The national leadership of the Labour Party (LP) yesterday warned members, particularly those seeking elective offices, to be wary of the planned national convention of the LP slated for this Friday in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
The party alleged that the convention is being sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to collapse LP nationwide and railroad members into its (PDP’s) fold with the connivance of Governor Olusegun Mimiko.
TheChairman of the Ogun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bayo Dayo, has urged Labour Party(LP) members to join the PDP.
Dayo spoke at a rally in Ijebu-Igbo, where he received over 250 defectors from the Accord Party(AP) and the All Progressives Congress(APC).
He said the APC leader, Governor Ibikunle Amosun and the LP leader, former Governor Gbenga Daniel, cannot lead the state to the promised land.
Dayo urged the defectors, including the LP Chairman in Ijebu East Local Government, Mr Ganiyu Ishola, to work for the success of the PDP in Ijebu East Senatorial District.
He said Daniel has been dropping the name of President Goodluck Jonathan, thereby creating the impression that they can be relevant through the back door.
Dayo described the LP as a sinking ship, urging the members to desert it before it is too late.
PDP chieftain Dapo Abiodun, who attended the rally, said he was in Ijebu-Igbo to hold consultation the party leader and financier in the Southwest, Prince Buruji Kashamu, stressing he would make the outcome of the consultation known to party supporters soon.
Hon. Isaac Kekemeke, a lawyer, is the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) in Ondo State. In this interview with DAMISI OJO, in Akure, the state capital, former Secretary to the Government (SSG) spoke on the party’s chances in next year’s elections.
How did you emerge as the APC chairman in Ondo State?
It was a keen contest. I had 499 votes; my closest rival had 497, followed by an aspirant with 136 and another had 10. I have received delegations from almost all the local government areas with some other interest groups who pledged their support. Upon receiving these delegations, we gave them our vision and mission and told them that the congresses were over. We are now aiming at changing our status from an opposition party to a party in power; from a party outside of government to a party in government; from the street of Akure to Alagbaka Government House; from the streets of various local government headquaters to their secretariats and our new vision is to build electorally prosperous APC in the state.
Now that you are the chairman, how would you sell your party to the people?
I think there is a number of reasons why people should vote for us. First is that our party has a manifesto. The manifesto is people-centered; the manifesto is about impacting on the lives of the ordinary Nigerian. The manifesto is about social welfare. The manifesto is about heath. The manifesto is about education. The manifesto is about the development of infrastructure. The manifesto is about providing security. The manifesto is about power so that individuals can thrive. In fact, it is about the fact that government exists only for the people. And that’s what APC governors do all over the country, building roads, providing security, quality education, health services, caring for the elderly, providing jobs. This is all our party is about.
The second reason is that I do not think that any non-partisan Nigerian will want our country to run the way it is running for another four years.So, for anybody who is not a partisan person, for anybody who is not taking immediate benefit from this government, I think it is almost unreasonable to say we should have another four years of what is happening in our country today. That is a compelling reason why I think people should vote for our party. At least, let’s have change. Let’s move on. The PDP has done its best for almost 15 years. Let them get out.
Many people believe the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN )performed woefully in the last governorship election in Ondo State due to some reasons. What is your plan ahead of next year’s and 2016 elections?
The ACN lost because it didn’t have structures here and that they started late, and maybe, a number of other factors. Don’t forget the APC has new people from the PDP, new people from the Labour Party and new people from the legacy parties. It is now a mega party. What we will do differently is that we have started to build our structures. We will mobilise the people. We will run an organised campaign. We will be transparent with forms. And of course, the process of picking our flag bearer will be decided according to the constitution and the guideline of the party. We are going to do a number of things differently. We have many more people now; we have much more commitment than before.
How can you rate APC governors, particularly in the Southwest? Do they deserve second term?
The philosophy of our party is the well-being of the people. You can almost be sure that, rather than becoming non-functional, I know they will gear up and want to work hard. I think there is an unsaid desire to leave a legacy for posterity and for generations to come. That’s the difference between those who served under the APC and those who served under the PDP who are just about power and power alone.Our governors are performing everywhere apart from the Southwest and they deserve second term.
What are your chances of winning elections in Ondo State?
Our chances are high. Our party has become a destination of choice for many people in other political parties, for many people in the government, both at the state and the federal. I receive calls. I hold meetings almost every other day with people in those parties, expressing their desire to join and team up with us. Here in Ondo State, the Labour Party is dead. Our Iroko leaves have continued to wither because there is no more water to supply the Iroko tree. It’s just a matter of time to get him off there. The administration in the state is already deteriorated. The PDP is in coma. The only living party is the APC. So, people are coming and we are trying to put our house in order. We will take over government. We will get united. We will expand and we will win.
I am appealing to the citizenry in the state to keep faith with the APC for the betterment of the people and the country. We are embarking on mobilisation tour to all the 18 local government areas to sensitise people on the need to embrace the progressive party that has a people-oriented programmes.
THE Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) is ready to accept progressives from Labour Party (LP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following the planned defection of Governor Olusegun Mimiko.
APC said as Mimiko prepares to join the PDP from LP, serving commissioners, House of Assembly and National Assembly members have opened talks with it.
With the development, the party Chairman, Isaac Kekemeke, said the “long time confusion” over the identity of true progressive politicians has now ended.
The party chieftain, who spoke in Akure, the state capital, at a meeting with party leaders, described the move as a welcome development.
He stressed that the party members should be ready to harvest politicians from LP and PDP.
“Before now, there was confusion among the people as to who is a true progressive as LP usually laid claim to being a progressive political party,” Kekemeke said.
The former Secretary to the State Government (SSG) said the future of APC, which was bleak as a result of the confusion between LP and APC, has brighten with the planned move by Mimiko to the “conservative and reactionary’s fold.”
He said: “By that singular act, which is divinely orchestrated, the confusion created in the minds of the people has been removed. The battle line is clearly drawn, with the progressive on one hand and the pseudo-progressive, pretenders and reactionaries on the other hand.
“The line is drawn between those who want the Southwest and the Yorubaland to suffer marginalisation and those who insist that the Southwest cannot play the second fiddle in the politics of Nigeria.
“It is drawn between those who said that the present unacceptable affairs of this country are the best that ever happened and therefore, should be continued, and those who insist there should be change for the better.”
Lawyer Kekemeke said since the dividing line has become clear, all true progressives, both in PDP and LP, have indicated their intention to take side with the state’s “only truly progressive platform.”
The legal practitioner said: “A number of them have vowed that they will refuse to be infected by the political Ebola. I think the people of this state are wiser and can no longer be deceived by this survivalist action.
“We are ready and prepared as a party to welcome all true progressives into our party with an assurance that our party is all inclusive and will provide equal and fair access to its platform by all for the realisation of their political aspirations.”
Ondo State Chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Labour Party (LP)-led state government of playing politics with the destiny and the development of people of Odigbo Local Government Area.
APC, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Adesanya, urged the House of Assembly’s Speaker, Princess Jumoke Akindele, to respect the constitution by declaring the seat of the late speaker, Samuel Adesina, vacant.
Abayomi said: “There are complaints, petitions and protests as to why the Speaker and the House of Assembly refused to notify the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the vacancy existing in Odigbo Constituency ll, to facilitate the conduct of the bye-election.
The party noted that since the demise of the late Adesina, the government has not deemed it fit to fulfill its constitutional responsibility by declaring the seat vacant to avail the people an opportunity to have a replacement.
The statement noted that the LP-led administration was afraid of losing the seat to the APC, because council area is a stronghold of the party.
It said the state government is applying delay tactics to ensure that the election did not hold before the 2015 general elections.
But the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Kunle Olujuyigbe, said the Assembly had concluded all arrangements to fill the vacant seat.
Olujiyigbe said: “As far as the House of Assembly is concern, we have done what we are expected to do about the vacant seat and we have duly notified INEC. I think at the appropriate time, INEC will call for stakeholders’ meeting and tell us the next line of action”.
The Chairman of the Ogun State chapter of the Labour Party(LP), Bode Simeon, has resigned, alleging “harassment, intimidation and threat” to his life by former Governor Gbenga Daniel.
Daniel’s media aide, Mr Ayo Giwa, did not comment on the allegation when The Nation called him yesterday.
In the resignation letter dated July 26, and addressed to the National Chairman of the party, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, someone also accused a federal lawmaker from Ondo State of threatening his life.
The letter reads: “You will also recall that since the coming of Otunba Gbenga Daniel in to the party, we have not known any peace. He colluded with the National Secretariat using financial inducements to destroy Ogun LP. My life has been a subject of harassment, threats and intimidation.
“Regarding the on-going suits in Lagos; I did it to affirm my belief in the rule of law, and even after the order was made, you disobeyed it and continue to promote illegality in Ogun state. But because of the persistent threat by Otunba Gbenga Daniel (OGD), Hon. Akinlaja to my life to drop the suit.
“You threatened to deal with me on many occasions, I have got threats from Otunba Gbenga Daniel to withdraw from the case or risk bad things happening to my life. I do not want to waste my life in the course of running the party and I put the blame at you, my National Chairman for your inconsistency.
“In view of this confusion to my life by Gbenga Daniel through Otunba Olumide Osunsina, I accept responsibilities and events that led to the current crisis in Ogun Labour Party.”
•’Daniel can’t speak for us’
The second term ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan has deepened the crisis in the Ogun State chapter of the Labour Party (LP).
A faction of the party, led by Mr Bode Simeon, said yesterday that former Governor Gbenga Daniel cannot speak for it.
In a statement, the party said: “Daniel is neither a party executive member in the state nor a national leader and as such, he is unqualified to arrange or midwife an alliance between LP and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) regarding 2015 general elections.”
The faction said the issue of forming any alliance with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to work for President Goodluck Jonathan could only be taken by Governor Olusegun Mimiko and the National Chairman, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu.
Simeon said: “The issues of support for the 2nd term ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 remain the prerogative of the national political head and the national leadership of labour party.
“Otunba Gbenga Daniel neither has the authorisation of the national leadership nor mine as the chairman, before making the misguided statements.
He is not qualified to speak, arrange, midwife, represent or make pronouncement on issues that are the sacrosanct duties of the national leadership of labour party.
“It is not only criminal but absurd for anyone to parade themselves as officers of Ogun Labour Party. Therefore, the only executive recognised by the constitution of labour party and the national leadership is Comrade Bode Simeon lead executives.
“Since there is still a subsisting court injunction that the status quo be maintained in the dispute that arose over the Labour Party structure, any one parading himself or herself as officers of Ogun Labour Party is an attempt to subvert the constitution of Nigeria.”
The Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Osun State, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade, has warned voters to be wary of politicians, who are distributing rice.
Akinbade said the trend was a cheap way of manipulating the people’s mind, warning that if the voters fall for their “Greek gift,” they could be put in another four agonising years.
The LP candidate, in a statement by his media aide, Mr. Kayode Oladeji, described the development as an insult on the psyche of well-meaning people.
“Were they distributing these rice and kerosene before? It is nothing but a tactical ploy by these politicians to mortgage the future of the public,” he said.
He argued that if the politicians had good intentions and programmes for the people, they would not be distributing the rice.
“Politicians engaging in such an act are only afraid of their shadows. They know too well that with somebody like me in the race, the tide will be in my favour. I have God and the people; so rice or no rice, I will win by the grace of the people and the valued support of our people.”
Akinbade said the deployment of heavy security in the August 9 polls would allow for a peaceful conduct of the exercise.
Besides, he urged the people not to be swayed by the antics of his opponents, particularly the PDP, about their rumoured alliance, insisting that he would never enter into any alliance with the party or its candidate.
According to his media aide, Akinbade spoke at Ile-Ogbo, Ayedire Local Government area, while addressing the people during his campaign tour.
Former Ogun State Governor Gbenga Daniel yesterday said that the Labour Party (LP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will work together to actualise the second term ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan in the next year’s election.
Daniel, an LP chieftain, explained that the President has performed, adding that the two parties will drum support for his continuity in office.
The President has not unfolded his second term ambition. But, some individuals and groups have asked him to declare his interest, assuring him of support.
Daniel, who spoke with reporters in Lagos, said power shift is also a priority in Ogun State.
However, a section of the party has objected to Daniel’s support for the President from outside, urging him to come back to the PDP, which he deserted during the 2011 elections.
Daniel said: “We need a better government in Ogun. If that means working with President Jonathan, PDP and LP, it does not matter. My support for President Jonathan is not surprising. I led his campaign in the Southwest in 2011.
“I am working for him becausse I have looked at the terrain. For now, within the framework of contemporary challenges, he is better supported to have a second term. If there is another reason I should not support him, let them say it and we debate it.”
The former governor added: “We need to maintain the equillibrum. Let President Jonathan have a second term and we will work for who will succeed him later. This country will not make progress, until we appreciate our responsibilities in governance. There is the need for consistency.”
Daniel reflected on his defection from the PDP to the LP, saying that it was the best option at the time. He described the LP as a child of circumstances, stressing that it became the abode of PDP chieftains who were left in the cold, ahead of the 2011 polls.
He stressed: “God helped me to build the PDP in Ogun State. My movement to other parties was not due to personal ambition. 40 PDP members, who wanted to contest elections as governor, deputy governor, and National Asembly and House of Assembly contenders, were left in the cold.
“They said I should come and take the senatorial ticket. I said no. I could not abandon them. They had to go to the PPN. I stayed in the PDP. Later, I started the reconciliation in the PDP.”
Daniel spoke on his ordeals in the hands of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), warning that a dangerous precedent has been established. The former governor blamed the media for browing issues out of proportion, adding that reporters have not been fair to him. He said, henceforth, successive administrations may face the same fire, after bowing out of office.
He added: “There is a precedent in Ogun State. Therefore, if I have been arraigned in the court, successive governors will be arraigned. Some day, the cost of those roads will be explained.”
Daniel alleged that there is capital flight in Ogun State because contractors are hired from outside by Governor Ibikunle Amosun.
He said his successor had embarked on road expansion, instead of constructing new roads.
Describing Amosun as a bold and courageous politician, Daniel said that “he does not apply that in the right direction”.
He added: “he has expanded roads than I did, but the cost is another matter.”
Daniel refuted the allegation of violence, saying that he is a man of peace.
The National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Dan Nwanyawu, has said the party was set to take over Osun State.
Speaking at the weekend at the launch of the campaign of the LP governorship candidate, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade, at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo, he said there was need for a change of government because the All Progressives Congress (APC) government led by Governor Rauf Aregbesola had not met the people’s aspirations.
Nwanyawu promised that the LP would reduce tuition fees in tertiary institutions and offer quality education at all levels if voted into power on August 9.
He said the party’s programmes and policies, which he noted the Ondo State people are enjoying, will be replicated in Osun State when the LP takes over.
Nwanyawu stressed the need for the people to embrace the LP, saying it is the only party with the interest of the masses at heart.
Akinbade promised to implement the party’s cardinal programmes if voted into power.