By WALE AKINSELURE
AS major stakeholders in the Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) step up spirited efforts to cement cracks in the party after its electoral setback in 2019, WALE AKINSELURE underlines some major obstacles impeding quest for enduring unity among the various power centres.
MAJOR stakeholders are deeply worried about the precarious state of affairs in the Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Having been in power for eight unbroken years, they are pained over the raging cacophonies already taking a toll on the structures of the party. Of greatest concern to them is the apparent absence of a rallying force after the sudden demise of the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi, with old wounds remaining unhealed.
For instance, two years after former Minister of Communications, Chief Adebayo Shittu; former Senator Monsurat Sunmonu; former Honourable Dapo Lam-Adesina; former assistant to late Lam Adesina, Mr Fatai Ibikunle; former Oyo Chief of Staff, Professor Adeolu Akande; current Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun; and some others formed a faction known as Unity Forum, the crisis rocking the party in the state persists. The breaking away of the group was a crescendo of the battle among two warring factions for the soul of the APC, with one loyal to the late Governor Ajimobi known as SENACO and the other loyal to former governor of the state, the late Alhaji Lamidi Adesina known as LAMISTS. The crisis then culminated in the factionalisation of the party, which made the two groups hold parallel local government congresses and state congresses. The subsequent decision of the LAMISTS faction, transformed into Unity Forum, to dump the Oyo APC, left open wounds that are yet to heal.
With festering factions and blocs, the party suffered the greatest injury in losing the governorship seat to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Mr Seyi Makinde in the 2019 general election. The defeat indeed brought an end to denials of crises and factionalisations in the party. Then leader of the Oyo APC, late Ajimobirealised this when, times without number, he demanded forgiveness from those he intentionally or unintentionally wronged. To attend to the demands of aggrieved members and resolve the crisis, Ajimobi set up a reconciliation team headed by former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala. Some other members of the reconciliation team announced were Professor Dibu Ojerinde; Mr Mojeed Olaoya, Prince Gbade Lana, Alhaji Laide Abass, Mrs Mabel Williams and Mr Adefisoye Adekanye. When announcing the 16-member team, Ajimobi enjoined party members to forgive one another and accept that they jointly contributed to the 2019 loss. From May 2020 when the committee was inaugurated by Chairman, Oyo APC, Chief Akin Oke, members of the committee did set out to meet perceived aggrieved members of the party. Indeed, last Saturday’s stakeholders’ meeting convened by the committee gave pointers to the extent to which the Oyo APC can forge a united front for the 2023 general election.
New beginning
The enlarged stakeholders’ meeting held at Alao Akala’s Ibadan residence had in attendance, various party members and no fewer than 10 blocs stated their grievances that should be addressed for the dream of the Oyo APC to come to a reality. The existence of those blocs at one meeting meant even the broader known factions of SENACO and LAMISTS had subdivisions. And the blocs: the APC Reformers led by Lowo Obisesan; APC New Era led by Dr Fola Akinosun; APC Aspirants Forum led by Akeem Babalola; APC Worldwide led by John Olaleru; APC Way forward Stakeholders led by Dipo Fawole; APC Oke Ogun 10 led by Emmanuel Adelowo and the CPC Coalition represented by Sulaimon Oyaremi; Oyo State Progressive Parliamentarians led by Akinola Sikiru, made presentations.
The presentations identified that the party’s woes emanated from the lack of open primaries and congresses, some members of the party being regarded as inconsequential, poor reward system and the failure to separate governance from party system. The Akin Oke-led executive council was particularly fingered for supervising the failure of the party with imposition of candidates, hence some members called for its dissolution. Amid such calls, some others sued for calm with a suggestion that the EXCO be allowed to serve out its term which expires in 2021.
Governorship aspirants in the last election also had their say, with Mr Niyi Akintola (SAN), advocating separation of political structure from party structure. Making reference to the dissolution of the national executive council of the party and the setting up of caretaker committee, Akintola held that such doctrine of necessity could apply in the Oyo APC. Promoting the slogan, another aspirant, Dr Azeez Adeduntan said that the SENACO and the LAMISTS groups must be buried for the party to have a new lease of life. He opined that the bane of the party was the “winner-takes-all practice. The cardiovascular surgeon argued that even losers should not be discountenanced. For Joseph Tegbe, the party’s rules must be strictly abided by, especially for primaries and congresses.
Tegbe also said the APC’s quest for a united front could only be achieved if those desirous of seeking political officers downplayed their aspirations, for now, until the party reconciled and was united. The party’s governorship candidate in the 2019 election, Bayo Adelabu cautioned against calls by some members for the party to refund monies to those who got forms but were not chosen as candidates to contest the past election. “We are all nursing various injuries as party members,” he said. Adelabu posited that the death of the former leader of the party, Ajimobi could be seen as a sacrifice for the party to get it acts together. Like Tegbe, Adelabu held that persons with aspirations should put them aside for now till the party achieved unity.
Giving his own analysis of the state of the party, Senator Teslim Folarin urged the members to be wary that the APC was the hybrid of several other parties. He, however, stressed that every member of the party must resolve to work together so as to succeed in the forthcoming political battles. In a stinging remark, a former federal lawmaker, Honourable Saheed Akinade-Fijabi, described the Alao-Akala reconciliation committee itself as faulty. Scrutinising the membership, Akinade-Fijabi averred that the body was replete with persons who caused the misfortunes of the party. He called for a resetting of the committee so that aggrieved members could have confidence in the reconciliation efforts. He also called on members to kill their political aspirations and focus on the unity of the party. Also expedient, according to the former lawmaker, is that the party sticks to a standard mode of selecting candidates for elections. Speaking in the same vein, Dr Fola Akinosun asked that the reconciliation committee be expanded and particularly decentralised to local government level.
Considering the various issues raised, Alao-Akala affirmed the resolve of the committee to be an unbiased umpire in the reconciliation exercise. To support efforts to launch the party to victory in 2023, he enjoined members to forgive misgivings of the past and reunite for collective success. He particularly urged them to be keen on building the party and not themselves.
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