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The Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, considers the
victory of Rotimi Akeredolu of the All Progressives Congress in the just
concluded Ondo governorship election as a blow to Bola Tinubu’s hold on
south-west politics, the organisation’s spokesperson has said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared Mr. Akeredolu winner on Sunday,
having polled 244, 842 to defeat his challengers, mainly Eyitayo Jegede
of Peoples Democratic Party with 150,380 votes and Olusola Oke of
Alliance for Democracy with 126,889 votes.
According to the Afenifere spokesperson, Yinka Odumakin, this outcome means that “Abuja has prevailed over the south-west which worked against Akeredolu.”
“And this is going to have implications for future politics of the south-west,” Mr. Odumakin added.
Pressed to explain what he meant by “Abuja” and ‘south-west” – Mr.
Odumakin said that, “the South West APC has a controlling leadership
under Tinubu, or by South West I mean the Tinubu caucus which is the
majority in the region.”
“And, at the moment, Fashola (Babatunde), Governor Ibikunle Amosun
(of Ogun State) and Fayemi (Kayode) do not belong to that group under
Tinubu which was opposed to Akeredolu’s emergence.”
He said Afenifere would watch “these implications” as they unfold.
Mr. Akeredolu’s emergence as the candidate of the APC months ago at
the expense of several aspirants, including Olusegun Abraham, backed by
Mr. Tinubu, had generated crisis which saw aggrieved defeated aspirants
petition the party’s appeals panel.
The panel invalidated Mr. Akeredolu’s victory at the primary poll,
but the National Working Committee of the party led by John
Odigie-Oyegun overruled the panel, provoking a furious Mr. Tinubu to accusehis
party of injustice and undemocratic tendencies, and demand Mr. Oyegun’s
resignation in a strongly worded letter through which he also renounced
the “honorific title” of national leader of the ruling party.
But Mr. Odigie-Oyegun, who hit back at Mr. Tinubu and dismissed allegations against him as reckless, has remained in office, apparently backed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr. Tinubu and his core loyalists, including Governor Rauf Aregbesola
of Osun State and Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State refused to endorse
Mr. Akeredolu and shunned his grand rally attended by Messrs. Buhari, Oyegun, Amosun, Fayemi and Senate President Bukola Saraki in Akure.
One of Mr. Aregbesola’s aides, Bola Ilori led AD’s Mr. Oke’s campaign
and many card carrying APC members, citing “injustice” in their party,
openly mobilised support for Mr. Oke, fuelling claims Mr. Tinubu backed
the AD’s candidate against his own party’s flag bearer.
Mr. Oke joined AD to contest the election after he lost in the APC
primary. But despite the support he had from APC members in the
south-west, he came distant third leaving over 100 thousand votes
between himself and Mr. Akeredolu who faced abandonment by his own party
members and leaders in the region.
In his victory speech, Mr. Akeredolu thanked Mr. Buhari, Mr. Oyegun
whom he called “our indefatigable and principled chairman”, and “loyal”
governors – subtly hitting at his APC governors in the south-west
allegedly involved in anti-party activities.
However, hours after Mr. Akeredolu was officially declared winner by INEC, Mr. Tinubu congratulated the governor-elect and noted his “persistence and perseverance”.
The governor-elect first contested the Ondo governorship election in
2012, fully backed by Mr. Tinubu, but came third, trailing Mr. Oke of
PDP then, and the outgoing Governor Olusegun Mimiko, who then used
Labour to clinch a second term.
In his reaction, Mr. Tinubu also extended congratulations to Mr.
Buhari whom he called “the national leader of the party whose stature
and dignity helped guide the APC to another victory…”
Mr. Ambode also congratulated Mr. Akeredolu, just after Mr. Tinubu’s reaction on Sunday,
and charged the governor-elect to pursue unity of Yoruba through
regional integration and economic transformation of the south-west. But
Mr. Aregbesola has not issued any public reaction as at the time of
filing this report.
The Afenifere and Mr. Tinubu have been on divergent paths since the latter’s tenure as Lagos governor.
Afenifere was the socio-cultural organisation behind the AD in 1999,
as Egbe Omo Oduduwa was for the Action Group led by late Obafemi Awolowo
in the 1950s.
However, the group did not back the AD candidate in the Ondo election
because of the perceived support Mr. Oke enjoyed from Mr. Tinubu.
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