Head, News Desk, VICTOR EBIMOMI, takes a look at the August 9 Osun governorship election, arguing that the outcome could be a defining factor between PDP and APC over the control of South West politics
Prof Attahiru Jega, INEC chairman.
Since the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State where the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) trounced the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), focus has shifted to the neighbouring Osun State. The electorate will, on August 9, go to the poll to choose their next governor. The contest is more or less a straight encounter between Governor Rauf Aregbesola of APC and Senator Iyiola Omisore of PDP.
Since the duo got the endorsement of their parties to fly their flags and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s green light on campaigns, the politics of the state has been on a high note. Omisore, who was deputy governor of the state between 1999 and 2003, could be said to have hit the ground running right from day one, journeying across all parts of the state to sell his candidacy.
In similar stead, Aregbesola is not allowing the incumbency factor run into his head; rather, he is sailing fiercely and introducing different initiatives to entice the electorate.
However, beyond attempts by the two gladiators to endear themselves to the electorate, there have been intense verbal outbursts and allegations of conspiracy to rig against one another.
What seemed the first salvo in the war of words was the argument for the removal of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Ambassador Rufus Akeju. PDP had declared that the REC could not conduct a free and fair election in the state and therefore wanted him to go. The PDP premised its argument on allegation that Akeju was a former employee of a national leader of APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, hence would have sentiment for the party.
But the APC faulted the argument, saying the PDP resorted to blackmail because it was finding it difficult to buy the REC to do its bidding.
What could be described as a further boost to the PDP position happened early in the month when Akeju was replaced with Olusegun Agbaje.
In a terse statement by Kayode Idowu, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, the former REC was said to have just proceeded on leave. “Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Ambassador Rufus Akeju, has been requested to proceed on leave of absence – for his own safety and as his contribution to ensuring the credibility of the state governorship election scheduled for August 9, 2014.”
The REC, the statement continued, was requested by the commission to step aside against the backdrop of intense partisan acrimony over his person and has not been indicted for any offence.
With Agbaje in the saddle, the APC has been crying foul, alleging that INEC and PDP have conspired to rig the election.
On Sunday, July 3, the party raised alarm claiming that the INEC was executing a “sinister plan by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to manipulate the electoral process ahead of the August 9 governorship election”.
In a statement by its Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Kunle Oyatomi, APC alleged that thousands of its supporters in the 30 local government areas of the state were being disenfranchised by INEC in preventing them from obtaining their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) without which they will not be allowed to vote.
It added that INEC had introduced a curious formula of dispensing the PVCs by asking voters with temporary cards what party they belonged to before the permanent voter cards were given.
“In the process, those who have identified themselves as APC supporters have been told that their PVCs are not ready and INEC could not tell these prospective voters when they would be ready. This is part of what the PDP wants and this is why it has removed the former Osun Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Rufus Akeju,” the party had alleged.
INEC has, however, faulted the allegation, describing it as false, just as it warned against “unnecessary heating up of the electoral process through baseless allegations”.
But political analysts have expressed serious concern over the controversies trailing who presides over the election if the two parties really have nothing to hide. They maintained that if they are sure they would play by the rule of the game, there would have been no need for the unnecessary dispute over who presides over the conduct of the election.
Curiously, the parties appear to have decided to regale the voters more with diatribes than presentation of programmes and manifestoes. While the APC claims that militarisation of Ekiti on election day was what gave PDP an edge, it vowed that a repeat of the action in Osun would be vehemently resisted. PDP has however retorted, accusing APC of being already jittery. The party insisted that the presence of security men was better than allowing thugs and street urchins have their way.
It advised the APC to start campaigning well, rather than embarking on “political blackmail and empty propaganda in the media”.
While the parties are trying to outdo each other, an ugly dimension is gradually crippling into the politicking, with the resurgence of pockets of violence, the hotbed of which seems to be Ife, the stronghold of Omisore. Aregbesola is from Ilesha.
Analysts believe that no matter the antics and political stunts being pulled by the two candidates, several critical factors will come to play on the voting day.
Both parties are already boasting of victory ahead of the election, claiming some outstanding attributes that the victory would be anchored on.
For instance, Semiu Okanlawon, a media aide to Aregbesola, advertised the strong point of his principal on the overwhelming support he has been getting from the populace.
Speaking to TheNiche on Tuesday in the midst of a rally in Ilesha, he stated that the turnout was a reflection of the acceptance of Aregbesola.
The huge attendance, he said, had been the trend in Aregbesola’s campaign which comes up every Tuesday, stressing that “he has worked enough to win”. He added that the crowd at the rally in Ede a week earlier was more than the Ilesha outing.
PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, within the same time, stressed that it was not resting on its oars, but was working hard to ensure victory.
The statement assured that those factors, which gave the party victory in the June 21 election in Ekiti, including “a popular candidate with grassroots appeal, strong and well accepted message as well as the humble and effective leadership of its leader, President Goodluck Jonathan, are still at play.”
But any way the election goes, analysts believe that it will definitely serve as the real litmus test for the APC and PDP strength in the South West region and perhaps a precursor to what to expect in 2015.