Date: 2015-03-03

All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party (LP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are warming up for the governorship election in Kwara State. It is the first exercise in the post-Olusola Saraki era. How will Kwarans vote? Correspondent Adekunle Jimoh beams a searchlight on the parties, the candidates and the issues that will shape the contest.

The image of the Kwara political kingpin, the late Dr Olusola Saraki, still looms large as the general elections draw near. The Saraki dynasty, as it is fondly called, is now being led by the late politician’s son,  Senator Bukola Saraki.

The late Saraki was political colossus and godfather to many in Kwara. He was initially touted to be a multi-billionaire until after his demise, when it became apparent that the man  left behind only two houses: one in Lagos and the other one at Ilorin, the state capital.

This post-humus revelation, further endeared the man to his numerous followers and, perhaps, it could be the most striking factor in the choice of his biological son, Bukola, by his admirers as the new political leader. Many believe that all is well with the dynasty. In addition, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has lived up to expectation. Therefore, he will win a second term.

However, there are two political blocs in the state: those who believe in the retention of the status quo and those are radically opposed to it.

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Saraki are on one side, while the two major opposition parties, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) are the other side.

Another factor affecting Kwara politics at the moment is the presidential candidate of the two major parties. There are those backing the APC because of its presidential flag bearer, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.  There are also those rooting for the PDP because of President Goodluck Jonathan. The governorship candidates of the PDP and the LP, Senator Simeon Ajibola and Dr Mike Omotosho respectively, are campaigning for the President’s re-election.

At the governorship level, the pertinent question is, what is the chances of the opposition in the  election?

Ajibola, a senator for three consecutive terms, emerged as the PDP candidate against all odds. He  defeated other aspirants, including former presidential aide Senator Makanjuola Ajadi; former governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Mohammed Dele Belgore (SAN); ex-sports minister Alhaji Bio Ibrahim; former Federal Character Commission chair Prof. Shauib AbdulRaheem; Senator Gbemisola Saraki and Deacon John Dara, a crony of former Defence Minister Theophilus Danjuma.

Ajibola’s emergence initially generated bad blood among co-aspirants. But, a reconciliatory meeting convened by the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BOT) of the party Chief Tony Anenih in Ilorin,  made the aggrieved contestants into burying the hatchet.

The Chairman of the PDP Chief Iyiola Oyedepo said: “We are one big family and we are happy going into election with this oneness of spirit.” In the same vein, during the inauguration of the Campaign Team, the Minister of National Planning, Olanrewaju Suleiman said that “the PDP is one in Kwara and that we must vote for President Jonathan and our governorship candidate, Senator Ajibola.”

Despite these assurances, many PDP supporters believe till date that the campaign style of Ajibola does not portray him as “a serious governorship candidate.”

A source, who pleaded anonymity said: “When you offer him advice, he will not listen. Even when you call him on phone, he doesn’t pick calls. I am sure he has not committed his resources into this project apart from the money allegedly released to him by the Presidency. So, is that person a serious candidate?”

Another source said that Ajibola could just be an agent “serving as a mole to a political power broker in the state.”

He added: “From his behaviour, he may just be pretending to be a candidate of the opposition party. But, only time will reveal how he would fare.”

Dispelling these insinuations, Oyedepo said the PDP poses a serious challenge to the APC, adding that the campaign strategies could never have been the same. “We are serious with our campaigns, which is led by no other person other than Dara. We are working very hard on daily basis and we do these based on the available funds at our disposal.

The spokesman for the Simeon Ajibola Campaign Organisation (SSACO), Tajudeen Kareem, said its state-wide campaign tour would resume this week, after a brief break necessary to perfect its strategies and tidy up security arrangements.

Besides, Dara said local government and ward campaign coordinators have been engaged in house-to-house consultation in the last two weeks, taking the PDP message of freedom and prosperity to the grassroots.”

Dara also said there is no iota of truth in the insinuation that some PDP members are aggrieved because, in line with the PDP flag bearer’s policy, the organisation is running an all-inclusive campaign.

“We have deliberately taken care of all interests in our party and that is why all our former governorship aspirants are fully involved in the campaign. If you notice, we have an unusually large campaign organisation. This is to ensure that all major stakeholders and all interest groups are carried along,” he explained.

Many observers even see Omotosho as a more viable alternative. According to Abdulmumeen Onagun, former Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the LP candidate represents “an ideal choice for the type of governor that Kwara needs.”

Onagun added: “Here is Omotosho, a trained pharmacist, an industrialist per excellence, one who has no godfather, but has the true God as his father. He is young, vibrant and widely travelled. If you look at his manifesto, you will see that he is the right man for the job.”

Omotosho has touched the lives of many Kwarans with his scholarship schemes. Besides, he has taken his free medical missions to over 50 communities across the state, just as he remains the only governorship candidate in the state with supports for youth development and supports for the aged and people with special needs. He has equally procured over one million cooking stoves for the needs of women across the three Senatorial districts of the state.

Omotoso said: “I pledge to submit my monthly salary to this noble scheme that shall be implemented with the true sense of service to God and humanity. Our social security scheme will directly affect three categories of people namely: the aged, the pensioners and the handicapped.

“The government shall be committed to a monthly allowance to elderly ones beyond the age of 70. Kwara shall be the first state in Nigeria in the area of ensuring that those who served the people with the strength of their youth are not subjected to ridicule at old age.

However, many perceive the governor to the strongest candidate. The impregnability of the Saraki dynasty, which is solidly behind Ahmed, coupled with his numerous achievements in the last four years in office, have put him in a better position to beat his rivals. Analysts say the governor would win on April 11 convincingly.

Again, people’s desire for a change from the President Jonathan’s years of impunity, insecurity, corruption and misrule and the Buhari bug that has caught the electorate in Kwara is the icing on the cake for Ahmed.