2015: Battle of godfathers In this write-up,ALLWELL OKPIexamines the politicking that has engulfed some of the states, whose governors would finish their second term in 2015 As the general elections draw closer, political tension has heightened across the country with politicians jostling for elective positions. These political activities are even more intense in some states where the incumbent governors are rounding off their second terms. The mere fact that the incumbent would not contest the next governorship election in the states has elicited much contention for the governorship seats as many politicians belonging to diverse political parties have thrown their hats into the ring. In these states, many aspirants have indicated their governorship interests on the platforms of the ruling parties and the opposition parties. As it had been in the past, the outgoing governors are doing all they can to determine who would succeed them. In Lagos State for instance, as Governor Babatunde Fashola prepares to leave, the stage is set for what may be the stiffest governorship tussle in the state. There are about 20 governorship aspirants who have thrown their hats into the ring and have started convincing all and sundry on why they should be elected to succeed Fashola. Prominent among the aspirants on the side of the ruling All Progressives Congress are the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji; the state Commissioner for Works, Obafemi Hamzat; a former Accountant-General of the state, Akinwunmi Ambode; a former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Supo Sasore; a former state Commissioner for Education, Leke Pitan, a serving senator, Ganiyu Solomon, among others. On the side of the opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party, there are the immediate past Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro; a former governorship candidate of the Democratic Peoples Alliance, Jimi Agbaje, the party’s governorship candidate in 2011, Ade Dosunmu; and Dr. Adegbola Dominic, who was the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance in 2011. Others include a former acting National Vice Chairman of the PDP, Adedeji Doherty; Owolabi Salis and Babatunde Badamosi, who had all vied for the governorship of Lagos. Besides the array of the politicians and technocrats seeking the Lagos governor’s seat, the battle to succeed Fashola has generated more intrigues. While the politicians in the PDP are working hard to win Lagos for the first time since 1999 – when the Fourth Republic commenced, those on the APC side are doing their best to retain the party’s stronghold, the control of which is largely attributable to the political sagacity of a former governor of the state, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Some observers believe that the 2015 election would, among other things, be a test of how powerful Tinubu’s political empire has evolved. It is also believed that the process of choosing the APC’s Lagos governorship candidate is likely to pit Tinubu against Fashola, with both of them said to have different aspirants. Though Fashola is said to have performed better that most of his fellow governors, the possibility of having a say in who succeeds him remains slim based on recent political developments. Another state, whose governorship election is likely to be fierce, is Rivers State. The battle for who becomes the next governor of the state would be an extension of the feud which started over a year ago between the state governor, Rotimi Amaechi and President Goodluck Jonathan. The crisis led to fracas in the state House of Assembly and several protests as well as the factionalisation of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, which Amaechi led. The crisis also led the state being torn in between the PDP and the APC after Amaechi, alongside four other state governors, defected from the PDP to the APC. The APC rally, which held last Saturday in Port Harcourt, served as an indication that, unlike previous elections in Rivers State, the PDP may not be able to win the 2015 election. Another dimension to the Rivers succession battle is the ensuing test of popularity between Amaechi and the erstwhile Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike. While the political crisis in the state made headlines due to the constant clashes, Wike was seen as the arrowhead for the anti-Amaechi vanguard. Now, Wike is one of the top contenders for the PDP governorship ticket in the state. If he gets the PDP ticket, he would face an APC candidate that would most likely be Amaechi’s ‘anointed’ candidate, considering that the APC in Rivers is built round the governor. Wike, who resigned his ministerial appointment to face his governorship bid, recently said Amaechi, his one-time political boss, nominated him for the ministerial post in order to weaken his influence in Rivers politics, stressing, however, that he still has the clout to win the state for the PDP.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 06:21:18 +0000
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