Ohikere: APC Factions Need to Unite Ahead of Kogi Guber Poll

Former Commissioner for Information in Kogi State and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Tom Ohikere, in this interview with Folalumi Alaran, speaks on the need for the national leadership of the party to unite all factions in the Confluence State so as to win the November 11, 2023 governorship election.

You were quoted as saying that with the APC structure in Kogi State, Alhaji Usman Ododo will win the November 11 governorship election. Why are you so confident?

 Yes, as of then but with the recent dynamics, it’s 50-50.

What has changed?

Presently I am expecting the leadership of the party in the state and the administration to articulate the collective interests of stakeholders and shareholders, aggregate preferences and channel maximum energy into the campaigns, but the prevailing circumstance is that we are seemingly losing touch with the realities. Typically, the governor rejects honest critics who hold up a mirror to him and speak the truth to power. Instead the governor surrounds himself with sycophants who tell him what he wants to hear. Over time, the governor loses the capacity for honest dialogues as others learn not to confront him with the realities or truth.

You once made a case for coordinated campaign and inclusivity devoid of disjointed campaign. Did the composition of the APC campaign council meet your expectations?

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 actually 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 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. Or is it Admiral Jibril Usman (Accord Party’s candidate) who worked closely with Hon. James Faleke in the Tinubu Support Group and the APC presidential campaign council.

So the forthcoming election in the state is mainly about APC lords. This is demonstrated by the followership 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 are 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 late Prince 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 ostracized 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.

What would you advise the APC leadership to do about the case at the Supreme Court filed  by Senator Smart Adeyemi against Ododo’s nomination?

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.

To my understanding, Senator Adeyemi is a very responsive party man and a good listener but they did not approach him sufficiently. Senator Adeyemi is a frontline political player in this country and I don’t advise any leader to make him your enemy, as it’s always better for Adeyemi to be on the same page with you to enjoy his support and goodwill.

I can confidently say Adeyemi is one of the most honest players I have met. He must have been mishandled by some younger players. So, APC needs his support for the election.

Isn’t it a little too late for any proactive reconciliation now that the supreme court has fixed October 23 date for judgment?

The party hierarchy and Governor Bello can do it in less than 24 hours. They should approach Adeyemi in the spirit of peace and survival of the party in the state. Senator Adeyemi holds the four aces, he owns the case and he can manage it.

You were a major voice in the agitation for power shift to Kogi West and close ally of Senator Adeyemi. What is your stand now as a supporter of Ododo?

I was in the vanguard for power rotation to Kogi West because that is how it is supposed to be, for fairness and justice. Kogi East and Kogi Central must give Kogi West a sense of belonging in the Kogi project. I was in the camp of Senator Adeyemi because he is from Kogi West, he is very competent and prepared to serve, but after the primary election, I had no choice than to support Usman Ododo. And I don’t regret my support for Kogi West and Adeyemi.

My advice to the leadership of the APC in the state is that we should do the needful to avoid witnessing a vote of anger against the system as voters are approaching the polls with fatigue and discontent.

This is because it seems that citizens may be using the election to express their discontent, a phenomenon referred to as the “anger vote” which can be defined as the rejection of political parties, traditional elites and central institutions as people may be voting for newer political platforms created around political personalities and not party choice.

At this juncture, the health of APC in Kogi state should be serious concern to the president and the APC headquarters if we must emerge victorious in the November election.

What in your opinion should form the mainstay of the 2023 Kogi governorship election campaigns across party lines; the fundamental issues?

One, power rotation: Today, the candidates of APC, SDP and others are calling for Kogi Agenda but forgetting that the agenda is incomplete without Kogi West, thinking that Kogi West must enjoy the benefits of itsvshare of place in Lugard house. For equity, fairness and a sense of belonging, the issue of power rotation must be articulated and brought to the front burner. I expected that Governor Bello would put a deliberate effort in place, like legislating it and putting the framework in place. This will further facilitate the acceptance of Ododo.

Two, the achievement of GYB: This will be a major campaign point, for or against him. I am expecting that Ododo will x-ray this as a campaign lobby, while the opposition is expected to use this factor too.

To me, the governor has recorded modest achievements. Added to the issue of power rotation is the factor of contention. That, for example, after 19 years in Lugard’s house, are the Igalas supposed to be in contention? That should the Ebiras continue in the government house after eight years as legalized? Three, the position of Kogi in the national poverty index: Has life improved under APC? In the areas of feeding, illnesses, and deaths? Four, the staff screening exercise and its results. Five, the relationship between the government and the people.

Six, the Greater Lokoja Waterworks established by former Governor Ibrahim Idris. Seven, what is the state of public infrastructures?

The untapped mineral potentialities in the state; the state of education, health and rural development? These are the fundamental issues in this election.