Senior Correspondent, JULIUS ALABI, writes on President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign in Akure, and his efforts at cementing the cracks in the state’s chapter of the PDP.
The current challenge in the country’s political system is not only the absence of issue-based politics or lack of ideological commitment by the existing political parties. It is also about lack of unity among members of the same political party. This is the situation in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ondo State chapter.
After much effort at forging reconciliation among its members, the party is yet to come over the crisis that has bedevilled it since the defection of Governor Olusegun Mimiko and his loyalists to its fold.
At the heart of the matter is the impasse between Mimiko, euphemistically referred to as New PDP Gbasibe, and Jimoh Ibrahim, known as Old PDP Konigba. Efforts by some prominent chieftains of the party at the national and state levels to reconcile the warring factions to ensure that the crisis does not get out of hand have not yielded any result.
The two political gladiators have hijacked the party and made it clear that they were now the sole determinants of the party’s candidates for the general elections holding this month. Even efforts to hold credible congresses and the conduct of the last primaries of the party were directly frustrated by the duo.
Aside the squabble between Mimiko and Ibrahim, there are strong indications of other banana peels against the party in the state. For instance, several cases are in court over which of the warring factions would present authentic candidates for the elections. Many see this as the greatest obstacle to the party.
Penultimate week, about 46 prominent PDP leaders and their supporters dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress (APC). Their defection was hinged on the fact that Nigeria and Ondo need a change and a new direction.
The defectors were mostly former political office holders, old PDP members and former Labour Party (LP) chieftains.
Apparently realising the danger confronting the party in the polls because of the crisis, President Goodluck Jonathan, at his presidential campaign in Ondo, last week, made what was seen as a last ditch effort to salvage the state’s chapter of the party from its internal contradictions. In this instance, he charged members to sit together and discuss the development of the state, rather than seeking self-interest.
Jonathan, who was cheered into the Democracy Park, venue of the presidential campaign rally of the PDP candidate in Ondo State, by a crowd of party supporters and loyalists, doused the tension among the factions who were already spoiling for war over the candidates for national and state assembly polls.
Though, he was not happy with the situation he met in the state, the president called on major actors in the crisis, including Mimiko, Ibrahim and Olusola Oke, to mend fences and come together as a united force against the opposition APC in the run-up to the elections.
His words: “Politics is about the people and not about self-ego or interest. We cannot shy away from the fact that we have issues in the party in Ondo. We’ll resolve it because if we don’t work together, the opposition will take advantage. Our dear leader and businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim, Governor Mimiko and our party’s former national legal adviser, Olusola Oke, must sit and discuss Ondo development.”
The president, who was accompanied to the rally by his running mate, Mohammed Sambo; PDP National Chairman, Adamu Muazu; the Director-General of Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation, Ahmadu Ali; National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladapo: former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi; Chief of Staff to the President, Dehinde Arogbofa; and Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Kingsley Kuku, identified Ondo as home of progressive leadership and front runner in human and civil rights struggle in the country.
He promised to work with the young people and create two million jobs yearly as well as encourage small and medium scale enterprises (SMSE), if elected for another term of four years.
“We’re depending on our young people to fast-track our development in sports and entertainment, both music and movie,” he said.
While promising to extend more developmental projects to the state, Jonathan disclosed that the federal government has equipped 35 secondary schools in the state with state-of-the-art e-library, adding that the newly-established Federal Polytechnic in Ile-Oluji will soon take off.
In his address, Mimiko assured the president of massive support from the state, stressing that Ondo, being the centre of progressive democracy in the South West, will vote for him because of his (Jonathan) good work and democratic tendencies.
“You are growing Nigeria’s economy and transforming every sector of the nation’s economy. For your good tendencies and democratic principles, Ondo people will vote for you, Mr. President,” the governor assured.
Ali thanked Ondo indigenes and residents for the warm reception accorded the president and his team in the state. He also acknowledged support and encouragement of leaders of the pan-Yoruba socio cultural group, Afenifere, especially Reuben Fasoranti and Olu Falae, as well as factional leaders of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Frederick Fasehun and Gani Adams, adding that with the support of the Afenifere and OPC, the South West is in total support of the president.
Mu’azu was, however, unable to hand over the party’s flags to candidates for the elections, as both factions presented candidates for all elective positions.
