saki East), Trimisiyu Olayiwola (Kajola), Olarinre Adisa (Itesiwaju), Lord Stowel Balogun (Oorelope) and Ismail Oyetunde (Ona Ara).

    Also at the reconciliatory meeting, which had in attendance the gubernatorial candidate of the party, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu and other APC stalwarts were: Obisesan Kamoru (Egbeda), Abiodun  Olayiwola (Lagelu), Soji Ojoawo (Oyo (West) Olorode Oluade (Afijio), Mukthar Adekunle (Oyo East) and Aworinde Lasisi (Surulere).

    The rest were: Jacob Ogunmola (Atisbo), Fashola David (Ogbomoso South), Ope Salami (Akinyele), Omolewu Segun (Ibarapa North), Adelore Atànda (Ibarapa Central) and John Olaoye Ojedokun (Iwajowa).

    The 24 former chairmen added that they returned to APC to work for the success of Adelabu at the governorship poll billed to take place on Saturday.

    Ogunmola, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said they decided to jettison their new-found parties and bury the hatchet to ensure victory for Adelabu on Saturday.

    Also yesterday, a  social-political movement with interest in the Yoruba Omoluabi culture, the Renaissance Movement (Atunbi), has directed its Senatorial Coordinators, 33 local Government Coordinators, all cell leaders and entire members across Oyo State to unanimously work for the success of Adelabu.

    The facilitator of the movement, Comrade Ibrahim Bolomope, accompanied by other leaders, gave the directive yesterday in Ibadan following the adoption of the APC governorship candidate as the sole candidate at the forthcoming polls.

    Speaking at a news conference, which held at the Emmanuel Alayande Resource Centre, Samonda, Ibadan, the former NUT boss noted that the group arrived at the decision after thorough deliberations and interactive sessions with the major governorship candidates in the state.

  • I will work for Adelabu, says Akala

    The governorship candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) in Oyo State and former governor of the state, Adebayo Alao-Akala, Friday gave details of how alliance talks between his party and other opposition parties in the state broke down.

    He also revealed that he has decided to work with the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate in the state, Adebayo Adelabu, to ensure his success in the March 9 governorship election, but still remains a member of the ADP.

    Alao-Akala made the revelation yesterday at his Bodija, Ibadan residence.

    His words: “I remain in ADP and all our candidates for the House of Assembly seats will stand the March 9th elections on the platform of the ADP with my full support but I will work for the victory of Bayo Adelabu.”

    He explained that his alliance with APC is based on the party’s belief that the ADP can perform optimally and has a strong grassroots network not only in Ogbomoso but also in Ibadan, Ibarapa, Oke-Ogun and Oyo.

    “Our core values and philosophies as indicated in our ADP manifestos, ‘Rescue Mission Agenda, have been adopted by Bayo Adelabu with the Presidency as witness. I have therefore as a candidate of ADP, accepted to support Adelabu of APC for victory and therefore form a coalition government.

    “My solemn gratitude goes to our members, state and national leaders of ADP for the ample opportunity given to me to lead and fly the flag of the party. Though, my decision is a very tough one, it is for the progress of Oyo State.”

    Alao-Akala said his decision following the outcome of the just concluded presidential and National Assembly elections was based on the outcome of some incidents.

    He said: “It is widely known that I initiated alliance talks with the main opposition parties in Oyo State vis-a-vis my great party – the Action Democratic Party ((ADP), the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) with my boss, the former governor of Oyo State and Osi Olubadan, Senator Rashid Adewolu Ladoja as mediator.

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    “Meanwhile, during the alliance process, I received an emergency call from the Presidency. In the meeting with the Presidency, I was prevailed upon to work for APC. My response was that I should be given 48hrs to consult with my people, the opposition parties’ alliance committee as well as the teeming members, the leaders and the stakeholders of my great party, ADP.

    “On resumption of the alliance meeting, my boss (High Chief Rashid Adewolu Ladoja) told me point blank in the presence of other governorship candidates that I was not in consideration for Governorship due to my place of birth – Ogbomoso. According to him, “we need an Ibadan man to slug it out with another Ibadan man, which is Bayo Adelabu,” With the statement, my geographical place of birth is the only crime I committed.

    “Since I’ve been unfairly and technically booted out of the alliance talks, I consulted with my party stakeholders and supporters whose support have brought me this far. Having realised that my 2019 governorship agenda cannot be realised in isolation based on the present situation, the only option remaining for me is to form an alliance with Mr. Bayo Adelabu of APC.

    “I, Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala – the Oyo State 2019 Action Democratic Party (ADP), have decided to form an alliance with the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adebayo Adekola Adelabu ahead of the March 9 Governorship and state House of Assembly Elections in the state. However, all the ADP candidates for the House of Assembly seats will go to the elections with my maximum supports.”

  • ADC joins forces with 61 others to oust APC

    The National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Chief Ralph Okey Nwosu, has announced that the party was collaborating with about 61 political parties to wrestle power from the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) government.

    Nwosu made the disclosure in Awka while handing over the party’s flag to the candidate, Engr. Tony-Uche Ezekwelu, saying the party would offer quality and people-oriented representation.

    He described Ezekwelu as most qualified and prepared, noting that he has all it takes to represent the senatorial district.

    “Our candidate is youthful, educated, exposed and experienced. He will do well as a senator because he understands legislative business.

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    “We picked him because he is neutral. We are tired of these set of people parading themselves angling to represent us.

    “Our party will join other political parties who mean well for the country to wrestle power from the incumbent,” he said.

    Nwosu said the forthcoming election would be a referendum, instead of boycott of the elections as the secessionist groups.

    Earlier, the party’s senatorial candidate, Ezekwelu urged the people of the zone to say no to old politicians who, he described as perpetual failure.