Encomium
Ahead of the general elections in the country early next year, all is not well with the two leading political parties, All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun state as both are presently enmeshed in deep internal crisis.
ENCOMIUM Weekly can reliably inform that both parties are at crossroads over candidates to field for various positions in the party. This is in addition with the gale of defection which has characterised both parties in recent time.
While the ruling party in the state, APC has been working day and night to retain the state in 2015, it was recently hit by defection of some of its key leaders to Social Democratic Party. The party leader in the state, Chief Olusegun Osoba led thousands of former APC faithful to the newly registered SDP, after several failed attempts by the national secretariat of the party in Abuja to bring the warring parties under one roof.
Three APC senators from the state and six members of House of Representatives also joined the SDP train.
The Senators are Adegbenga Kaka, Gbenga Obadara and Akin Odunsi, who represent Ogun East, Ogun Central and Ogun West respectively.
The members of the House of Representatives are Kunle Adeyemi, Babatunde Olabode, Olumide Osoba, Abiodun Abudu, Odeleye Kehinde and Bukunola Buraimo.
News of their defection coincided with the resignation of Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s Senior Special Assistant on Environment, Otunba Abayomi Odunowo.
Adesegun had on October 24, 2014, written a stinker to Amosun, accusing him of starving his office of funds and allocating old vehicles to him.
Apart from these, Adesegun who had been reportedly having a running battle with the governor over his closeness to Aremo Segun Osoba also narrated his ordeal since he became the number 2 person in Ogun state.
Though, the party’s spokesperson, Alhaji Lai Mohammed feigned ignorance of Adesegun’s ordeal, but he was quick to add that the defection of Adesegun, Osoba and other APC faithful to SDP was shocking, he however assured that the sudden changes won’t affect the party’s chances in the state in 2015.
As keen political observers have it, the defection of Osoba and others at this time was seen as a serious blow to the move of APC to retain the state in 2015.
As at present, the governor has been intensifying efforts to pacify aggrieved people especially in Ogun East and West senatorial districts. The two senatorial districts have been identified as major areas where Mr Governor is reportedly less popular.
While the Ogun West is pushing for a Governor of their own extraction in 2015 in pursuance of the Yewa Agenda, the people of Ogun East senatorial district are said not to be too comfortable with the scanty government presence in the area since the last three years of Mr. Governor.
Both Ogun West and East senatorial districts presently controls five and nine local governments respectively out of the 20 in Ogun state.
As good as the merger of LP and PDP in Ogun state may look, the party is reported to be in deep crisis, which if not nipped in the bud may dash its hope of reclaiming the state in 2015.
Less than a week after OGD led several thousands of his supporters in Labour Party to PDP, crisis suddenly erupted, and there were hues and cries from the Prince Buruji Kasham’s camp over what they saw as an attempt by the former governor to hijack the party from the Engr Bayo Dayo led state executive.
The said issue which started like a child’s play has resulted in litigation. Another major crisis, threatening peace in PDP is the question of which of the three major factions Buruji, OGD and JMK will produce the candidate for the governorship race.
ENCOMIUM Weekly can authoritatively reveal that while the Jubril Martins Kuye group was pushing for former House of Representatives Speaker, Hon. Dimeji Sabur Bankole, Otunba Gbenga Daniel prefers either Prince Gboyega Nasir Isiaka or Prince Yanju Lipede, who is from Ogun Central.
For Prince Buruji Kashamu, it is either Omooba Segun Adewale or Hon. Biodun Akinlade. Both Akinlade and Segun Adewale are from Ogun West senatorial district.
This issue and sharing formula for other political positions across the 20 local governments in the state among the PDP power brokers may have stalled the machinery put in motion to wrestle power from the ruling APC in Ogun state.
