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How Osun APC Shut Door On PDP

By Tunji Omofoye, Osogbo
19 April 2015   |   8:44 am
POLITICS in Osun State appears to have become a one-way traffic, more so, since the emergence of the current governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), on the political turf of the state about four years ago. Apart from being a deft politician, Aregbesola seems to have firm control on the electorate’s voting pattern each time there is an election in the state.

osunPOLITICS in Osun State appears to have become a one-way traffic, more so, since the emergence of the current governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), on the political turf of the state about four years ago. Apart from being a deft politician, Aregbesola seems to have firm control on the electorate’s voting pattern each time there is an election in the state.

The overwhelming success recorded by his party in the 2011 general elections, which was also repeated in the August 9, 2014 governorship election are milestones that have boosted his political image and placed him in better stead to control the state’s political machinery.

Aregbesola’s manouvering succeeded in depleting the ranks of notable PDP leaders, drawing them to his side, and fortifying the APC for future contest. This brilliant move, which he describes as political re-engineering, appears to have paid off. The few leaders that were left in the PDP camp, who could upturn the cart, appeared too weak to mount serious opposition to the emergence of a new political bloc in Osun.

The governor, apparently overwhelmed by successful incursion into the opponents’ camp, once said that his doggedness had drawn to his party credible members of the opposition and those who were dictating the political pace in the state before his arrival in Osun politics.

This statement has bearing on the outcome of the just concluded Presidential/National Assembly and House of Assembly elections in the state. When the whistle for the 2015 general elections was blown, Ogbeni did not leave anyone in doubt as to what he and his party were capable of doing. He ensured he wielded absolute control over who collected the party’s ticket without allowing the decision to cause much damage to the APC’s political hegemony. Aregbesola might have been confident that irrespective of who got the ticket, his influence and love by the people would do the magic and bring victory in any political contest.

Having scaled the hurdle of alleged imposition, which attracted protest by disenchanted party members, who also accused the leadership of “extortion”, as a result of the high nomination fee charged, Aregbesola engaged in reconciliatory moves to placate party members. Despite the threat of court action to compel the State Working Committee (SWC) to refund deposits paid for nomination forms by those who lost out during the party’s ‘primary’, Aregbesola still succeeded in dousing the tension. This feat was, however, not attained until after series of reconciliatory efforts and protracted nocturnal meetings to ensure the political train was not derailed.

The thinking in the opposition camp was that imposition of candidates in the last elections by APC’s leadership might cause great disaffection, trigger massive defection and destroy the political adhesive that held the party together. But the reverse was the case. APC remained intact, while losers in the ‘primaries’ forgot the pains of ticket denial. For example, only about 14 old members in the state House of Assembly were given the party’s ticket out of the 26 members available, despite protest against such decision. It is remarkable that of the 14 anointed candidates, only one lost in the House of Assembly election.

Reasons for the easy ride of Aregbesola’s party at elections since he came on board in Osun are not far-fetched. A school of thought believes the governor is able to have his way due to his huge influence and infrastructural track records. Although road construction and modern school projects embarked upon have suffered setback in recent time due to alleged paucity of funds, many people, particularly APC supporters in the state, still believe the governor has demonstrated seriousness, hence, the need to support him and allow him finish what he started.

The opposition holds a different view. To them, APC projects and policies are a disaster, given alleged high level of poverty, hunger, debt profile, and inability to pay workers’ salaries, pensions and gratuities. They reason that it is not sufficient for an administration that prides itself as people-oriented to engage in road construction without prioritizing the social wellbeing of citizens struggling to survive. An opposition leader noted that rolling out bulldozers and other construction equipment might not have much meaning to the average Osun citizen unless the governor and his party complement this by putting food on people’s table. They also accused the governor and his supporters of engaging in anti-democratic tendencies by using state machinery to stifle opposition. They cited Ilase in Obokun Local Government Area, alleging the state governor and party chieftains sponsored violence to prevent supporters of the main opposition party from coming out for accreditation and voting during the House of Assembly poll. A particular polling unit in Ilase ward 4, which has a large number of voters, was said to be a deciding factor in who won election in Obokun council. There were complaints by the opposition that APC caused crisis in the area in order to reduce the voting strength in its favour.

In Ife axis, where the opposition is also known to be strong, due to the influence of Senator Iyiola Omisore, and where the PDP won two of the four existing seats in the area, the APC was alleged to be the brain behind the crisis, which erupted in the area, a day before and after the election. The Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy of APC, Kunle Oyatomi, however denied the party’s involvement. Oyatomi said APC is peace loving and has respect for the rule of law. He alleged it was rather the opposition that resorted to violence in some parts of the state after they discovered downturn in their political fortune.

The unending political bickering within the PDP might have succeeded in depleting its rank, placing it on a weak platform to compete effectively and win, as it used to do in the recent past. Its poor performance might also be attributed to the tsunamic defection, which hit the party. For instance, prominent party chieftains capable of swinging the political pendulum to PDP’s side in the last House of Assembly contest defected and joined other parties. They included the first executive governor in the state, Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke who comes from Osun West Senatorial District; former governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola from Osun Central; Elder Peter Babalola and the former Secretary to the State Government and one-time party chairman, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade.

It was only in Osun East Senatorial District that key leaders were left to hold the forte for the party in Ife-Ijesa zone. These notable leaders included Senator Iyiola Omisore, former Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada, former Minister of Transport and member PDP Board of Trustees, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, Chief Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi, and others.

Furthermore, the resounding victory recorded by the APC in the presidential and National Assembly elections across the country also caused great discouragement among PDP members in the state. Added to this was the loss suffered by the party in last year’s governorship election and the attendant outcome of the petition by its governorship candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, at the Election Petitions Tribunal and the Appeal Court, sitting in Akure, Ondo state capital.

During the electioneering campaigns for the Assembly poll, APC leaders used the Buhari/Osinbajo feat not only to canvass votes but also to tell the opposition that that they had been sent on a long vacation from the political scene. This development might have aided PDP’s poor showing during the Assembly election.

Related to the above is the seeming lack of commitment to the cause of the party by some of its leaders. The PDP appeared so complacent to check the rampaging influence of the ruling APC and its governor who were determined to win all the available 26 seats in the Assembly. A chieftain of PDP, Chief Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi, lamented the lackadaisical attitude among his men. He said the party lacked visionary and committed leaders capable of leading it to victory in any serious election. Fadahunsi observed a sharp difference in terms of commitment between the APC and PDP, saying that while members of the former showed respect for party supremacy, the latter exhibited gross indiscipline and unwillingness to commit personal resources to the cause of the party in order to enhance its development.

The lack of credibility suffered by the PDP across the country, which resulted in defection of its leaders including serving governors to the APC, might also have bolstered APC’s success.

The result of the National Assembly and the House of Assembly elections in the state might have been different had people not voted along party lines. PDP seemed to have suffered serious image problem on account of aggressive negative media campaign against the party and some of its leaders in the state. Again, allegation of poor leadership leveled against the party at the national level by the then opposition might also have rubbed off on its poor outing.

Political pundits, however, have predicted that the APC could soon suffer the fate that befell the PDP. This argument is hinged on the party’s ‘strange political bedfellows’ and diverse personal interests capable of causing upheaval among the leadership.

Whether predictions of a possible implosion would happen in the APC is a critical question awaiting answer from the party’s leadership.

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