A tale of the broom, umbrella and Iroko.

 by SUNDAY ABORISADE.

Political activities are taking an interesting shape in Ondo State following the release of the Oct. 20 governorship election timetable by the Independent National Electoral Commission, reports SUNDAY ABORISADE

 The declaration on Wednesday, five days after the Independent National Electoral Commission lifted the ban on political activities in Ondo State, by Governor Olusegun Mimiko to seek a second term in office, has opened the door for aggressive campaigns for the Oct.20 governorship election.

The vibrant opposition mounted against Mimiko and his Labour Party by the Action Congress of Nigeria in the last one year and the party’s aggressive membership mobilisation drive, seem to have engineered the people’s interest in the politics of the state.

There has, however, been a lull in political activities in the last one month as the voice of the opposition appears to be silent and almost fizzled out allegedly due to the endorsement of Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu as the governorship candidate by ACN national leaders.

The development led to massive defection of its governorship aspirants to either the LP or the Peoples Democratic Party because they argued that the process that was adopted in picking Akeredolu was not democratic.

As at the last count, prominent leaders of the party like Dr. Olu Agunloye, Dr. Tunji Abayomi, Chief Jamiu Ekungba, Mr. Saka Lawal, Senator Ajayi Boroffice, and Dr. Olaiya Oni had either openly joined other political parties or vowed never to work for Akeredolu.

For instance, Abayomi, in an interview, vowed to remain in the party and campaign against the process that produced Akeredolu while seeking justice.

He said, “I think I had given everything to the party and it is in my view that it is rather sad that after standing by the party, building it to its enviable status in the state, I could simply be thrown out.

“I am a friend of Akeredolu and Asiwaju (Bola Tinubu), the issue is about standard. It is about the ideals of government. It is about the rights and sovereignty of the people. It is about the honour and character of my people.

“Our party that portrays itself as leading political civilisation in terms of electoral order, democracy now harbours within itself, dictatorship of an oligarchy, disregarding and disrespecting the rights of the people.”

Also, the Legacy Campaign Group and Sunshine Liberation Forum on Tuesday pulled out of the ACN. While the LCG joined the PDP, the SLF leadership moved to the LP. The president of the LCG, Mr. Femi Ikoyi, said the members were ready to fuse with the PDP at the ward and local government levels.

Ikoyi said they decided to leave the ACN because the party was “in disarray following the choice of Mr. (Oluwarotimi) Akeredolu as its governorship candidate.”

He said the fortune of the PDP had increased with the choice of Chief Olusola Oke as its governorship candidate.

He said all the three groups that formed the ACN had pulled out and that each of the groups was stronger than any of the aspirants under the umbrella of party.

He said, “Legacy is an assemblage of grass roots canvassers with membership cutting across 230 wards. The voter card is our identity. We will mobilise traders, farmers, women, youths, artisans and the entire electorate to join the PDP.”

The PDP had resolved to pick its former National Legal Adviser, Oke, as its governorship candidate in the state, but whether prominent leaders of the party in the state will show serious commitment to the Oke project is another issue.

Just as it was the case in the ACN, our correspondent learnt that the other nine PDP governorship aspirants, who were advised to step down for Oke, had not been compensated and that the development had negatively affected their enthusiasm in the project.

At the moment, the voice of the opposition in the state is not loud enough to challenge the soaring popularity of the LP.

The most vocal group within the ACN, the SLF, which was consistently attacking the LP programmes and policies, had not only gone to sleep but had also dumped the party and joined the PDP.

Meanwhile, the popularity of the LP seems to be soaring by the day since the various unions in the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, which include artisans, drivers’ unions, the civil service, market men and women and other professional bodies like teachers, had adopted Mimiko as their governorship candidate and had pledged to mobilise support for him.

The profile of Mimiko also soared on Wednesday when Agunloye, Senator Remi Okunrinboye and scores of other politicians defected to the LP during the governor’s official declaration to renew his mandate for the second time.

The defectors said they were convinced that the LP government under Mimiko was capable of bringing about good governance that would enhance social and economic transformation of the state.

Agunloye, who was a governorship aspirant of the ACN in the state, said he decided to join the LP because Mimiko had exhibited commitment and seriousness towards the development of the state.

He said, “The issue is about Ondo State. We are all working towards making it a model and envy of other states. The road to development is the Labour Party.

“I thought I could achieve my intention for the state through other platforms, but I had realised that my dream for our sunshine state is achievable within the Labour Party because it is not a party of deceit.

“A true Omoluabi would not like to be cheated and will not cheat any one. I am for development and the party that can bring about true development to the state is the LP,” he added.

The governor identified five major reasons for his desire to contest for a second term in office under the umbrella of the LP.

Mimiko told a huge crowd of politicians and residents of the state at the Democracy Park in the heart of Akure that he hoped to complete all ongoing projects embarked upon by his administration if given another chance.

He stressed the need to initiate new programmes directed at enhancing the quality of life of the people by sustaining his job creation initiative for the youths, among others.

But the treasurer of the ACN in the state, Mr. Ade Adetimehin, said there was no big deal in politicians defecting to other parties as the trend had just started.

He said, “Any politician that dumps his party for another either does so based on principle or his political ideology, or does so out of selfishness interest and greed.

“I can assure you that Agunloye will still come back to our party before the election. ACN will win the forthcoming election because we are the true progressive politicians with a solid ideology that has not been contaminated.”

 Adetimehin said the fact that a large number of residents attended the declaration rally of Mimiko did not mean that they will vote for him.

“Wait till when the ACN will organise its rally before you can compare the crowd,” he said.

Also, the Director of Publicity of the PDP, Mr. Ayodele Fadaka, said the number of respected politicians defecting to the party was higher than the figure of those dumping it.

He said the defection of Okunrinboye, a respected elder statesman to the LP, would not affect the fortunes of the PDP in his Owo country home or anywhere in the state.

He said, “I am confident that we will win the election with or without Okunrinboye or any other person that decides to leave our party because of a pot of soup.

“Real politicians like Dr. Olaiya Oni and Mr. Saka Lawal have been joining our party in the last one month since we had perfectly resolved our internal crisis and picked Olusola Oke as our candidate,” he added.

He said the fact that none of the aspirants who contested against Oke had left the party showed that they were happy with the governorship candidate and would work towards his success.

Keen watchers of political developments in the state are of the view that if the INEC and the security operatives would approach the forthcoming election in the state by improving on their performances at the just concluded Edo State governorship poll, the best and most popular candidate would emerge. However, some analysts believe that performance, integrity and closeness to the grass roots, which must cut across the three senatorial districts, among others, will go a long way in determining who wins the election.