2023: Anxiety mounts in Ogun APC over primaries

2023: Anxiety mounts in Ogun APC over primaries

Many chieftains, members and aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State are uncertain of the shape the primary elections of the party scheduled to start next Thursday, will take. ‘Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, report that ahead of the primaries, intrigues and scheming continue among the various interest groups within the APC in the state.

HERE are fears in the Ogun State chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over the parties primary elections slated for this week. Checks by The Nation revealed that many chieftains and members of the party are uncertain about the mode the exercise will take with many suggesting that the primary elections may not be held in the state. It was also gathered that some aspirants are already expressing concerns over what they describe as plots to impose candidates on the party across the state.

According to some party sources, there are indications that the various groups within the party are planning to submit lists of their preferred candidates to the committees that will be sent to the state from Abuja. “Here in Ogun State, the people are waiting impatiently for the primary elections. They want to decide who their candidate should be without imposition by anybody. Anything short of that, the APC will have problem here,” a former House of Representatives member from Ikenne Local Government Area told our correspondent on Friday.

The APC in the state have been divided since 2018 owing to the disagreement between groups loyal to Governor Dapo Abiodun and his predecessor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun. Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the two factions have renewed their rivalry with Amosun’s camp plotting to stop the re-election of the governor and also prevent him and his allies from deciding the APC candidates for the various positions across the state. But Abiodun, whose group controls the structure of the party in the state, says Amosun and his people will fail.

Weeks ago, the governor, while addressing some of his allies and loyalists, boasted that the mainstream APC in the state would decide who gets the ticket of the party for the various posts in the 2023 general elections in the State. Abiodun was reacting to earlier claims by some allies and loyalists of Senator Amosun that they will produce the candidates of the party for the 2023 general elections in the state. And when Hon. Adekunle Akinlade, an ally of Amosun’s and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) governorship candidate in the 2019 election, picked the APC nomination form to contest for the governorship ticket of the party, anxiety mounted among Abiodun’s supporters.

Akinlade, while declaring his aspiration, said he is optimistic that he will pick the ticket of the APC and emerge as the gubernatorial candidate f the ruling party. Akinlade, who represented Egbado South and Ipokia Federal Constituency of the state in the House of Representatives in 2015 on the platform of the ruling party, contested the APC governorship ticket with Governor Abiodun in 2019 but lost. He defected to the APM to contest the 2019 governorship election. He rejoined the APC afterward.

A game of intrigues checks within the party showed Akinlade is still enjoying the support of Amosun and his supporters in his aspiration to wrestle the APC ticket from Abiodun. The bulk of his campaigners across the state are loyalists of the former governor. “The Amosun group is still very formidable and unrelenting in our opposition to the governor and his government. Abiodun and his people are strangers in APC. We are sure of victory this time,” a chieftain of the group from Abeokuta South said.

But Governor Abiodun is not minding the fact that the Amosun group is making efforts to thwart his re-election bid as he insisted that the new electoral law allows parties to pick their candidates through consensus. As a result, he assured leaders of the mainstream APC in the state that they would be the ones to pick the candidates of the party, from House of Assembly to Senate, including the governorship, adding that it is normal for anybody to declare ambition under the party, saying all aspirations are legitimate.

“We will determine who will represent us at all levels, from the State Assembly to House of Representatives to the Senate and to governorship. Let us not allow anyone to divide us, you have worked too hard for that, this is not the time for anyone to come and now polarize this party,” Abiodun said.

Meanwhile, observers of the politics of the state say with the formal recognition of the Governor Abiodun-led faction of the party in Ogun State by the National Secretariat of the APC, the governor holds the ace, as he controls the party structure across the state ahead of the 2023 general elections. Barring any unforeseen development, it is unlikely that the Amosun group can change the situation to their own advantage.

The March 11, 2022 inauguration of the State Working Committee (SWC) of the ruling APC, Ogun State, by the Chairman, Chief Yemi Sanusi, marked the end of doubts and apprehension over the control of the party’s structure in the state. The inauguration followed the February 3, 2022 presentation of Certificates of Return to Sanusi by the then Interim National Secretary of Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), John Akpanudoedehe, at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja.

Prior to the presentation of the Certificate of Return to Sanusi in Abuja, there were anxieties and apprehension, among leaders and members of the APC in Ogun State, on which Congress results will the National Secretariat accepted, despite the declaration by the Interim National Secretary, that had earlier, paved the way, for the Sanusi, who was elected by the Wale Ohu led Congress Committee.

Anxiety

Worried by developments within the party amidst fear that the interest groups plan to impose candidates on the members, some aspirants and members of the ruling party expressed doubts over the planned primary elections, saying they are not sure whether or not the exercises would hold in the State. Party sources revealed that some activities and preparations that usually come before primary elections are yet to be carried out in Ogun state, fuelling fears that the primary elections may not hold as re-scheduled.

The development may have affected the aspirants in the various races as little or no electioneering is seen going on within the party in the state. “The truth is that aspirants are not campaigning as they should in our state. This is largely because the widespread rumour that the leadership and other interest groups are planning to draw up a list of candidates under the guise of consensus instead of allowing the people to choose at the primary elections. and with the way things are going, we are forced to believe that is the plan,” a source said.

Another concerned party member lamented that unlike what obtained in the past, party members are not aware of the mode of primary and those to make the list of delegates in the various primary elections. “We don’t even know the type of primary election that will be holding. Who are the delegates? Will all the executives be voting or only the ad-hoc delegates will be voting? These are questions we are still expecting answers for. As at today, there are indications that the exercises may not hold as expected,” he added.

A House of Representatives aspirant, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said he is not campaigning because it is still unclear who the delegates are. He however expressed his readiness to participate in the primary election slated for next Thursday. According to him, the leadership of the party in the state, as well as the governor, assured all aspirants of a level playing ground. “I am going into the election believing it will be free and fair. But my campaign suffered a setback because of the many uncertainties,” he said.

But Governor Abiodun feels the exercise is on course and will turn out as expected. According to him, he had critical stakeholders meeting with party officials from Abuja in Abeokuta, where he called for a peaceful conduct of the forthcoming primary elections of the APC. “I urged party leaders to use their respected positions to educate all party faithful on the benefits of peace, equity and fairness in our internal democratic process as we get set for the primaries,” Abiodun said.

Rumpus over imposition

Speaking on alleged plan by the party to nominate candidates by consensus, a three-time governorship candidate, Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, said he will accept any mode of primary to be adopted, including consensus arrangement provided the persons that were going to sit down to consider the consensus would remain truly fair. Isiaka is seeking the APC ticket for the Ogun West Senatorial District.

He confirmed there are fears over the party’s primary elections in the state. “We are ready for any mode of conduct of the primaries. It depends on what the party leadership wants to do. Direct, Indirect or Consensus, I am ready. My only issue with Consensus is that we have to be sure that the people that are going to sit down to consider the consensus are truly fair. We have been seeing strange things in our senatorial district this season. A particular supposed aspirant has been going around to conduct one programme or the other and what you see is our leaders and party excos that are supposed to be unbiased and be fair in their assessment, going around with this individual, endorsing him and signing communiqués all over the place.

“How do we have confidence in such a process if these people are to be the ones to choose? Some people that are supposed to be respected leaders and elders that ought to be fair and be independent in their minds have almost turned into campaign managers of one individual. So how do you want us to rely on decisions coming from some of these people? If you want to go through the consensus road, the question is, what the criteria are and the people that will make it up so that we can all assess the fairness of these people. For the other two modes of primaries, whichever one that is taken, we will go for it. We are all working hard to ensure that we have the best of decisions,” he said.

But the Chairman of APC in Ogun West Senatorial District, Mohammed Azeez, faulted claims in some quarters that the party was planning to impose Senator Olamilekan Adeola as candidate ahead of the 2023 general election. Azeez, in a statement made available to journalists, insisted that the party would choose its candidates in line with the laid down rules and guidelines of the party. He urged members of the party aspiring for public offices to desist from engaging in smear campaign and name calling.

“Let me use this opportunity to advise all aspirants on the platform of our great party not to engage in blackmail and name calling in desperate gambit to get the tickets of our party. We are a party of progressives and democrats and will choose our candidates on the basis of our party guidelines and the rule of law as applicable to all Nigerians. Every aspirant, particularly legislative aspirants, should conduct their campaign with decorum devoid of falsehood and unfounded allegations and leave the leadership and members of the party to decide who represents them in the race for 2023 election,” he said.