Fresh worries in Amosun’s camp

Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, is fighting the political battle of his life just as the cracks on the walls of his political family continue to widen unabated ahead of the forthcoming general elections in the state, reports Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan.

The political camp of Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State is now in disarray with many of his associates pulling in different directions in the aftermath of their decision to ditch the All Progressives Congress (APC). Members of the group had initially agreed to move en masse into a single party on leaving the APC after losing out in the contest for the party’s governorship ticket.

But in the last few days since the first group left to pitch tent with the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), other members have opted for either the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) or the Labour Party (LP) while Amosun and some key members of his group are staying back in the APC. The governor’s decision to remain in the APC has not gone down well with some of his supporters who fear they may have been thrown under the bus by their leaders.

One of those who switched to the APM is Amosun’s favoured governorship candidate, Adekunle Akinlade. The strategy of the Amosun group is that by moving en masse into a single party, they would be able to wield their influence and actualise Akinlade’s governorship aspiration there. But many of them no longer believe they can make the desired impact the way they are now scattered in at least four parties.

Apart from Akinlade, other prominent members of the Amosun group who were denied APC tickets on account of alleged imposition by Amosun include the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mr. Suraj Adekunbi, who lost out the ticket of the Yewa North/Imeko-Afon Federal and the State Commissioner for Special Duties, Leke Adewolu, who lost the Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency ticket to Ibrahim Isiaka.

Others are the incumbent lawmaker representing Abeokuta North/Odeda/Obafemi-Owode Federal Constituency, Hon. Mikhail Kazzim, who lost out to Hon. Olumide Osoba, son of former governor of the state and chieftain of the APC, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, as well as current Majority Leader of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Hon. Yinka Mafe.

Following Akinlade into APM were 26 Amosun-favoured members of the House of Assembly. Also on the move is the chairman, the state local government service commission, Rotimi Rahman; the State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Adedayo Adeneye; and the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Modupe Mujota, among others.

A reliable source in the political family told The Nation that contrary to the governor’s expectation, some of his allies chose not to go with Akinlade to the APM for various reasons. The source said:”The plan is to move into one party and continue the struggle to install Akinlade as the next governor of the state. It took us time to agree on APM. Before then, we have considered a couple of other options like the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), the Labour Party (LP), among others.

“But at the end of the day, the leadership of the group settled for the APM and instructed that we all move into the party. Sadly, some of our prominent members decided to stay put in the APC, while some others moved over to the DPP and the LP. We even have some who announced their resignation from politics outright. All these are making it difficult for us to mobilise the whole house for the governorship election ahead of us.”

The Commissioner for Sports, Afolabi Afuwape, Amosun’s Senior Special Assistant on Environment, Dewunmi Onanuga, and Hon. Lanre Edun, another highly placed ally of the governor, have stayed put in the APC as its candidates for the House of Representatives election while there are indications that Hon. Kazeem may have opted to contest on the platform of the LP instead of joining the APM.

Continuing, the source said:”We are aware of their decisions and when asked, they all gave various reasons for choosing to stay out of the movement to APM. But as politicians, the question we are asking them is: how they will work for Akinlade’s victory while running on the platforms of other parties? “We really don’t see how this will play out easily and everybody is worried over that.”

It was also gathered that the senatorial contest in Ogun west is another issue currently tearing the governor’s camp apart. While Amosun’s Chief of Staff, Tolu Odebiyi, is running as the candidate of the APC, another of the governor’s close aides, Bolanle Gbeleyi, who was a consultant to the governor, is the senatorial candidate of the APM in the same election.

“It is not true that the governor is using any of the two politicians to tackle the other. They are both loyalists of the governor and there is no rift between any one of them and His Excellency as being insinuated. What happened is that one of them is merely refusing to follow the directives of our political family as agreed. But I believe it will soon be resolved.”

The Nation also gathered that some of the governor’s allies whose names appeared on the list of DPP’s national assembly candidates a few weeks back may have resolved to still run as candidates of the party in the forthcoming elections. It was gathered that most of those planning to do this had again lost out in the race for the APM ticket contrary to their expectations.

“We were told we would be given the ticket of any party we moved to. That was why we agreed to leave the APC in the first place. But following the move, we were left out of the list sent to INEC as candidates of the APM. Good enough, we have our names with INEC as DPP candidates. We have met and we have decided to go on with our aspirations,” one of those concerned told The Nation.

On the DPP list as candidates for the House of Representatives are former APC chairman for Egbado South Local Government, Odebiyi Safiu Abiodun, a younger brother to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Adekunbi Fatai Aremu, Alhaji Taofeek Olabode and a serving chairman of Abeokuta North Local Council Development Area.

Others on the list are the General Manager of the State Housing Corporation, Olajumoke Akinwunmi, the current chairman of Odogbolu Local Government, Wale Shittu, Odumosu Olugbenga, a Commissioner in the Civil Service Commission, Mojeed Ekelojumati, the current chairman of APC in Ifo LG, Saheed Ariori, and Lamidi Rasheed from Ado-Odo/Ota.

More cracks

And while the governor and his lieutenants are battling to resolve the issues forcing their loyalists into diverse political parties, more cracks are appearing on the wall of Governor Amosun’s political home as more and more of his erstwhile trusted aides and allies are pitching their tents with Abiodun, the APC gubernatorial flag-bearer he vowed never to support.

During the week, leaders of the ruling party met at Frontier Hotel, Ilaro, Yewa South in a well publicised attempt to rally support for the Ogun APC governorship candidate, Abiodun, in the zone amidst widespread fears that the people of Yewaland may have resolved not to have anything to do with Abiodun’s aspiration following the refusal of the party to pick one of them as its candidate.

The Ilaro meeting, held last Friday, was actually a follow up to an earlier stakeholders’ meeting held in Abeokuta on Monday. Following uncertainties over which of the APC bigwigs in Ogun West are actually with Abiodun in his quest to rule the state, it was agreed that a meeting of APC chieftains in the zone be called so that a roll call of pro-Abiodun members of the APC in Ogun West can be taken.

“Before the Friday meeting, we were hearing all sorts of things about how many of our leaders in Ogun west have allegedly resolved to work against the candidate of the party in the next election. Many of them, being known allied and aides of Governor Amosun, were not even asked for their position on the crisis within the party before being tagged anti-party.

“It was for this reason we resolved to have a meeting where those of us in the zone who are ready to let bygone be bygone and remain with the party would be present and all doubts would be cleared. The decision turned out a good one because many of those being labelled anti-Dapo Abiodun showed up at the meeting to the happiness of many of us. Even those some people claimed have joined the APM were at the meeting,” a source told The Nation.

The Nation gathered that the leaders who attended the Ilaro meeting included Senator Akin Odunsi, former chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, (SUBEB), Chief M.A Ajibola, Hon. M.A.O Obanla, former Commissioner, Hon. Samuel Aiyedogbon, Ogun APC governorship aspirant, as well as Hon. Hunye Abayomi and Hon. Tunji Akinosi.

More surprising were the presence of Ogun West APC Senate candidate, Tolu Odebiyi, who was, until a couple of days ago, the Chief of Staff to Amosun, Yewa South/Ipokia APC House of Representative candidate, Hon. Biyi Otegbeye. Both Odebiyi and Otegbeye were key members of the governor’s political camp and have been tipped to be among those who will follow his dictates against Abiodun.

Speaking at the meeting, Odebiyi said he told the governor that he can’t leave APC for another party while the governor stays back in APC. He also said he told the governor that he has a root in politics and he won’t want to destroy that all because of selfish interest. He made it clear that it is very absurd to go to another party and campaign for President Buhari while some stay in APC and also campaign for another party’s candidate.

“Odebiyi’s presence at that meeting and his utterances have shown that the political family of Governor Ibikunle Amosun is no longer in harmony. It is true that many of his associates are frowning at his decision to remain in the APC while encouraging them to move out and populate the little known APM in pursuit of Akinlade’s governorship ambition.

“As we speak, the inability of all our people to assemble in one political party as earlier agreed, and the continued recanting of people like Odebiyi, who are now openly identifying with Abiodun contrary to Governor Amosun’s dictates, are sources of fresh worries within the camp. And until and unless these worries are promptly allayed, the struggle to enthrone Akinlade as governor will suffer more setbacks,” another source added.