Twelve political parties are fielding candidates for next year’s governorship election in Oyo State. But, only three of them pose a serious challenge to Governor Seyi Makinde, candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), who is seeking a second term mandate. Southwest Bureau Chief BISI OLADELE reports
Twelve political parties are fielding candidates for next year’s governorship election in Oyo State. There are three top candidates whose names and faces are well known for their ambition to occupy Agodi Government House. They are Governor Seyi Makinde of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Teslim Folarin of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Chief Adebayo Adelabu of the Accord Party.
Folarin and Adelabu have also contested for the seat before. While Folarin contested and lost in 2015, Adelabu contested and lost in 2019.
Makinde:
Governor Seyi Makinde stands the brightest chances in the election. Since he became governor in 2019, he has concentrated on the welfare of civil servants, paying salaries on the 25th of every month in a move to gain popularity among workers who were dissatisfied with the way they were treated under his predecessor when the economic recession took its toll on the government from 2014 to 2017.
With dwindling revenue hitting the government hard since January, the governor is battling with paucity of funds; a situation that has forced him to adjust his commitment to some category of workers.
In the last general elections, Makinde polled 515,621 votes to defeat his closest opponent Bayo Adelabu of the APC who scored 357,982 votes. He has also embarked on some infrastructural projects in Oke-Ogun and Ibadan and has also taken over sole ownership of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, to warm himself into the heart of voters.
But, under his leadership, local governments have been practically paralysed. They have not been allowed to operate in ways that will allow them to deliver grassroots development.
Violent activities of hoodlums under the cover of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) also resurfaced under Makinde, as they appear to have the backing of the government. The situation is worrisome to many residents.
Makinde’s administration is unable to provide running grants for public secondary schools on time since the cancellation of levies. Grants were provided from the levies during the late Abiola Ajimobi’s administration. The cancellation, which is said to have increased the enrolment rate, also created additional challenges as the state government has been unable to largely improve facilities in the schools.
But, the government recruited 5,000 teachers on merit, a move that shored up the personnel capacity in schools.
By and large, Makinde stands a good chance given the fact that opposition parties do not have strong candidates to challenge the incumbent.
Folarin:
A three-time senator, Folarin is flying the flag of the APC. His strength lies in the fact that his party is in power at the federal level. He also possesses a higher political experience and has associates in other political parties. His political sagacity may be a plus for him during the election.
But, his acceptability among the populace is doubtful. He is generally viewed more as a politician who enjoys power play than a true leader who knows what is best for the masses and is willing to get it achieved at all costs.
Besides, his emergence fractured the APC and compelled some of its members to migrate to the Accord Party with Adelabu. Some stayed back in the party but may be unwilling to support his candidature in the coming election.
Adelabu:
Adelabu is contesting the Oyo governorship election for a second time. He was the candidate of the APC during the last general elections. This time around he is flying the flag of the Accord Party. He left the APC out of frustration, after failing to secure the party’s ticket for the second time.
Adelabu is coming to his second election with a clean record. He served as the chairman of the Oyo State Security Trust Fund under Ajimobi, and facilitated a lot of funds to the organization.
As the then deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Adelabu also facilitated the infrastructural facilities used to start the First Technical University, Ibadan. He polled 357,892 votes in 2019, a performance that keeps boosting his morale to recontest.
But, the candidature of the banker-turned-politician does not appear to be generating the kind of momentum it generated during the last election. This could be attributed to the weak platform that is sponsoring his election this time around. The party, which was used by the legendary politician Sen. Rashidi Ladoja in the 2011 and 2015 elections, needs a stronger structure to win a governorship election in Oyo State. This is the major task before Adelabu as he contends with the candidates of the big two, the APC and the PDP.
The Accord Party, as things stand today, is a break-away faction of the APC. Winning new members across all zones, and sensitising supporters to project the party as the best and also mobilize them to vote accordingly is a huge task for the party.
Popoola:
Joshua Popoola is flying the flag of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). A relatively unknown politician who came to the limelight in the last two years, then as a PDP chieftain, Popoola is fast making a name for himself as a potential occupant of Agodi Government House.
A former executive director of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), the engineer-turned politician was an Oyo South senatorial aspirant before throwing his hat into the governorship ring. He is also an Ibadan indigene. He joined hands with many other aggrieved PDP members to move to the NNPP, thereby reducing the strength of the ruling party.
Popoola believes the NNPP is strong enough to give him victory during the election. He said the party is fielding candidates in all positions of the National Assembly and state assembly to confirm its acceptability in the state.
However, history has proved that only strong major political parties win governorship elections in Oyo State. Ladoja’s attempt to use Accord failed twice in spite of his popularity. The late Adebayo Alao-Akala’s attempt to use the Labour Party (LP) and the Action Democratic Party (ADP) also failed in spite of being a former governor with a good number of followers across the state. Seyi Makinde also failed in 2015 when he contested on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
But, now that votes truly count, and given the fact that odds can change in the months preceding the election, it may be difficult to judge the future solely with the experience of the past.