Reaching for the Anti-climax

From all indications, the much-awaited but often postponed national convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), would hold this Saturday. Another major move towards this actualisation was the invitation extended to aspirants by the party for various positions to appear for screening yesterday. As at the time of writing this report, seven aspirants had confirmed their interest in the national chairmanship of the party. 

These were the Senator representing Niger-East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Sani Musa; a former governor of Nasarawa State, Tanko Al-Makura; another former governor of the same Nasarawa State, Senator Abdullahi Adamu; a former governor of Benue State, George Akume; an ex-governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari; Saliu Mustapha and Mohammed Etsu.

It has also been a smooth running for the office of the National Secretary of the party with a former deputy governor of Osun State, Iyiola Omisore, being a front runner. His ambition got a major boost some days ago from some governors from the South-west geo-political zone with the Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, leading the charge. He even issued a press statement endorsing Omisore and Isaac Kekemeke as National Secretary and Deputy National Chairman respectively.

Sources told THISDAY earlier in the week that the party was actually interested in affirmation and consensus arrangement but this was proving problematic as they could not agree on who and who would occupy various positions. Perhaps, this would be finally sorted out by the time the screening is concluded.

Meanwhile, some APC governors were said to be spoiling for war over the convention as they felt President Muhammadu Buhari, had exposed them to ridicule going by the manner the Caretaker Chairman and governor of Yobe State, Mallam Mai Buni, was returned to the party.

Also, in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), things seem to be a little calmer and plans are going on well only that plans to scheme out former Vice-President and perennial presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, on the reason of age thicken every day, even as the party maintains it has not taken any stand on zoning of its presidential ticket to any particular part of the country. 

Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, has intensified his campaigns to get the party’s ticket but it remains to be seen how the party will handle the thorny issue of zoning with the APC looking more likely to zone its own ticket to the South. It is also important to note that the northern presidential hopefuls inn the PDP are already considering a consensus candidate. 

Saraki’s Ministerial Deal for Under the 40s

On Monday, a former Senate President and presidential hopeful on the platform of the opposition PDP, Dr. Bukola Saraki, shocked many when he said if he became President, hisministers of states, would be persons under the age of 40, literally conceding the positions to the youths.  

In a series of Tweets, the former governor of Kwara State, said, he was humbled by the gesture of some young professionals, led by one Abubakar Dan Musa, who raised N40million for him to purchase the expression of interest form.  

And then, the bombshell: “As it stands, this is a clarion call. This is why I make this promise: When I become President on the 29th of May 2023, all the Ministers of State in my Cabinet will be experienced young people, who are under the age of 35.” 

While on paper, this will be a very novel and innovative approach to governance, even neutrals would know that perhaps, Saraki was making a political statement to massage the ego of those, who had raised money for his presidential nomination form. The reason being that even he himself would be clocking 60 by the time he is being sworn-in as President come 2023, if he eventually beat the odds to win the presidential contest. 

Secondly, the nature of Nigerian politics is still based on patronage and reward system and going the way party politics usually pans out in this part of the world, those that will be in charge of the political structures that will help him realise his presidential ambition are likely to be politicians and veterans of many presidential onslaughts. And most of them don’t do this for free or altruistic reasons. When they work for any candidate to win any election, especially, in a presidential contest, such candidate had only taken a political IOU that is always paid back by appointments, patronages and juicy contracts. 

Going by this, those who might have been dreaming of ministerial appointments under a President Bukola Saraki should go and study the nature of presidential contests in Nigeria. Those who raised money for nomination forms do not matter as those who made the form translate into victory. Even then, Saraki has always proven to be a man of his words with the courage to walk his talk. So, fingers crossed. 

How Far Can Adewole Adebayo Go?

One realisation among the majority of Nigerians, even political neutrals, is that to achieveany political ambition in 2023, especially, at both the governorship and presidential levels, it has to be on the platform of either the ruling APC or the opposition PDP. 

However, one young Nigerian that is trying to challenge this old order is Adewole Adebayo, a trained lawyer and chief executive officer of Abuja-based King Adebayo Film and Theatre Arts Network Television, KAFTAN. Late last month, Adebayo declared his intention to run for the Presidency on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).  

Declaring his intention to bid for President Buhari’s current job, the 50 year-old said, it was time for Nigerians to look beyond the APC and PDP in looking for those, who could serve the nation. His words: “We are all aware of the state of our country and the clock of transition that is ticking towards 2023. We have many platforms on which our multi-party democracy allows us to push solutions to the problem of the country.  

“And you would have noticed that Nigerians are becoming impatient and rightfully tired of the journey that we began in 1999, which is supposed to take us to civil rule, democracy and development. It appears as if this journey is taking too long to get to where we need to go. And the vehicle of state appears to be stuck and it appears also recently that the wheels are coming off.” 

He then called on Nigerians to look for alternatives and not resign to fate that change was not possible. 

Adebayo had mouthed the regular rhetoric but the job at hand is deeper than that. Sources told THISDAY that he had been criss-crossing the length and breath of the country, selling his ideas but the issue is still about the platform – SDP. Both PDP and APC, despite all the ills ailing them, have built structures across the country up to ward level. Does SDP have such structures? That is why the question becomes pertinent: can Adebayo pull it off and make a statement? 

For Ekiti North Senate Seat, Odds Favour Otitoju

If there was any senatorial district in Ekiti State that is always as interesting as the Nigerian political set-up itself, it is the Ekiti North Senatorial District. The district has two constituencies: One and Two. Constituency One is made up of Oye and Ikole Local Governments while Two is made up of Ido-Osi, Ilejemeje and Moba Local Governments.

The senatorial seat has always been rotated between the two constituencies but for reasons best known to major players in the senatorial district, the seat has been retained by Constituency Two since 2011. The senator currently representing the district is Bunmi Adetumbi from Ifaki-Ekiti in Ido-Osi Local Government.

It is this delicate balance and apparent lack of fair balance between the two constituencies that have made the emergence of Sir Kayode Otitoju, a former Commissioner representing the South-west in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and one-time Commissioner for Information in the State, as a force to reckon with. 

This is not the first time Otitoju would be trying his luck but at no time have the odds been in his favour as now. His first attempt was in 2001, when INEC announced that there would be a bye-election to fill the vacancy created by the death of Senator Olatunji Ajayi, who was from Constituency Two. 

Then governor and current Minister of Commerce and Industry, Niyi Adebayo, prevailed that Constituency Two where Ajayi came from should still retain the seat. Succeeding Ajayi was the late Senator Olagunju Kolawole, who held the seat till 2007, when it moved to Constituency One and Senator Ayo Arise served till 2011 and was succeeded by Senator Duro Faseyi till 2015 and then Senator Adetumbi since 2015.

Both Faseyi and Adetumbi are from same Ido-Osi Local Government in Constituency Two. The implication of this is that by 2023, Constituency Two would have held the seat for 20 out of 24 years.

Now, the two parties seem to have zoned the seat to Constituency One and specifically to Ikole Local Government. And that is why Otitoju seems confident he would make the cut this time, after 22 years of trying. Speaking with THISDAY on Monday, Otitoju said even if only for fairness and equity, Constituency One and Ikole Local Government specifically should have the slot.

“By 2023, Moba and Ido-Osi would have had the seat for 20 out of 24 years. The only person from our one zone to have it was Senator Ayo Arise. And I am glad that our party, under Governor Fayemi, has deemed it fit to not only zone it to Constituency One, but to Ikole Local Government this time. Beyond this, however, I believe I am immensely qualified for the seat,” he said.

A successful businessman, Otitoju has had stint in the transport and logistics sector of the economy, where he made success of his forays before venturing into politics over twenty years ago. He is from Odo Oro-Ekiti in Ilole Local Government area of the state. 

Tambuwal: Still Playing the Zoning Game

Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, is very much aware that should his party, the PDP, zone its presidential ticket to the South, he has been automatically disqualified. It is, therefore, not surprising that Tambuwal had upped the ante on the zoning debate by declaring that the South-south zone could not win the Presidency even if it was zone there.  

That was why he advised his party to either choose between zoning and winning the Presidency. Tambuwal made the declaration in Abuja, when he met with principal officers of the National Assembly on Tuesday in continuation of his consultations towards realising his presidential bid. 

Apparently responding to the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who asked that the South-south zone be treated with fairness, Tambuwal said “you cannot zone what you don’t have”.

The issue of zoning has become a thorny one within the PDP hierarchy as many of the party’s top stakeholders from the North were of the opinion that if the party wanted to win the 2023 presidential election, then, it had to forget about zoning and let the best of all the aspirants be put forward irrespective of where he or she comes from.

But party leaders from the South wanted the party to follow the steps of the ruling APC and zone the party to the Southern part of the country. And leading this campaign is Wike. And from all indications, the party will not prevent anyone from any part of the country to purchase expression of interest form. It, however, promises to be interesting how the party navigates through this very delicate issue.