Ondo 2020: Can PDP get it right?

Although the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet to announce the exact date for this year’s governorship election in the state, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo state says it is determined to send the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) packing.  But observers of the politics of the state insist that it is too early to say whether the PDP, in spite of ongoing reconciliation efforts amongst other moves to rebrand the party ahead of the election, can get its act together and give the APC a good fight. Assistant Editor, ‘Dare Odufowokan, reports.

As the people of Ondo state wait on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to announce the date for the governorship election that must hold in the state this year, many observers of the politics of the southwestern state are silently wondering whether the leading opposition party in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), can actually rise above its many limitations and give the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), a good fight in the forthcoming electoral contest.

Of course the question is as a result of recent efforts by the troubled PDP, which lost the state to the APC in 2016 when incumbent governor Rotimi Akeredolu trounced its candidate, Eyitayo Jegede, to emerge governor and succeed former governor Olusegun Mimiko, then of the PDP. No doubt, an internal struggle for the control of the party, between the Mimiko’s faction and another faction led by billionaire Jimoh Ibrahim, led to its defeat in 2016. The defeat unsettled the PDP in the state as many of its chieftains, including Mimiko, soon dumped the party to seek their political fortunes elsewhere.

But some chieftains stayed back in the party, believing it can still be rebuilt to return to its winning ways. These people, including Jegede, Senator Nicholas Tofowomo, Southwest Chairman of the party, Eddy Olafeso, Engr. Clement Faboyede, the current state chairman of the party and many others, worked hard to reposition the party and resell it to the people of the state as a credible alternative to the ruling APC. While doing this, they had the 2019 general elections and the 2020 governorship election in mind.

Going by the outcome of the 2019 general elections in the state, it is not out of place to say the party leaders, working closely with party faithful, succeeded in reigniting the fire of the troubled PDP across the state. Although former governor Mimiko’s new party, the Zentih Labour Party (ZLP) pouched many PDP foot-soldiers across the state, especially in the central and southern senatorial districts, PDP leaders who stayed back after the 2016 defeat were able to rouse the remnants of their erstwhile winning machinery as the 2019 general elections approached.

So effective were their efforts that the PDP remained the leading challenger to the ruling APC all over the state, in spite of frantic moves by other parties including the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the ZLP across the state. “In spite of the shocking loss of 2016, the PDP in Ondo state remained very strong. We are blessed with good leaders and that is exactly what kept us going. Yes, we lost many of our leaders in many parts of the state to the APC and ZLP, but the determination and commitment of those who stayed back kept the PDP alive,” Kayode Enigbokan, a chieftain of the party in Ore, told The Nation.

The efforts of the leaders and members who kept faith with the party till the 2019 general elections in the state paid off massively. Contrary to the expectations of many pundits within and outside Ondo state, the PDP’s performance was so impressive that many applauded its “never say die” spirit. The party surprisingly defeated the ruling APC, giving the PDP’s presidential candidate, ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a resounding victory in the presidential election held in the state. Before the polls, most pundits have predicted a victory for President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC in the state.

To show that its performance in the presidential election wasn’t a fluke, PDP won two out of the three Senatorial seats in the state, leaving the APC with just one. The PDP won in the South and Central senatorial districts, while Senator Ajayi Borrofice of the APC, was re-elected in the northern senatorial district. Candidates of the opposition PDP also won three House of Representatives seats across the state, two in the South and one in the Central. For a party that was roundly defeated three years earlier across the state by Akeredolu and his party, PDP’s feats in 2019 was seen by many as a fantastic comeback.

Reconciliation and optimism

Convinced that the party has found its way back into the hearts of the people of the state, leaders of the party are optimistic that given the effort currently being injected into reconciling aggrieved members of the party ahead of the 2020 polls, the party stand in good stead to defeat the APC in the gubernatorial contest.

National Chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus, is one of those who believe PDP is better positioned to win the election in Ondo. Speaking in Akure, capital of Ondo, while receiving some new members to the party’s fold, vowed to resist a repeat of the “electoral fraud” allegedly perpetrated in the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states during this year’s governorship poll in Ondo State. Secondus, who was represented by Southwest Chairman of the party, Eddy Olafeso, noted that the APC had destroyed the good legacies laid down by the PDP.

“I know Ondo State would have to resist such electoral fraud. I know the PDP would not allow such charade here. We won’t at all. I am sure there is even more awareness here and the people are more politically conscious in Ondo State unlike in Kogi or Bayelsa states. They have stolen enough and we all must resist them doing same as our people prepares for next year’s governorship election in Ondo,” the party boss said while thanking party leaders for giving peace a chance by keying into all the reconciliation moves of the party in the state.

Speaking in the same vein recently, Senator Nicholas Tofowomo, representing Ondo South Senatorial District, wants the APC to be prepared to be routed at the polls. While urging PDP leaders to agree on a credible candidate among the aspirants jostling for the gubernatorial ticket, the lawmaker said the party is now united and determined enough to defeat the APC. “The PDP will defeat the APC in the next year’s election if our leaders can prune down the present 13 governorship aspirants and agree on just one credible candidate. Ondo South PDP will produce the next governor because our district is the stronghold of our great party and there is no room for deputy slot,” he said.

Chief Eddy Olafeso, the PDP National Vice Chairman, South-West, asked about the preparedness of the party for the next governorship election in the state, said that the PDP was battle ready to defeat the APC in the forthcoming governorship election. He accused the present APC administration in the state of not living up to its promises and to the people’s expectations. “We are battle ready. We are united and determined. We have capable and tested aspirants from all parts of the state seeking the ticket of our party. This election will be won by the PDP and the APC leaders know they will be defeated,” he said.

Captain Tunji Shelle, former Lagos State chairman of PDP however want the party to do better when picking its candidate if it truly want to end the rule of the APC in the state. Though he agreed that from the feelers on ground, the people of Ondo State want PDP to return to power in the state, he insists that PDP would win the forthcoming governorship election only if the right candidate is picked at the primary election. He also applauded the reconciliation efforts that have made the party in the state more united than ever before.

“We have opportunity of winning the next governorship election in Ondo, once we have a good candidate, the one that will be different. A candidate that will be more aggressive and very different from what happened in 2016. I am happy that we have very good leaders, that have shown interest in aspiring to that position and by the time we trim down the position to one candidate, we would take over the state. The primary election should be transparent and everybody should be carried along. That way, there would be no problem,” he said.

The aspirants

Leading other aspirants in the race for the party’s ticket is Jegede, the PDP standard-bearer during the 2016 governorship election. He announced his interest in the race when he said God has directed him to contest the 2020 governorship election. Jegede recently said, “I contested the last gubernatorial election and we knew the result, the following day we went to church to thank God for how far He had helped us. Now, I consulted God Almighty again; I asked if I should go forward on this project, He answered me that I should go ahead. I am asking you whether to go ahead or not?

Another contender for the ticket is Prince Godday Erewa. Erewa, an Industrialist, wants the leaders of the PDP to unite ahead of the election. He recently met with the leadership of the party at the PDP state secretariat in Akure, the state capital. “Our party members must remain steadfast and not lose courage. At this point in time, we need to be in one mind for us to win the election ahead. We have all it takes to win the election.”

Also in the race already is the National Vice Chairman of the PDP (Southwest), Olafeso. Olafeso described his move as a rescue mission, describing the present administration in the state as a disaster. “There is no government in Ondo State here. This is the state of Ajasin; it is the state of Adefarati; it is the state of Olusegun Agagu and Olusegun Mimiko. We are now witnessing a situation where students are paying from primary school level to secondary school. The tertiary institutions are far beyond the ordinary man. They have abdicated their responsibilities and they have stepped on the head of history,” he said,

Otunba Bamidele Akingboye is another PDP chieftain in the governorship race. The businessman turned politician said he wants the mandate in next year’s election so as to change the state from the current civil service state to an industrial haven. “I am here to seek for your support in my quest to rescue this state. We have enough of potentials untapped and it will take someone who has the knowledge for it to be harnessed. I will support and work for whoever would emerge from the party’s transparent primaries in order to defeat the ruling APC in the state,” he pledged.

Among others jostling for the PDP ticket are two prominent Ilaje sons, three-term Commissioner, Sola Ebiseni and former Chairman of Ilaje Local Government, Banji Okunomo. Both are not leaving any stone unturned as they comb the nooks and crannies of the state, convincing party leaders and members of their readiness to take on the APC and its candidate, whoever that may turn out to be, next year at the polls.

The Chairman of PDP in the state, Hon. Clement Faboyede, has allayed fears that the primary elections will throw the party into disarray, assuring that the party would provide level-playing ground in the primaries to be conducted by the party. The chairman disclosed that no fewer than 17 aspirants have signified their intention to become the party’s flag bearer in the 2020 governorship election in the state. According to him, “the more we have people showing interest in the party, the better for the party. The only thing we need to do is to ensure unity within the party in order to win the next election. The party’s primary will be transparent as we are determined to take over power in the state. Our primary will be clean and clear primary. There will be no brouhaha.”