Kwara 2015: How PDP worked against itself.

Date: 2015-05-07

Just like in some other states, President Goodluck Jonathan lost his re-election bid in Kwara State in the just concluded general election. AROWONA ABDULAZEEZ writes on how the Peoples Democratic Party worked against itself in Kwara state

 

There is no doubt the outcome of the just concluded general elections in Kwara state just like in many other states where hopes were high that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, would swing a great surprise by delivering and garnering votes for President Goodluck Jonathan and equally unseating the incumbent governor of Kwara state ended in a huge disappointment.

Although, the problems of the Kwara PDP have both remote and immediate causes, the problem snowballed when the former minister of sports, Bolaji Abdullahi was removed.

Shortly after the sacking of Mallam Abdullahi, from the federal executive council after being suspected as being a PDP member in Abuja and APC in Kwara, the choice of who to replace him became a thorny issue as a business mogul and close ally of Dame Patience Jonathan, Mrs Muinat Shagaya’s prevailed over the entire Kwarans and nominated a relatively unknown lecturer from the University of Abuja, Dr. Abubakar Suleiman.

President Jonathan who had in his wisdom envisaged tough challenge from the gang up of opposition groups that formed the APC was said to have demanded for a competent and election winning strategist who would adequately serve as minister and deliver the state en bloc for the PDP and consequently retrieve the assumed “stolen mandate “ but the choice of the current National Planning Minister ahead of Mallam Yinka Aluko, was according to analysts a huge false step in that direction.

This singular factor of ministerial imposition caused serious cracks in the PDP after which several rallies were held to unify the party members and supporters ahead of the general elections. Apart from not being on ground as a grassroots politician, the minister also woefully failed to learn and gather genuine minds who could be instrumental to dismantling the over 40 years of Saraki’s political dominance in the state as he wrongly swore allegiance to Mrs. Shagaya and never connected to the people that mattered; the voters.

With this among other factors, President Jonathan was being giving wrong feedbacks which eventually resulted a little bit above 30 percent of the total votes cast in the state.

However, shortly after the papering over of the ministerial grudges, no fewer than 13 aspirants expressed interest to vie for the governorship seat including Senator Gbemisola Saraki who had earlier publicly announced her defection to the party along with her siblings subjecting the party to another serious testing time which the leadership could no longer manage.

Since the Kwara APC under the leadership of Senator Bukola Saraki had no choice than to endorse Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed re-election bid, the APC folk remained united and focused with their tentacles spread across the state having prior to the election appointed scores of aides for the governor to serve as agents of mobilization in their respective localities in preparation for the polls.

The outcome of the guber primaries that produced Senator Simeon Sule Ajibola, a Christian from the southern part of the state added salt to the injuries. The total rejection of Mr. Dele Belgore, SAN, who was being seen as the candidate of Mrs Shagaya also did not help the party’s quest to unseat Saraki’s anointed son, Governor Ahmed.

With the defeat of Gbemisola Saraki at the primaries, she consequently backed out from the party ‘s activities claiming that the freedom struggle championed by the PDP is directly against the dynasty of her late father and Waziri of Ilorin, Dr. Olusola Saraki and succeeded in leaving many of her loyalists behind as moles in the PDP even within the executive members of the party.

Similarly, Belgore who was compensated by Shagaya to chair the Jonathan campaign organization also goofed and allegedly worked against the party by not carrying people that matter along. This has been blamed on vengeance and there are insinuations that he wanted to justify why the party should have chosen him in the first place.

In order to eradicate religious sentiment going round the town about the PDP guber candidate, Senator Ajibola in consultation of other elders hurriedly shopped for the Kwara Central Senatorial candidate and former Security Adviser to Governors Saraki and Ahmed respectively, Mallam Yinka Aluko (a Muslim and Fulani from Ilorin) and prevailed on him to stall his senatorial ambition and become the running mate since about 44 percent of the total votes would come from his axis, Kwara Central as he said, “ no sacrifice is too much for the survival and progress of the party.”

Day and night campaigns were taken to the nooks and crannies of the state with the people identifying with the party and vowed to join the freedom train but surprisingly, the March 28 presidential and National Assembly elections changed the tune as the APC won the presidential seat and cleared all the National Assembly seats in the state. With the at the centre, Gbemisola finally defected and joined her brother in the APC and ordered her supporters to use so do.

Despite the fact that it was believed clearly that the party had all the machineries to prosecute the elections to its favour but it appeared its leaders were not working towards victory as many complained that the resources were not deployed appropriately to achieve the expected results.

While the aftermath of the presidential and National Assembly elections therefore precipitated speculations that it was the Gen Muhammadu Buhari’s factor that favored the APC in the polls while the party tried hard to convince Kwarans not to replicate the change achieved at the national level in the state but their appeal couldn’t sway voters as results of the election showed nothing but gross disappointment as both the human and financial efforts was foisted only on the guber candidate and his running mate with no supports from the party structure/executives even when many of them have towed.

However, Mr Belgore SAN was allegedly caught canvassing for APC ahead of the guber poll in order to be eminently qualified since power is assumed to be coming to the Kwara Central in 2019 being the major target of Gbemisola.

By and large, the APC did not only win the governorship election, it equally emerged victorious in all the 24 House of Assembly constituencies, a feat the ruling party did not achieve in the 2011 election leaving none for the PDP.

With the outcome of the result, it has now shown that Kwara is APC and APC is Kwara although, independent minded individuals who were terribly jolted by the results vowed to remain in PDP hoping that “freedom will surely come one day,” arguing that the non-performance of Governor Ahmed in the state in the last four years when added to the eight years of his political godfather, Sen Saraki, the result is abysmal for the state.

Public analysts and observers who keenly desire to end Saraki’s hegemony in the political system of the state have found out that it was tall dream at least in this dispensation as they attributed the failure of the PDP to achieve results in the last elections to lack of cohesion with the party’s stakeholders working at cross purposes with President Jonathan.

Although, the APC also succeeded in weeping up religious sentiments against the PDP’s candidate, other factors such as structural imbalance as well as sell of votes by the electorate accounted for the dismal outing of the PDP.

While conceding defeat, the deputy governorship candidate of the PDP Mallam Ahmed Yinka Aluko, disclosed that despite the outcome of the poll, the freedom struggle is not negotiable.

In his congratulatory message to the governor-elect, Aluko added that the PDP family have indeed shown enthusiasm towards freeing the state from the aged-long economic and social bondage that has further subjected the people to hardship and financial difficulties in the face electoral inadequacies.

He therefore said that if God would use the governor-elect to put smiles on the faces of Kwarans during his second term in his office, there is no doubt that his name will be written in gold.

Aluko therefore saluted the courage of all those who stood by him during the struggle and assured them of his continuous commitment and steadfastness until Kwara State attains its deserved economic status.

With the coming up of a proper APC government in the state even at the federal level, it is the hope of Kwarans that the dwindling funds from federal allocation, which the state governor blames for his poor performance should soon be a thing of the past. However, the bonds collected and the burden of servicing such would prove real stumbling block to any meaningful development in the state.

It is therefore said that the survival of the PDP in Kwara however lies on the performance of the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party as well as the roles and competence of the genuine members who are left in the party in carrying along supporters and paving ways for their sustainability ahead of 2019.

Source

 

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

Saka Aleshinloye     Aisha Ahman-Pategi     Bola Tinubu     Tunde Akanbi     Age AbdulKareem     Salman Jawondo     Idowu Aremu     Saudat Abdulbaqi     Musbau A. Akanji     Shururat Olatinwo     Neuropsychiatric Hospital     Muhammadu Buhari     Government High School (GHS), Adeta     Ayo Salami     Bamikole Omishore     Sebastine Obasi     Prince Mahe Abdulkadir     Kwara University Of Education     Abdul-Rahoof Bello     Zara Umar     Ilesha-Gwanara     Shola Odetundun     TETFUND     Amos Sayo     Women Radio     Tafida Of Ilorin     Atunwa     Ibrahim Oloriegbe     Abdullahi Samari     Imodoye Writer’s Enclave     Saliu Mustapha     Yakubu Mohammed Abdullahi     Code Of Conduct Tribunal     Sheikh Ridhwanullah El-ilory     Titus Ashaolu     Yekini Adio     Adesoye College     Makama     Diagnostic Centre     Raji Ayodele Kamaldeen     Wale Oladepo     Elerinjare-Ibobo     Bola Ahmed Tinubu     Rabiu Kwankwaso     Ogbondoroko     Dasuki Belgore     Post-utme     Hajj     Dar-Al-Handasah Consultants     Esinniobiwa Quareeb     Ayedun     Lukman Adeloyin     Shao     Harmony Holdings     Issa Baba     Abubakar Kawu Baraje     Igbaja     Mope Dasuki Belgore     Elections     Jelili Yusuf     Al-Ilory     AbdulGaniyu Kareem     NTA Ilorin     Abdulganiyu AbdulAzeez     Wahab Egbewole     Yusuf Arowosaye     Okoolowo     Abdulfatai Salman Baakini     John Dara     Eleja Taiwo Banu     Ishaq Oloyede     Turaki     School Of Nursing     Alumni Association Of The Federal Polytechnic Offa     NIPOGA     Iliasu     Aro Yahaya    

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

Neuropsychiatric Hospital     Emir Of Shonga     Hamza Usman     Amos Justus Sayo     Akume     Elesie Of Esie     Otunba Taiwo Joseph     Oke-Oyi     Bola Sagaya     Oko     Yusuf Amuda Gobir     Pakata Patriots     Awodun     Tosho Yaqub     PAACO-PCL Consortium     Shola Odetundun     Ayotunde Emmanuel Alao     Tsaragi/Share     KWAFFA     Gbemisola Oguntimehin     Olupako Of Share     Mahee Abdulkadir     Ibrahim Abiodun     Mahmud Ajeigbe     Kwara Consultative Forum     Pategi     Tanke     Salihu Alhaji Musa     Iyabo Adisa Ibiyeye     AbdulGafar Tosho     John Dara     Bayer AG     Nigeria Customs Service     Mopelola Abdulmaliq-Bashir     Awoye     George Innih     CELF     Hassan Taiye Salam     Abubakar Abdullahi Bata     JMK Construction Company Limited     Ilorin.Info     Iliasu     Ilorin Talaka Parapo     ITEM 7     Kwara Apc     Idris Amosa Saidu     Yusuf Arowosaye     Bisi Kristien     Adebayo Salami     Adama Isa     Atiku     Afolabi-Oshatimehin Adenike Harriet     March 28     Olayinka Olaogun     Presidential Election     Tanke Flyover Bridge     Olatunji Ayeni     Mashood Dauda     Kayode Zubair     PharmAccess Foundation     Apaokagi     Sheu Ndanusa Usman     Niguel Gallando Marcias     Code Of Conduct     Abubakar Olusola Saraki     Gaa Olobi     Ibrahim Abikan     Kazeem Oladepo     Minimum Wage     Royal FM     Olaiya Lawal     Mubarak Oladosu     Shoprite     Rachael Obisesan     Agboola Babatunde     Olatunde Oyeyiola     Senior Ibrahim Suleiman