How Jonathan plans to decimate APC in South West As the race for the next occupant of Aso Rock, the nation’s seat of power intensify, incumbent President, Goodluck Jonathan must have started his re-election plans aimed at dislodging opposition forces from the six geo-political zones, Sunday Independent can authoritatively report. Already, the President according to source close to the Government House Alagbaka, Akure had perfected his strategy to weaken the All Progressives Congress (APC) base in the South West by commissioning the Labour Party (LP) to dislodge the rampaging APC in the region. Under the plot to ensure that APC did not succeed in stopping President Jonathan from winning a second term in office in 2015 with a block vote from the South West; LP according to the source is to infiltrate the camp of APC in the region and win some of its’ disenchanted loyalists to LP’s fold. The plan which has already been put on top gear, the source said would drastically reduce the influence and political fortune of APC in the six states of South-West. Governor Olusegun Mimiko who is the only governor under the platform of LP was highly rumoured last year to have concluded plan to join the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but there are strong indication that under the new plan, he is to stay put in LP and extend the party’s tentacles to other states within the region. In Ekiti, a serving member of the House of Representatives and leading governorship aspirant, Opeyemi Bamidele has dumped the APC to join LP where he is expected to pick the governorship ticket of LP to run against the incumbent, Kayode Fayemi. Also in Osun, a former deputy governor and senator, Iyiola Omisore was reportedly favoured by the LP to run for the governorship seat of the state on its platform. Though, Omisore has not defected to LP from his party, PDP, but he was said to be in strong political alliance with the Ondo State governor both whom were long time friends since their university days and said to be favoured by the Presidency to run for the seat. In Ogun, the president is to use former governor Gbenga Daniel who has already defected to LP with scores of his supporters in the state to present a formidable candidate against the APC governor, Ibikunle Amosun in 2015 general election in the state. Ondo State has now become the rallying point for the LP in the zone. The LP in Oyo State has been working with opposition Accord Party (AP) led by former governor, Senator Raheed Ladoja to stop the re-election of Governor Abiola Ajimobi of APC in 2015. “The game plan is very simply which is for Governor Mimiko to play a spoiler to every action of APC in South-West, and also as a backup to PDP weak political strength in the region. “With this plan, APC not only had PDP to contend with in 2015, but with the ever waxing stronger political strength of LP which a large population of residents of the region now see as alternative party,” our source who did not want his name in the print stated. However, a member of Ondo State House of Assembly and the only PDP lawmaker in the 26-member Assembly, Akpoebi Lubi said President Jonathan wouldn’t need either LP or Mimiko support to win the South-West if he eventually seeks re-election in 2015. “To me, I don’t believe President Goodluck Jonathan needs any special support of any individual to win any part of the country if Nigerians collectively want him back in Aso Rock in 2015. “Most of these politicians in the South-West, including Mimiko are either current members or former members of PDP, so they won’t need much persuasion to come back to PDP and work for the President,” he stated. The lawmaker however, believed that whatever Mimiko is doing to APC now is a matter of paying the APC back in their coin, as they (the then ACN governors) did same to Mimiko during the October 20, 2012, governorship election in Ondo State. The source added that the alternative plan put in place by the president’s strategists where a candidate can not be agreed upon on the platform of the LP, is to ensure that both the PDP and LP has a working relationship agreement in those states whereby the LP would declare their support for the PDP when the election comes. The source added that in return for the working relationship the Presidency would heavily finance the LP activities in the zone to ensure that the party gives the ruling APC a run for their money and ensure that no bloc vote would come to the opposition party who may be banking on huge vote from the zone.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Jan 2014 02:33:30 +0000
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