Strategies for 2016 Ondo governorship election begin to take shape with possible defections from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) for emerging Accord Party (AP), ahead of the exercise, Special Correspondent, JULIUS ALABI, reports.
There are indications of some disillusioned Ondo State members of the old Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) trooping into the Accord Party (AP) in the days ahead. This apprehension gained ground following a meeting last Sunday at Igbotako, where the affected party chieftains were said to have put finishing touches to the impending mass defection.
Although the governorship election in the state is scheduled for next year, preparations are already in top gear, with political parties putting up strategies to outwit one another in the exercise.
In the process, certain indices as zoning, ethnic consideration and influence of traditional institutions as well as peculiar agenda by the respective senatorial districts are gradually emerging as factors that may inform the choice of governorship candidates by the leading political parties.
Among those fingered in the looming defection is the Chairman of Global Fleet Group, Jimoh Ibrahim, who is said have concluded arrangements to defect to Accord Party (AP) as a platform to realise his touted governorship ambition. It was learnt, for instance, that he has, in that regard, rented a building at St. Peter area of the popular Oyemekun Road in Akure to coordinate his campaign activities.
With the challenge by Ibrahim and AP, it is increasingly becoming certain that 2016 Ondo governorship election would definitely not be business as usual, for the PDP and APC.
A major challenge, analysts note, PDP may face in the run up to the poll include identifying a credible candidate that could take over from Governor Olusegun Mimiko who will complete his second term in February 2017. The concern here is that the party needs to work hard to woo the electorate who, of late, have not been excited with some of the policies of the Mimiko-led administration.
APC may face similar challenge of picking the governorship candidate going by the influx of people that defected to its fold from PDP, lately. This is especially as most of them, who had nursed governorship ambition before joining the party, have not dropped the idea.
The suggestion is that APC will need to look for a credible candidate as well to match whoever PDP will present. The snag, however, is that the party is known to have had crisis during its governorship primaries in the past. There is thus the fear that with old members of the party contending with the new defectors, the contest may be crunchy.
Zoning is an issue, many say, that may play key role in the selection of candidates by the parties. Although many aspirants have shown interest in the office, some say it is the turn of Ondo North Senatorial District to produce the governor. There are others who argue that it is the turn of Ondo South. The late Olusegun Agagu, Mimiko’s predecessor, was from Ondo South.
Akure indigenes are not left out of the aspiration. They, in fact, insist that since 1976 when the old Ondo State was created, no democratically-elected indigene of the town has occupied the position.
In his argument, Dr. Akin Oloowoke, an Akure indigene and PDP governorship aspirant, said: “We Akure people have right to the number one seat in the state and we are patiently waiting for our time. Everything in life has timing and season. Having been the landlord of Alagbaka (Government House Secretariat), having been hospitable, friendly, accommodating to all people of the parts of Ondo, we should be allowed to produce the next governor.
“Akure people have what it takes numerically, by reason of their voting strength. It means that any party that parades an Akure man as its candidate is what the people will rush for. But if we have APC Akure candidate, PDP Akure candidate, Accord Akure candidate, and so on, then the people will choose the best among them.”
Curiously, the Akure, in pushing their point, however seem to ignore the fact that Mimiko is from Ondo Central that Akure South and Akure North are part of.
Laying similar claim to the governorship, the people of Ondo South, particularly Ese-odo and Ileoluji/Okeigbo local government areas, seem unyielding.
Agitation for the office has equally emerged from other parts of the state, especially the Akoko, which has four local government areas in Ondo North.
It is these factors that, analysts argue, the leading political parties need to take into consideration in choosing their governorship candidates.
Incidentally, some leaders of PDP and APC, even without any official disclosure, seem to have arrived at particular aspirants as their preferred candidates. Those who appear not favoured in the calculation, TheNiche gathered, are already making alternative arrangements to avoid being caught napping in the last minute. Their immediate option, our reporter learnt, is to flow into AP. They are said to be making the move with the hope of reaping from the disaffection that will inevitably result from PDP and APC primaries.
“With certainty of disaffection from PDP and APC primaries as well as the anger that will flow from zones and councils that will be shortchanged in the exercise, AP may serve as a convenient alternative platform for some groups and individuals. In such situation, anything could be possible. Who knows? AP may even be the party to beat. After all, Mimiko came from the hitherto unknown Labour Party to win Agagu who was then a seating governor. We may see AP performing the same feat, if PDP and APC think they can take their members and entire Ondo electorate for granted,” volunteered a key member of APC, suspected to be among those that have perfected plans to cross over to AP.