Hammed Shittu, in Ilorin, looks at the strategies employed by aspirants in the Kwara State chapter of All Progressives Congress to get the nod from the leadership of the party.

It is no longer news to the people of Kwara State that the contest for the governorship ticket of the ruling party in the state, All Progressives Congress, ahead of 2015 is not going to happen in an easy manner. What is, perhaps, news is the various strategies and intrigues being deployed by the aspirants to try to to get the nod from the political leadership of the party in the state, led by Senator Bukola Saraki.

Competition The incumbent governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, has left no stone unturned in efforts to get Saraki's backing for another term on the APC platform. The governor's body language clearly indicates a muted acknowledgement of the fact that there are other political gladiators in the APC who are also keenly interested in the governorship ticket.

Among APC politicians interested in the governorship ticket is Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Rasak Atunwa, who had also contested against the incumbent governor at the 2010 governorship primaries of their former party, Peoples Democratic Party, but stepped down based on a consensus arrangement, and former Minister of Sport and Youth Development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, who was sacked by President Goodluck Jonathan for reasons widely suspected to border on his loyalty to Saraki.

Abdullahi is credited with an impressive performance during his tenure as Commissioner for Education in the administration of Saraki, when he was governor. Interested in the APC governorship ticket also are former acting national chairman of PDP, now APC stalwart, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, and the spokesman of the House of Representatives, Hon. Zakari Muhammed.

Season of Endorsement For Ahmed to emerge during the PDP governorship primaries that produced him in 2010, all the other aspirants were prevailed upon to step down for him based on consensus agreement. The aspirants abided by the arrangement that the Saraki dynasty had always used in determining who gets what as far as elective political offices are concerned in the state.

The aspirants were alleged to have been pacified by a proposal by the then outgoing governor, Saraki, that the incoming governor will spend just one term. But the incumbent governor has seemed to close his eyes to the previous political arrangements and the philosophy of Saraki dynasty. Ahmed is now being endorsed by various stakeholders in the state for second term. Among the stakeholders and groups that have endorsed the governor are youths, students union bodies, artisans, women, members of the transport associations like the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Okada Riders Association, and APC senatorial district leaders.

The chairman of Kwara State chapter of National Youth Council of Nigeria, Comrade Kazeem Adekanye, said during a recent solidarity visit to the governor at Government House, Ilorin, that over one million youths in the state had endorsed Ahmed for a second term. Adekanye attributed the endorsement to the governor's achievements in the area of youth empowerment and employment.

"I have the mandate of the over one million teeming youths of the state to commend your administration for the excellent work you have done or initiated for the overall development of the state, especially, in the area of youth empowerment/employment through the KWABES, QuickWin, entrepreneurship scheme, payment of bursary, and provision of scholarship to the students and direct youth employment into the state civil service, which has seen to be empowerment of 10,000 youths," the youth leader had said.

The Kwara South Elders Forum has also voiced support for Ahmed's second term. They as well pledged continued loyalty and support for Saraki. They hailed the Kwara central senator for "pulling us out of the torn and tattered umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party." Chairman of the forum, Alhaji Kola Yusuf, said, "We, the people of Kwara South Elders Forum, plead with the leadership of our party, APC, and other party members in the state to give the incumbent governor a second term to enable him continue with the good work, which he has embarked upon all over the state, even with the small quantum of funds at his disposal. "Our current governor has managed to stabilise his administration in the current difficult financial situation, removing him now for mere change will be counterproductive to the entire state machinery of government.

"As an illustrious son of the local government, Governor Ahmed has already displayed sufficient proof that given a second chance he is capable of further initiatives that will have more positive impact on the lives of Kwarans. "Governor Ahmed has demonstrated beyond all reasonable doubt that he is a loyal party man who is willing to listen to his superiors and take their advice in the development strategy of the state. For the past three and half years in office he has refused to rock the boat but has concentrated his energies on developing the state as a good team player.

"We have witnessed in the past how some governors turned themselves into terror groups at the expense of their sponsors, thereby throwing the states into confusion in their selfish bid to turn the table against their sponsors." The women folk in Kwara State are not left out in the endorsement song. The women, under the auspices of the National Council of Women Societies, have observed that the achievements of the governor qualify him for a second term in office. President of NCWS in the State, Hajia Barakat Atunse, gave the endorsement during a courtesy visit by the women body to Ahmed at the Government House, Ilorin, recently.

Atunse told the governor, "Without being rhetorical, Sir, your shared prosperity project content is having far-reaching positive effect on Kwarans. It is devolving and trickling down to the doorsteps of all Kwarans, regardless of political colouration or inclination. The project touches on employment, education, health, socio-economic transformation, water, energy, road, etc." She pledged the commitment and support of the womenfolk to the state government in its effort to improve the wellbeing of women in the state. NCWS also noted that the wife of the governor, Mrs. Omolewa Ahmed, has through her LEAH Charity Foundation touched "lives unimaginably, particularly, women and children."

Ahmed had recently said his administration's programmes and policies are women and children friendly because women play complementary and exemplary roles in the family and in nation building. He stated that his government had over N700 million in small and medium scale enterprises revolving loans, which the women of the state access through cooperative societies to empower them financially. While responding to some youths who visited him recently, Ahmed said the state government would establish a Ministry of Youth Development from the present Ministry of Sports and Youth Development to aid development activities among the youth in the state.

Uncertainty But a recent statement issued by the leadership of APC in the state seems to clearly confirm that winning a second term ticket would not be an easy ride for Ahmed. The statement, which was signed by the state chairman of APC, Alhaji Isola Balogun-Fulani, said there was no automatic ticket for any aspirant ahead of the 2015 general elections.

The statement called on members of the party to come out and vie for any elective positions of their choice in the 2015 elections. In any case, the general feeling is that the choice of the governorship candidate of APC in Kwara State would very likely be determined by political exigencies. Saraki is believed to see the 2015 election as a serious fight that he must win to remain relevant in the political landscape of the 47-year-old State of Harmony.