Special Correspondent, JULIUS ALABI, looks at the agenda and attempts at reinvigorating Labour Party in Ondo State.
The recent defection of some Ondo State chieftains of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) may have informed Governor Olusegun Mimiko of the need to reach out to the aggrieved Labour Party (LP) members who had joined other parties when he moved to the PDP. Some, incidentally, have remained in LP, even with Mimiko’s exit.
While the governor reaches out to his erstwhile political likeminds, it is not clear if he is also moving back to LP or wants to remain in PDP. What is clear is that the original members of LP have started regrouping, apparently in a bid to ensure that the governor remains a key factor in the 2016 governorship contest in the state. The governor is, however, said to be concerned about working towards winning next year’s governorship election for his preferred candidate.
TheNiche learnt that on account of the lessons of last general elections in the country, close associates of the governor have been harping on the need for early start in the battle for the soul of the state, to avoid being caught unawares in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
Curiously, the battle seems to be between the old PDP, new PDP and LP on one hand and APC on the other.
Mimiko is particularly said to be bothered about the fate of his political profile if APC takes over the state from him at the poll.
Keen observers of the intriguing political developments in the state are agreed on this. They argue, for instance, that if what happened in the general elections in the state would serve as a guide, Mimiko needs to work harder to avoid losing out in 2016. Apart from being an oil-producing state, Ondo is among the states APC has not hidden its desire for.
What may serve as a pointer to the governor’s strategic move was when the Chairman of Ondo State Radiovision Corporation (OSRC), Kayode Ajulo, his confidant, was left behind in LP and eventually elected as the party’s national secretary at the 4th national convention held in Akure, the state capital.
At the convention also, the former national secretary of the party, Abdulkadir Salam, was unanimously elected as the new national chairman. Salam took over from Dan Nwanyanwu who stepped down recently after spending 10 years in office.
TheNiche gathered from highly reliable sources that the emergence of Ajulo as the party’s national secretary had the imprints of Mimiko who, it is alleged, wants to remain the dominant factor in the state’s politics.
The governor’s alleged role in the planting of Ajulo in the strategic position may not be a surprise to many, given the suspicion against him by old members of PDP, who see his coming to the party as an attempt to take over the party. Having a rejuvenated LP, therefore, is, to the governor, a strategic fall back option in the event of being forced out of PDP. It would also serve as instrument of blackmail to hawkish PDP chieftains to pander to him, knowing that he can walk out on the party if pushed too hard. An enhanced LP can also provide the needed electoral support to the governor, even if he remains with the PDP.
Besides, Mimiko may have seen a subtle or symbolic fraternity with LP as a way of reintegrating himself to the Ondo electorate that felt betrayed when he switched to PDP. His government gained public sympathy when he was in LP – a platform residents said was instrumental in some measure to the developments and achievements he made in his term in office. He has ever since been under attacks from different quarters for abandoning the organisation that he nurtured to a winning party in the state.
What perhaps seemed the reflection of the people’s angst against the governor was the outcome of the presidential and the National Assembly elections in which APC had upper hand. Incidentally, Mimiko had earlier boasted that he would deliver one million votes from Ondo to President Goodluck Jonathan.
The poor outing by PDP, it was learnt, came about when the former deputy governor, Ali Olanusi, defected to APC few days to the election. Olanusi’s action, it was said, shocked the governor gravely. To worsen matters for Mimiko, prominent members of old PDP, including Femi Agagu, Olusola Oke, joined the train of defectors to APC.
Majority of the defectors, curiously, are from Ondo South Senatorial District, believed to be the stronghold of PDP in the state. They hinged their defection on the fact that they wanted the wind of change in the country to also change the present administration in Ondo.
According to them, ‘’There were several reasons for our decision, but most important was the obvious fact that Nigeria needed change and Ondo State a new direction. We needed change, which is the burden of good, honest, diligent, prepared, tested and competent leadership.”
Interestingly, while the PDP and APC continue with their intrigues and subtleties for the soul of Ondo ahead of next year’s governorship election, it is not known if the chieftains of the parties ever reckon with the thinking of the Ondo electorate.
