BY AKINWALE ABOLUWADE, IBADAN
For those who know, unless the Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo State is awake to reality and puts its home in order before the election year, the party, like a poisonous reptile, might be consumed by its own lethal gland.
With unresolved grievances and bitterness among the various interests within its fold, the ruling party in the state has been silently hemorrhaging since it rode to power by popular vote in 2019.
And, as things stand, the opposition political parties in the pacesetter state are waiting with eagerness to feast on the carcass of the ruling party.
Interestingly, majority of those who feel bruised in the party continue to point at the governor as the ‘author of the dispute’ that is gradually setting the house on fire. Some stalwarts within the party could, arguably, be said to have been on a coalition with Makinde. And as the silent battle rages on, it appears that the first to blink may not give in to the other.
The crisis in the ruling party in Oyo came to the fore on Saturday as Governor Seyi Makinde’s camp and the camp of the aggrieved leaders of the party held parallel congresses in the 351 wards in the state. But, while the heat within the fold rises beyond the comfort level, the warring sides lay claim to rights.
There are obvious signs that all is not well and the cracks in the coalition that brought Makinde as governor is widening. Chief among The point of difference that is currently threatening the soul of the party is the perception that Makinde failed to keep faith with the assurance he gave that every interest shall be taken care of through appointments to vacant positions in his government.
Makinde rode to power on the wings of coalition and the agreement that he had with the various groups was that they would be commensurately compensated. With the Presidential and National Assembly elections, held on February 23, 2019 giving a clear sign that the All Progressives Congress might carry the day, the coalition that brought Makinde to power united to crush the APC government in the state.
So, a week to the governorship election, major opposition parties in Oyo State resolved to jettison their individual ambitions to form a coalition that would give the state a unity government.
With three governorship candidates – Senator Femi Lanlehin of the African Democratic Congress, ADC – Sharafadeen Alli of Zenith Labour Party and Bolaji Ayorinde, SAN, of the Social Democratic Party, coming together in an alliance to work with Makinde of PDP, the ballot coup against APC at the poll was won.
However, weeks rolled into months after Makinde’s victory without the pact that was reached met. A group called Oyo Advocacy Development Group specifically accused Makinde of running a deceitful coalition government in the state.
According to the group, the agreement was that the ADC would take 30, ZLP 10 and SDP, five per cent of all positions across board. While the coalition is aggrieved that Makinde did not keep faith with the agreement, some PDP members are also not happy that they have not reaped any reward of their toil during the poll.
The seed of distrust planted in the minds of aggrieved PDP members since the ascension of Makinde to power has continued to promote bitterness within the fold. Efforts by the PDP at the national level to address the logjam in the state chapter could not be said to have yielded any positive result. The visit by the Senator Bukola Saraki-led PDP National Reconciliation and Strategy Committee to Ibadan to the aggrieved members of the party in the state was the third in the attempts to resolve the knotty issues.
After the meeting, Saraki noted that the party members wanted more recognition and more stake in the affairs of their government, having worked for the election of the governor. To him, typically, politicians don’t put in efforts without expecting to get rewarded or recognised. Some of the aggrieved members of the party demanded inclusiveness in government.
CAN PDP RETAIN OYO BEYOND 2023?
Pundits watching with baited breath had speculated that the hope of sustaining PDP’s hold on power in the state beyond 2023 lies in Makinde’s ability to keep the party and the coalition in synergy, but the signs of time for the party and its allies are discomforting.
For many of them, the governor is disconnected from the arms that backed him to the Agodi Government House in Ibadan.
The rapport between former governor Rashidi Ladoja and Makinde is adjudged as being merely managed while Alli of the ZLP had since broken ties with the governor and his party. Lanlehin exited the alliance with regrets and feeling of betrayal on the alleged breach of agreement with the coalition.
The Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola-led reconciliation committee had admonished Makinde to consider the solutions being recommended as antidotes to the problems that were besetting the party in the state and the South-West.
In the view of beneficiaries of Makinde’s administration, those grieving are doing so due to frustration and not because the governor actually wronged them.
“The Saka Balogun Committee listed marginalisation, neglect of party members, poor relationship between political appointees and party leaders, favouritism and poor accessibility to Governor Makinde as bones of contention
“
Babatunde Oduyoye, Special Adviser to Governor Makinde on Strategy and Political Matters, was quoted to have accused Lanlehin of trying to drag his principal (Makinde) into his frustrations with the ADC. Oduyoye insisted that Makinde “lived up to his promise to all parties in the coalition and accommodated all interests.”
The Oyo State chapter of the PDP also argued that Makinde had fulfilled his commitment to the coalition pact by appointing no fewer than seven members of the ADC into his government. Notwithstanding the various positions and arguments for Makinde living up to the coalition pact, both Sarafadeen Alli and Olufemi Lanlehin later joined the All Progressives Congress. But Makinde also has to deal with displeasure of some members of his party, the PDP.
But the governor acknowledged the problems in the party and the potential danger it may portend. Last year, in a bid to address some of the issues, Makinde inaugurated the Dr Saka Balogun-led Elders Steering Committee of the Oyo PDP in the state.
He said, “The task before this committee is to assist us to get to the roots of all the challenges within our party, the PDP in Oyo state. A failure is hard to take, but success is harder to manage because expectations were quite high. It has been one year and about two weeks in office in this administration and the expectations of some of our party members have not been met either rightly or wrongly.
“Some have legitimate requests and expectations, but some are just being used by some forces outside of our party against the party. So, we need to sieve the chaff from the wheat, and where our members have legitimate expectations and legitimate entitlements, I want all that to be brought out so that we can address the issues.”
Among other issues, the Saka Balogun Committee listed marginalisation, neglect of party members, poor relationship between political appointees and party leaders, favouritism and poor accessibility to Governor Makinde as bones of contention. The report also indicated that the Makinde-led government prioritised the interest of political upstarts while relegating old party members. The governor was also alleged of giving key political appointments to close friends and associates.
The deputy governor, Rauf Olaniyan, is perceived to have been bearing the brunt of the governor’s alleged overbearing stance on vital decisions, both on party and state matters. Within the party, critical stakeholders, including Mulikat Akande-Adeola, Azim Gbolarumi, Wole Oyelese, Bisi Olopoeyan, Alli Dodo, Femi Babalola, Mogaji Nureni Akanbi, Ajibola Muraina, and many others are in stiff opposition against those who are disposed to the governor in the party.
Balogun’s committee recommended the review of the governor’s administration style, saying that doing so could help in addressing the knotty political issue as those who had toiled for the party’s victory at the poll would want to reap the fruit of their labour. Particularly, emphasis was placed on the need for the governor to respect the interest of the leadership of the party.
The committee also advised that the governor’s appointees should respect party supremacy rather than being averse to promoting unity in the party.
During the visit by the Saraki committee, Femi Babalola, a prominent member of the PDP in the state, said, “We need to come together fast. The party has been divided down the line. If anybody says it is not true, it will be most unfortunate. Such a person should just go for our weekly meetings of any local government and compare it to attendance before the election. Attendance should be highest when we are in government but it is not, so I wish there is a sincere reconciliation and whatever has to be done is done fast.”
Olopoeyan alleged that he felt betrayed by Makinde, stating that the aggrieved members wanted the governor to run an all-inclusive government. He added that the aggrieved members waited patiently for the governor “to do the needful,” but failed. The failure to address grey areas as recommended by the party reconciliation committees at the state and national levels had a backlash on the PDP in the state during its local government congress where parallel congresses were held across the state.
However, the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, who doubles as Chairman, PDP Ward Congress Committee, said that his committee did not notice any parallel congress in the state.
He said, “All the talks of having parallel election has not been noticed and what is key today is that the process has been peaceful. No report of any violence anywhere and that is one thing we have been afraid of.
Interestingly, all through the night, we were having discussions and phone calls to some of them that feel aggrieved. We will settle our internal issues and I am happy that we are already discussing.”
“With continued strife in the party, the hope of having cohesion is dicey. And, unless the problems at the home front are fixed before the 2023 general elections, the force to drive the party for victory may continue to wane and the fold may pay a huge price in the end “
Olopoeyan said that those not in the camp of the governor held Congresses in all the 351 wards in the state. He said that they bought forms from the party, and that the Independent National Electoral Commission, Department of State Services and the police also monitored the parallel congress.
He added, “Edo State Deputy Governor came and held a meeting with Makinde’s group in a hotel. We were not invited. He went to Makinde’s ward and went back to where he was camped to enjoy himself after that. If he said that there was not, did he go to Oke Ogun? Did he visit Ibarapa? Did he go to Ogbomoso? He can’t stay in one place and claim there was no parallel congress anywhere. We held our congress and they held theirs. We floored the government’s camp in all the 351 wards.
“Parallel congress is not new. Makinde himself is a product of parallel congress. So, it is the party that will determine which one to take. But, what happened today may happen in 2023 if care is not taken.”
Makinde, who spoke at Ward 11, Ibadan North East Local Government, had said during the congress that “for some who are angry or aggrieved, let them bring their issues to the table; we will address them. Politics is about conflict and resolution of conflict within the interaction of people.”
With continued strife in the party, the hope of having cohesion is dicey. And, unless the problems at the home front are fixed before the 2023 general elections, the force to drive the party for victory may continue to wane and the fold may pay a huge price in the
end.
