Segun Agagu
The governorship election in Ondo state has continued to gather momentum and the gladiators, particularly the political parties and their members are not leaving anything to chances as they plan their strategies towards winning the election already slated for October 20 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The camps of the parties, the ruling Labour Party (LP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), have been full of activities as their members have been showing interest in contesting the primaries of their parties and eventually fly the flags of the parties later in the year in the election proper.
However, “the PDP, which has been enmeshed in crises and controversies, seems to be getting itself together to prepare for the election as the hitherto silent party secretariat is now bubbling with activities as members thronged the building for political activities. The development has made some of its members to show interest in the governorship election, while several others are also being rumoured to be nursing the ambition of occupying the Alagbaka Government House come February 24, 2013.
Already, some members have declared their interest in the race and started flooding the major streets in the state with their posters, while some were said to still be consulting on the desirability or otherwise of their ambition. Among those that have thrown their cap into the ring are a former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Victor Olabimtan, a former Head of Service in the state, Alaba Isijola and Moyosola Niran Oladunni. The members whose ambitions are still in the realm of speculation are the former Minsiter of Defence, Tokunbo Kayode SAN, business mogul, Jimoh Ibrahim and a former Military Administrator of Akwa Ibom state, Joseph Adeusi.
Tokunbo Kayode
One advantage Oladunni has is that he is from the northern senatorial district of the state, the area, where the opposition parties believe should produce the next governor. Apart from this, he is also from the Akoko North-East/North-West federal constituency, the constituency that has been crying of marginalisation in the production of governors from the northern senatorial district of the state.
The argument is that two formerly governors of the state, including Chief Adekunle Ajasin was from Owo/Ose federal constituency, while Chief Adebayo Adefarati hailed from Akoko southwest/Akoko South East federal constituency, leaving Akoko North-West/Akoko North-East federal constituency out. But Oladuni’s main undoing may be the fact that he is new in the party and may not be known to many of the members, particularly outside his local government area.
However speaking on his ambition, Oladunni said he was mentally prepared to govern the state, saying that he was ready to harness the resources of the state for the development of the people.
He said, “As a governor I am not going to work for the people but I will work with the people for the development of the state. The problem of Ondo State is how to bring together the resources for the good of the people”.
On being a new comer in the politics of the state, he said he worked with the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in 1999 and was even the pioneer zonal coordinator of the youth wing of the party in the South West before going into full private business in Lagos.
Another aspirant from the party that has come out to tell the people of his intention to run is Olabimtan. The former speaker is one of the aspirants whose antecedents in the field of politics speak volume of and could work positively for at the end of the day the former secondary school teacher turned politician was elected into the state House of Assembly in 2003 and was consequently elected the Speaker of the 26-member legislature. He headed the assembly till September 16, 2008 when he was impeached.
After the assumption of office of Dr. Olusegun Agagu as the governor in 2007, Olabimtan was appointed the chairman of the state Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), a post he held until the Court of Appeal terminated the government of Agagu on February 23, 2009.
Olabimtan, who is from Supare-Akoko in Akoko South-West Local Government Area, state was later appointed the Federal Commissioner representing South-West in the Federal Civil Service Commission, where he is presently serving.
In terms of record, Olabimtan has it and he is close to the powers that be in the Ondo State PDP. He is a committed member of the Agagu political family and still believes in the leadership of the former governor. He is also from the northern senatorial of the state, being an Akoko person.
However, he is from the same state constituency, the same local government area and the same federal constituency that produced Adefarati, a situation that may be an albatross to his ambition if the PDP aligns itself with the agitation of the people of Akoko North.
While declaring his intention, Olabimtan said, “I have made up my mind to run for the governorship of the state and this is because I believe I have what it requires to govern the state based on what we have been able to do in the last 10 years.”
He is also of the opinion that the rumblings in his party, notwithstanding, it remained the best alternative to the present administration in the state. He said the party would get itself back on track, while efforts would be made to bring back those that had defected to other political parties.
He lamented that the major problem facing the state is graduate unemployment and could only be solved through industrialisation of the state. He said if given the ticket of the party, he would revive the Olokola Free Trade Zone project as it remained the only way to get the youth of the state employed. According to him, the project would not only improve the economy of the state, it would also generate enourmous employment for the people.
Another aspirant of the party is Isijola, who is the immediate past (HOS) in the state. He is the first person to pick his form of intent from the party to show his seriousness in the race. The retired civil servant, who served for 32 years as a government worker, is from Owo in Ondo North senatorial district. Isijola, fondly called Kabiyesi by his admirers, was a trade unionist and eventually became the state chairman of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) for two terms. He was serving his second term in office when he was appointed a permanent secretary and had to relinquish the post. He served as the HOS for the six years that Agagu was the governor of the state and left in March 2009 upon the assumption of office of Dr Olusegun Mimiko as governor.
There is no doubt that the primary constituency of Isijola, the civil service, likes him and this can be an advantage for him. He is also said to be enjoying the support of some major stakeholders in the party.
Apart from this, the argument of the people of the Owo/Ose federal constituency is that the last time the governorship seat came to the northern senatorial district, it was the Akokos that had the slot and the people of Owo/Ose should be allowed to produce the next governor. If the party buys this idea, it may work in favour of Isijola. But this constituency has two local government areas, while the Akokos have four local government areas with more votes than Owo/Ose.
Isijola said, “I have the wherewithal, the pedigree and the exposure to steer the ship of administration of the state and to do it better than it is been done presently. “I want to go into a charter/ agreement with the people of Ondo state. The charter will contain certain milestones and benchmark with which the people can measure our performance and we are not going to be promising the people those things that are taking for granted in many developed world”
Isijola said he has five-point of action with which he would want his government to be benchmarked and they are; job creation, health, education, effective local government System and Public Service.
One thing that is however unique about the aspirants in the PDP is that almost all of them are from the northern senatorial district of the state, but Jimon Ibrahim, if he eventually joins the race, would be the only person from outside the district. He is from Igbotako in Okitipupa local Government Area.
This may be pointing to the fact that the party believes that the next governor of the state should be from the north. The party however has a daunting task of settling for a candidate with the pedigree and wherewithal that can lead it to victory in the election. This is because the ACN and the LP are closely watching events in the party and they are still preying on it for membership.
Presently, the party is plagued with internal wrangling, leading to the emergence of a faction that does not believe in the activities of the Ebenzer Alabi-led executive of the party. The faction, which is being led by a former Ambassador to Australia, Professor Olu Agbi has Dr Akin Olowookere as its state chairman and it has been in the news since the last congress of the party. The faction is of the opinion that Agagu wanted to continue to “hold the keys to the control room of the party”, saying that such a situation would not help party
Political observers are of the opinion that the PDP should put its house in order before it can talk of wining any election, a development that some major stakeholders within the party recognised and are seriously praying for a quick resolution.
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