The Oyo State All Progressives Congress (APC) is crisis ridden, ahead of next year’s elections. Assistant LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the impact the crisis may have on the re-election bid of Governor Abiola Ajimobi.
MANY stakeholders believe that, judging by his performance in the last three and half years, Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State deserves a second term. But, in the light of latest developments, the governor, who is the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), can no longer take his re-election for granted. This is owing to the intra-party squabble that has polarised the party. The crisis has weakened the party structure and decimated its membership. The crisis started manifesting, shortly after Ajimobi’s inauguration in May 2011. It was alleged that the governor did not consult the party leadership while constituting his cabinet and that he picked his commissioners from outside the party. At the, time, aggrieved party members, who claimed to have worked for his victory, protest to registered against the decision.
The feud led to the defection of Senator Femi Lanlehin (Oyo South) and Senator Ayoade Adeseun (Oyo Central). The duo accused Ajimobi of shutting out party stakeholders from his administration. Lanlehin defected to the Accord Party, while Adeseun joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Many party leaders are not happy with the governor’s attitude towards stakeholders and they are contemplating leaving the fold. It was learnt that a chieftain of the party, Chief Michael Koleoso, prevailed on aggrieved members, including the two senators, not to dump the party to no avail.
Analysts see the exit of the two senators as a dangerous signal for the APC, saying it under scores a reflection of the selfish ambition of party leaders who are supposed to work together to ensure the party’s success at the polls next year. The governor, they say, must improve his relationship with the people and work harder on the membership drive.
Apparently, Ajimobi has a different view. He sees the defection of Lanlehin as a big relief, according to observers, because he considers the latter as a major threat to his re-election bid. Lanlehin had never hidden his plan to contest for the governorship election next year. He was the major opponent of Ajimobi for the ticket in 2011, but he lost to the governor. He was however pacified with the Oyo South senatorial ticket. In spite of the attempt to mend the cracks, the relationship between them has not been cordial. Lanlehin is the most vocal critic of the Ajimobi Administration.
Against this background, an epic battle for the Agodi Government House is in the offing. The question on the lips of many observers is; can Ajimobi break the second term jinx? The history of the state suggests that no governor has ever won a second term.
A party stalwart, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, beyond Lanlehin and Adeseun’s exit, the internal wrangling in the party is weakening its structure. He said the governor has given little or no regard to other stakeholders in the appointments of commissioners, advisers and the caretaker chairmen of the 33 local government areas.
He said: “When the appointments into political office were to be made, shortly after 2011 election, Governor Ajimobi told party leaders to submit names of nominees, which they did. But, to their utter dismay, most of the nominees didn’t make the list. The governor allocated juicy positions to his loyalists referred to as ‘Senaco’. Since then, the party has been divided between Senaco and those of former Governor Lam Adeshina, known as ‘Lamists.”
He said the last cabinet reshuffle has created rumbles within the party. Some of the commissioners, he said, were sent packing because of their loyalty to the Lam Adesina group.
From the opposition’s point of view, the governor’s performance alone cannot earn him a second tenure. Former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP Alhaji Yekini Adeojo said the governor cannot get a second term. He explained that some of the governor’s policies have brought hardship to the people. He cited the Urban Renewal Project, which has led to the demolition of structures. But the government has defended its action by explaining that alternatives are being provided to the affected persons, despite the fact that nobody allocated the structures being demolished to the owners.
A youth activist, Mr. Akin Olagunju, however disagreed with Adeojo’s position. He said Ajimobi is set to re-write the political history of Oyo State by becoming the first governor to run and win a second term notwithstanding the opposition propaganda. Olagunju said the crisis rocking the PDP in the state may be a big plus for Ajimobi, if the party remains divided.
The chairman of the APC, Chief Akin Oke, also dismissed the idea that Oyo people do not elect a governor twice. He described it as a myth, saying the performance of Ajimobi in his first term so far has surpassed the imagination of the opposition and would see him through the polls. Oke said the experience of the people during the Alao-Akala’s administration would also be a key factor in determining the success of Ajimobi at the poll. He argued that the restoration of peace by the governor cannot be wished away. He maintained that if no governor had served the state twice, Ajimobi would be the first to do so because of his excellent performance.
The governor himself has vowed to break the second term jinx saying he will be the first governor to achieve that. “I will be the first governor to break that jinx. Who says Ibadan never serves a governor twice? I will be the first to achieve that,” he said.
Ajimobi maintained that, since he was the one serving the people of Ibadan and Oyo State in general, the notion would not apply to him. His words: “We are the one serving the people and not the people serving us. The notion that no governor ever served twice in Oyo State is wrong because Awolowo and Akintola governed the state twice. Ajimobi stressed that his performance would speak for him in the next election.
Dr. Lekan Olagoke, an Ibadan-based university don, agreed with Oke and Ajimobi. He argued that the governor’s activities have impacted positively on the lives of the people. “He has shown greater commitment to service through his Urban Renewal Programme, which had placed the major cities in the state on a new pedestal,” he noted.
Olagoke made reference to Ibadan, which hitherto was classified as the dirtiest city in West Africa, pointiing out that Ajimobi has successfully changed the face of the metropolis. He said the governor has restored peace and security in Ibadan, which used to be a theatre of war between the warring factions of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW). Other achievements, according to him, are the dualisation of roads leading to all the major cities and towns around the capital; youth empowerment scheme for unemployed graduates; and free medical services for the people including surgical operations.
The political scientist argued that the ideal thing in a society where performance is the criteria for re-election is to allow Ajimobi to have a second term.
Similarly, Alhaji Wasiu Adekunle, a trader based in Ibadan, is rooting for Ajimobi’s re-election to enable him complete the numerous projects. He commended Ajimobi for his developmental strides.
Adekunle lauded the Ajimobi Administration for putting smiles on the faces of market men and women, and artisans, through the provision of N300 million interest-free loans. “In fairness to him, Ajimobi cannot be written off as a non-performer, considering where the state is coming from. He is the best thing to have ever happened to the state in terms of governance,” he said.
Legal luminary Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN) said the politics of Oyo State is unique in the sense that it is not political parties that would determine who wins the election. According to him, traditional, professional and cultural elites determine who governs the state.
Akintola said any political party that underrates the influence of Alaafin of Oyo, the Olubadan of Ibadan and Soun of Ogbomoso is doomed politically. He said the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) is also influential in deciding the political direction for the people. He said it was not Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) that won the election for Ajimobi in 2011. Rather, he was the choice of the elite. “I know the role played by the Alafin and the late Alhaji Azeez Arisekola Alao in that election. I know the role played by Chief Lekan Balogun, Senator Teslim Folarin, Elder Wole Oyelese and Chief Yekini Adeojo, despite the fact that all of them are PDP members. It was the collective effort of the elite that brought Ajimobi to power, not ACN or APC”, he added.
For Moshood Erubami, the President of Nigeria Voters Assembly, a civil society organisation, there is no doubt that Ajimobi would be returned by the electorates in next year’s election. He said the governor has demonstrated enough courage to assist the people and ensure that governance meets their genuine desires.
Erubami said: “This is a governor that is daily adding value reconstructing the state, re-orienting the indigenes, restoring hope and transforming governance with demonstrated character of integrity. His style of governance has been posing questions to his predecessors about where the monies being committed to development projects during his administration were being put during their own tenure that nothing concrete was visible beyond fuji and juju fanfare on daily basis.
“The face of Ibadan had remained rough, dirty and structurally defective in the last 30 years, with nothing to show for the years of government and governance in the state. This made it difficult to attract investors to site industry in the state, thereby reducing it to a teacher’s state without major platform for sustainable human development.
“The current environmental beautification effort of government is quite discernible to all as everyone can note the order being brought to motor garages, the changing face of our road, reduction in traffic hold-ups. Past governments had created different security outfits to address insecurity and other societal decay, but none was as effective and mobile as Operation Burst, which is ever mobile and steadfast in curbing brigandage in the society. Never before has any administration introduced a security outfit that is as mobile and effective as Operation Burst.”
No civilian governor has spent more than a term in Oyo State, since it was created in 1976. The late Chief Bola Ige, who was elected in 1979 tried to retain the position in 1983, but lost to Dr. Omololu Olunloyo, who took over from Ige in October, 1983, spent only three months in office due to military intervention. The late Chief Kolapo Ishola, who came into office during the transition programme of Gen, Ibrahim Babangida did not also complete his first term due to Gen. Sani Abacha’s coup that overthrew the Interim National Government (ING) headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan in 1993.
The late Adesina, who came to office in 1999, could not win in 2003. He lost to Rasheed Ladoja, who had a turbulent tenure, following a face-off with the strong man of Ibadan politics, the late Chief Lamidi Adedibu. Ladoja’s impeachment and his eventual restoration by the Supreme Court prevented him from seeking a second term. The PDP had already conducted its primaries and the ticket for the 2007 election had been given to Alao-Akala before his reinstatement. Alao-Akala won the election. He governed for four years. His attempt to secure a second term in 2011 also failed, like those of his predecessors.
