Leading politicians in Ondo State strategise ahead 2016 governorship election in the state, Special Correspondent, JULIUS ALABI, reports.
Of reports from the grapevine are to be relied on, there are more troubles ahead for the Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the build-up to the 2016 governorship election in the state.
TheNiche, for instance, learnt, last week, that a Commissioner in the Olusegun Mimiko cabinet had been contacted and pencilled in as deputy governorship candidate of the evolving Accord Party (AP) in the state. Already, there are plans to ensure that more opposition party members are gathered for the mass defection that will herald the new and rebranded AP in the state.
AP is also looking at the side of other political parties in the state, especially the All Progressives Congress (APC), where some leading members are said to have indicated interest to join the party.
Chairman of Global Fleet Group, Jimoh Ibrahim, is said to be the arrowhead of the emerging re-alignment of forces to torpedo the PDP. To achieve the objective, the newspaper publisher has reportedly put everything in place to defect to AP to realise his political ambition. He is also said to have rented a building at St. Peter area on the popular Oyemekun Road in Akure, the state capital, to serve as his campaign office.
Besides, it was gathered that several meetings had been held at his Igbotako residence, in Ondo South Senatorial District by some notable politicians of the PDP to put finishing touches in their mass defection plan.
His intention, according to findings by TheNiche, is to make AP a strong party in Ondo with the calibre of people that will defect to the party in the next few months. During this period, the state will be in the eye of the storm again, as there will be alignments and re-alignments in which some bigwigs in PDP and APC will team up with AP to make it a formidable party in the state.
Apparently concerned with the uncertain movement of things in Ondo and other states of the federation, a group within the PDP has called on the leadership of the party to start the process of re-building it ahead of the next presidential election in 2019.
The group, Ondo Special Assistants Forum (OSAF), which is taking the new message of hope to the 36 states of federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, said the party would not be intimidated by any opposition parties in the state, particularly in the country, as it is doing everything possible to return to the presidency in 2019.
Chairman of the group, Elias Matiminu, in a statement in Akure, remarked that PDP has become a political force and pillar that will always be reckoned with in Ondo and the nation’s political landscape at large.
Matiminu said the forum was formed to enable like minds in the state to brainstorm on numerous problems facing the party in the state and the way forward.
“Our group is not against anybody who wants to contest the presidency in 2019 and in particular the governorship position in Ondo come next year, but we want the people who have the interest of the poor masses at heart and not just those pursuing their selfish interest,” he said.
Expressing doubts on the likelihood of the PDP surviving long enough to bounce back in 2019, he acknowledged that the former ruling party had a Herculean task on its hands, hence all hands must be on deck.
But even as the group labours to steer PDP on the path of redemption, it emerged that some members of the party are planning to defect to APC, which they describe as the party of the moment in Ondo. Among those fingered in the move are some close allies of Mimiko said to be bent on seeing the end of PDP in the state.
They are said to have met with the APC national leader, Senator Ahmed Tinubu, in Lagos with the help of the former deputy governor, Alli Olanusi, and have been introduced to other national leaders of the party.
TheNiche learnt that two of the notable PDP members residing in Abuja have already pitched their tent with the APC and have vowed to ensure that the former is dislodged from the state, even if they fail to realise their governorship ambition on APC ticket.
In apparent indication of the readiness of APC in the state for the battle ahead, a party chieftain, Enas Mohammed, has assured of harmony in its fold, saying that the party is getting strong by the day.
He claimed that members of the APC are more united now because “we know that united we can stand to take over power from the ruling PDP in the state”.
On the preparation of the party in the forthcoming local government elections in the state, Mohammed, who was also the state youth leader of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), remarked that APC is only waiting for the green light from the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) for commencement of action.
His words: “We are anxiously waiting for ODIEC, and you know we must get the guidelines. So we are waiting and we are sourcing for credible people, people of proven integrity that will feature in the council elections. So, consultation is on. By the time we have the green light, you will see the kind of people we will put forward.”
While the parties posture around, analysts are agreed that both the PDP and APC have their weak and strong points ahead of the 2016 election. It is in that instance that they argued that 2016 Ondo governorship election would definitely not be business as usual, especially for the PDP and APC, as AP is coming on board strongly with Ibrahim’s backing.
A major challenge PDP may critically address include identifying a credible successor for Mimiko who will complete two terms on February 2017. The party needs to work hard and convince the electorate who now appear disenchanted with some of the policies of the Mimiko-led administration among others.
The APC, on the other hand, will face the challenges of picking an acceptable candidate going by the influx of people that defected to it from PDP and other parties, most of who had their ambition before joining the party and are still hopeful.
With the party known to be in crisis whenever there is primary, there are insinuations that the 2016 exercise would be a titanic affair between the old members of the party and new defectors. How this is handled may determine the extent APC will go in challenging PDP at the poll.