BISI OLADELE examines the
struggle for the Agodi Government House, Ibadan and the chances of
gladiators in the governorship race.
Preparations for the
governorship election in Oyo State started two years ago, barely 18
months into the current tenure. It was propelled by the routing of two
former governors – Rashidi Ladoja and Adebayo Alao-Akala – by Governor
Abiola Ajimobi in the keenly contested election in 2011. It compelled
the key figures and their supporters to return to the drawing board, to
lay the foundation for their success in this year’s contest. But, it has
not been rosy for the three of contestants, as some of their followers
have defected to other parties, seeking where their bread would be
buttered. Some even left for Labour Party (LP), where they are
regrouping to give the three leading figures a fight in the coming
election.
Yet, the All Progressives Congress
(APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Accord Party remain
the leading parties, with the three figures listed above calling the
shots.
Political activities however reached a highpoint recently, when the three major parties picked their governorship candidates.
APC
Even for the ruling APC, it was a
keenly contested primary. Some courageous politicians picked the
governorship forms to join Ajimobi in the battle for the party’s ticket.
They are a son of the late former governor Lam Adesina, Dr Ayo Adesina
and Mr. Adebayo Shittu, a lawyer.
While Adesina is a United Kingdom-based
professional, Shittu is based in Ibadan. Adesina is unknown in Oyo State
politics, unlike his late father. He is also not known to have built
any strong political structure that could have aided his emergence at
the governorship primary.
Shittu has been a politician since the
Second Republic. He was a member of the old Oyo State House of Assembly,
representing Saki, his home town. He was also a commissioner under
Ladoja between 2003 and 2007.
He contested the governorship election
under the platform of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC)
in 2011. But, he lost to Ajimobi. His party, the CPC, is one of the
three major opposition parties that metamorphosed into the APC.
The odds that worked against Shittu’s
emergence as the APC candidate were two-fold. One, he hails from
Oke-Ogun and his political structure was not strong enough to secure the
governorship ticket. Most of the political parties were bent on
fielding an Ibadan indigene for the obvious population advantage of the
city.
Ajimobi was able to grab the ticket
because the inbency factor worked in his favour. Besides, he is an
exprienced politician. He served as a Senator on the platform of the
Alliance for Democracy (AD) between 2003 and 2007. He was also the
governorship candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in 2007.
Accord
There was no contest for the
governorship ticket in the Accord Party because only the leader of the
party, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, is the sole governorship candidate. No
other member of the party indicated interest in the ticket.
PDP
It was the opposition PDP that
witnessed the hottest contest for the governorship ticket. About 11
aspirants t6ook part in the primary. They are: Adebayo Alao-Akala,
Hazeem Gbolarumi, Isaac Babalola, Taoheed Adedoja, Soji Adejumo, Ayo
Adeseun and Femi Babalola. Others are Kehinde Olaosebikan, Teslim
Folarin, Oluseyi Makinde and Azeez Adeduntan.
A former Minister of Power, Elder Wole
Oyelese, withdrew from the race at a point, to pave the way for him in
the Oyo Central Senatorial ticket.
However, the major contenders were just three: Alao-Akala, Folarin and Makinde.
Alao-Akala
The immediate former governor of the
state, Alao-Akala still commands huge following within the party across
the state. Except in Oyo zone where his fortune has plummeted since
2011, the Ogbomoso-born politician still sustains good following in his
town, Oke-Ogun and a sizeable portion in Ibadan. He also possesses the
financial capacity to prosecute the governorship race with candidates of
other parties.
But, in spite of the above credentials,
he did not get the ticket. At least two odds against him. One, he is not
an Ibadan indigene. This factor is strong for winning the governorship
election this time around. It was known well in adavance that two Ibadan
men, Ajimobi and Ladoja, were likely to fly the flags of their parties.
The PDP chose to field an Ibadan indigence in order to benefit from the
population advantage. For instance, the number of voters from Ibadan
South West and Ibadan North local governments alone is higher that those
of the five local governments in Ogbomoso. Two, having lost the
election once, largely due to credibility factor, the party decided to
look elsewhere for a more credible candidate to give Ajimobi and Ladoja a
good fight.
Alao-Akala defected to the Labour Party
following his failure secure the PDP ticket. He is sure to pick up the
LP governorship ticket, to realise his ambition of taking another shot
at the governorship this time around.
Folarin
The former Senate Leader eventually
triumphed in the primary and emerged the standard bearer of the party
in the state. He is one aspirant believed to be favoured by the
Presidency. He controls the party’s state executive and is widely
connected in Abuja.
Though a two-time senator, Folarin’s
popularity is believed not to be strong enough to beat Ladoja and
Ajimobi in the governorship race.
Oluseyi Makinde
A younger genaration of politician,
Makinde began the race to Agodi Government House as early as 2012. He
had a formidable structure in the state, particularly in Ibadan, his
place of birth.
But, in spite of his youthfulness and his structure, the party delegates overlooked him and handed over the ticket to Folarin.