APC Chieftain Admonishes on Coordinated Campaigns, Inclusion

Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja

Ahead of the November 2023 governorship election in Kogi State, the former Commissioner for Information and a Chieftain All Progressive Congress (APC), Hon. Tom Ohikere has urged the leadership of the political party to ensure coordinated and inclusivity that are devoid of disjointed campaigns. 

Ohikere made this call while speaking in a chat with journalists in Lokoja yesterday stating that APC must stand well-positioned to win the forthcoming election in the state.

Ohikere explained that the recently inaugurated governorship election campaign council would correct noticeable anomalies associated with the campaign.

He insisted that the chances of supposed opposition candidates like Hon. Leke Abejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and  Mr. Murtala Yakubu Ajaka, of the SDP stand at pole post position to compete with their  APC counterparts given their backgrounds as APC founding members who were forced to contest on other party platforms.

Ajaka said: “I faulted the manner of uncoordinated and disjointed campaigns but I think strongly that with the campaign council already in place, the disconnection and anomalies could be corrected.

“The party urgently needs to intensify its effort to use the modest achievements of the outgoing APC administration of Governor Yahaya Bello to campaign.

“The governor has recorded some success stories in some key areas. The campaign council should also be aware that the Kogi election is about APC versus APC as the other major contenders were major players in the APC before they were forced to take other platforms to contest.

“For example, Muri Ajaka was the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party and a major contributor to the election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, while Hon. Leke Abejide was a founding member of APC who was also forced to ADC for his ambition for the House of representatives but today, he is still very interested in APC as his significant contributions to Asiwaju’s presidential campaign.

“Also is it Admiral Jibril Usman, Accord Party’s candidate, who worked closely with Hon. James Faleke in the Tinubu Support Group and the APC’s presidential campaign council? So the forthcoming election in the state is mainly about APC lords.

“This is demonstrated by the followers of these titans who are all APC members. We can hardly blame anybody for anti-party activities today.

“This high level of political distrust and reduced party identification suggest that APC is still in crisis in Kogi state. Political parties are prisoners of their history, that is, when you look at the present status of APC in Kogi State from the historical events, what we witness today is coming from the accumulated errors. The present is therefore a function of the past.

“For example, the foundation of APC in Kogi Central was laid at my residence in Adavi by Mr. Abubakar Audu, he mandated me to lead the inaugural membership drive of the party and I have consistently worked for the party in the 2015 campaigns where I was the head of media and publicity and in 2019 when I served as the secretary of the media and publicity of the campaign council.

“Regrettably, I have been ostracised by the administration. So many stakeholders are also affected in the same manner.

“So APC, over the past eight years in the state, has been faced with the challenges of increasing popular disenchantment and falling trust in leadership among other factors.

“So the leadership must be able to look into these problems to ensure maximum participation in the forthcoming election.”

On his advice for the APC leadership on the case at the Supreme Court filed by Senator Smart Adeyemi against Ododo’s nomination, he said that “the case of Senator Smart Adeyemi at the Supreme Court is a very serious case that the party was supposed to use its internal mechanism to resolve earlier and should not have been allowed to reach this level. It is a case I followed very keenly as someone in Adeyemi’s camp.

“In the course of Ododo’s visit to me, I advised his team to seek every legal alternative to reconcile with Adeyemi and a member of Ododo’s team who happens to be the present Commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftaincy, Hon  Deedat Ozigi became confrontational and even challenged me,” he stressed.