Akeredolu and challenges of reconciliation in Ondo APC

There is no end in sight to the protracted crisis in the Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC), owing to lack of commitment to the reconciliation proposed by party elders. Correspondent Damisi Ojo reports

 

ONDO State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) has a major hurdle to cross to secure a second term. Will he survive at the primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) next year?

In 2012, he contested on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). In Ondo State, it was a weak platform, which could not fly.

At that time, Akeredolu was a household name in Nigeria as President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA).

However, he was new in politics. Many party leaders perceived him as a new comer. But, the national  leaders of the ACN,  particularly  former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu, believed he was a good material to confront  former Governor Olusegun Mimiko, who was seeking a second term on the platform of the Labour Party (LP).

Akeredolu’s choice as the candidate of ACN sparked a row as Dr. Olu Agunloye, Saka Lawal and others aspirants called it quits with the party.

Many factors were responsible for the dismal performance of the ACN, inspite of huge resources spent on the campaigns and preparations for the election.

The adoption of Akeredolu, lack of strong political structure, inadequate mobilisation and Mimiko’s power of incumbency led to the failure of the party.

What happened then is now part of history. The defeated ACN candidate, Akeredolu, is now the governor, who is gradually winding up his first term and looking forward  to next year to renew his mandate for another four years.

After he lost out in 2012, he returned to his base in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, to continue his legal profession. However, still nursed the ambition of occupying the Alagbaka House.

His dream became reality in 2016, when many thought he would not make it. After the dismal outing of 2012, Akeredolu oiled his political structure. The chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ade Adetimehin, became the Cordinator of “Team Aketi.”

With the mergers of like-minded  political parties to form APC, the former Secretary to the Ondo State Government (SSG), Isaac Kekemeke became the party chairman in 2015, shortly before the presidential/National Assembly elections.

Kekemeke used his political acumen to build the APC. He secured a befitting office for the party in a strategic location and mobilised many people from other parties, particularly the PDP, and convinced them to defect to the party.

During the 2015 polls, Ondo APC, though an opposition platform, won the presidntial election. President Muhammadu Buhari got 54 percent of votes cast. The party won  the three senatorial and six House of Representatives seats.

Akeredolu achieved the feat with the strong backing of party executives at ward and state levels. The APC secretariat was bubbling with activities. The opposition party traumatised the ruling PDP that enveloped in protracted crisis.

APC was a strong and formidable entity, prior to the September 2016 primary. A number of aspirants, particularly from Akoko Division and Northern Senatorial District, showed keen interest in the contest.

At the end of the day, Akeredolu emerged as the APC candidate, although many party supporters were not favourably disposed to his emergence.

Many said the former NBA President was arrogant and stingy. There were petitions against his candidacy. It was alleged that Aketi group used padded list to vote him during the primary.

The issue got to the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC led by Chief John Oyegun, who personally insisted that Akeredolu had emerged as candidate, despite call for a fresh primary.

The outcome of the 2016 created a gulf within the APC. Aspirants, including the runner-up, Olusegun Abraham, headed to court. Chief Olusola Oke became Alliance for Democracy (AD) governorship candidate.

The development brought the progressives party to its kneels, but the ‘Team Aketi’ stood solidly behind Akeredolu to ensure his victory at the poll.

After the election, the governor with his political family (Team Aketi), led by Adetimehin, regarded those APC loyalists who are not in their camp as enemies of the new government.

This led to the formation of parallel groups within APC such as Boroffice’s group, Ali Olanusi/Kekemeke/Oke/Abraham factions, which has now transformed into Unity Group.

With this, patronage in APC was restricted to ‘Team Aketi’ while other groups were alienated. In fact, presently, there is an aggrieved or estranged group within APC, led by a member, Board of Trustees (BoT) and former deputy governor, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, who insisted that Akeredolu has been suspended from the APC for alleged anti-party activities.

During the recent presidential/National Assembly elections, Ondo APC performed woefully. There was no cohesion.

The PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, floored President Buhari while out of three seats occupied by APC senators before the last election, only the North Senatorial seat was won through the political acumen of Prof Ajayi Boroffice, the Deputy Senate Leader.

APC was also able to win four of nine House of Representatives positions.

The leadership of APC in Ondo State was accused of promoting another party, Action Alliance (AA), during the last general elections, to the detriment of the ruling party.

Observers attributed the failure of the party to those working against it by sponsoring candidates of another party.

The crack prompted the reconciliatory meeting initiated by the leadership of the party in the South West about five months ago.

According to Asiwaju Tinubu during the meeting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, the party has decided to apply ‘conflict resolution’ to resolve the crisis rocking the chapter.

The APC national leader said conflicts were bound to happen in politics, adding that the leaders of the party would embrace internal democracy to minimise the frequency at which conflicts occur.

“We apply conflict resolution mechanism, which is part of politics to resolve any other problem and smoothen the edges. The next move is unity; talking together, consulting one another and working together for the interests of our party, and in particular, Ondo State,” he said.

Also speaking at the meeting, Chief Bisi Akande, former governor of Osun State, said APC leaders had resolved to mend the broken fences in the Ondo APC.

The former governor noted that members of the APC in the state had been instructed to work together.

“We talked how we shall win next election resoundingly. You see all our leaders coming out together, laughing and happy. We have our leaders in Ondo and we have told them to go and do their job and bring our party together as one.

“We shall also keep encouraging our leaders in Ondo state to do what we have agreed to which is unity at all level,” Akande said.

Former governor of Ogun State, Aremo Segun Osoba, said party members must preach unity from the wards to the state levels.

Almost five months after the peace meeting, there has been no reconciliation among APC stakeholders in the state.

One of its resolution was the dissolution the State Exco and replacement it with a caretaker committee that will be all-encompassing to move around all the wards for mobilisation and registration of new party members. But, the process is still a tall dream.

Adetimehin, however, said a committee had been put in place to harmonise party members, including the aggrieved.

He allayed the fear that APC is now unpopular and can not win any election, stressing that people are defecting to the APC because of the performance of the governor.

With the present situation in the ruling APC in the Sunshine State, there should be reconciliation harmonisation for the chapter to survive.