Oyo PDP, APC face rebuilding exercise

As they move closer to the next general elections, the two major parties in Oyo State, the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party PDP) and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) have begun the process of rebuilding their houses. Southwest Bureau Chief Bisi Oladele, Yinka Adeniran and Segun Showumi give an overview of the state of the two parties

It is almost two years to the next general elections. In Oyo State, the two major political parties, the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) are already trying to put their houses in order, to prepare for the next round of elections in the state. But, the two parties are battling varying degrees of internal crisis in their fold.

PDP

The PDP is making frantic efforts to keep the coalition that brought it into power intact. Prior to the last general elections, a number of fringe political parties joined forces to prop up the PDP to be able to dislodge the former ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) from power. But, close to two years in power, opinions are divided on how far Governor Seyi Makinde has succeeded in carrying all the coalition partners that worked for his victory along.

While some of the individuals and groups that coalesced to achieve victory for the PDP candidate are crying foul of not being carried along in governance, some others are complaining of not getting a fair share of patronage from the government.

But, the leadership of the party at different times has insisted that all the issues and challenges facing the party would soon be addressed to form a formidable party ahead of the next election.

Notable among the issues rocking the party is the perceived disagreement between Governor Makinde and his Deputy Rauf Olaniyan.

Not unaware of the situation and challenges rocking the chapter, the governor had at different fora appealed for calm and understanding of all aggrieved members assuring that every interest would be taken care of in the long term.

He also stepped up the promise by setting up a reconciliation committee comprising party leaders to woo and appeal to aggrieved members of the party on the need to be united.

Also, the Oke Ogun axis of the party is factionalised. The crisis bothers on a power struggle between the deputy governor and the chairman of the State Advisory Committee, Sen. Hosea Agboola who is in charge of the zone and who gets more recognition and patronage from the governor.

But, the leaders of the region denied the allegation, saying they are united and loyal to the Governor Makinde-led administration because of the administration’s commendable efforts at developing the region.

Not unaware of the insinuations, the party leaders and stakeholders from the Oke Ogun zone called stakeholders meeting recently to reconcile their differences particularly because of his huge efforts at developing the zone.

The trio of Chief Jacob Adetoro; Oyo North PDP Senatorial Chairman, Mr Waheed Oluwakemi and a leader of the party from Kajola Local Government, Mr Ajadi Waheed, gave the commendation on behalf of other leaders from the zone while also declaring their unalloyed support for the government.

Adetoro said: “We are here for the celebration of the New Year, but as people that belong to the same political group, we felt we should have some discussions among ourselves which we feel will improve the relationship between the party and will assist the present administration in achieving its goals…”

However, an aggrieved chieftain of the party in the state, Alh. Bisi Olopoeyan, maintained that the party has changed from what it used to be before the 2019 general elections.

He said: “PDP in the state has changed compared to what it used to be before the 2019 election in the state because some party members are aggrieved and are not happy because they feel they are sidelined by the current administration.

“We must ensure that we address the concerns of all the aggrieved party members and put them into one fold because there won’t be any progress if some members are still aggrieved.”

Olopoeyan, however, said that things will soon come back to normal for the progress of the party ahead of 2023 election in the state.

Publicity Secretary, Akeem Olatunji did not deny the challenges being faced by the party. He said the ruling party is undergoing a rebranding process to regain its stand on what it used to be.

Olatunji said: “PDP in Oyo State is undergoing rebranding for the party to regain its stand for what it used to be before, the party is more or less a flagship demonstrating what good governance is.

“If you go around Oyo State, you will discover that people are happy with the party and we are optimistic that our party will emerge whenever an election is held in the state. The performance of governor Seyi Makinde has convinced many indigenes and residents of the state that PDP has come to serve the people.”

Olatunji while responding to the reconciliation efforts towards bringing aggrieved members of the party into one folds, said, “The essence of politics is all about conflict management. Only a dead party will not experience internal conflict, and for a party that is loved by people, agitation is normal because everybody wants to be the governor.

“All these are internal affairs are going to be resolved amicably between us, everybody cannot be considered at the same time, it is turn by turn. For the aggrieved members to be considered, they need to be patient, though the majority of them are okay with the leadership of the party including those aggrieved members accepted governor Makinde as the leader of the party in the state and Southwest at large.

“Everybody is important as far as PDP is concerned. We are running this party as a family and whoever feels aggrieved should calm down. They should keep on believing in the leadership of Governor Seyi Makinde in the state and even in Southwest.

“This is just one and a half years. Our strategy is to first satisfy the populace who voted for us, most party members are being taken care of but others should be patient.”

The APC, which is just recovering from its electoral defeat in the last general elections is finding it hard to come together again to prepare for the task of taking back the state from the grip of the PDP. Ordinarily, the APC should have retained Oyo, but for the fact that it went into the election as a divided house. Its governorship candidate, Adebayo Adelabu was defeated by Governor Makinde after the former’s party had governed the state for eight consecutive years.

In the APC, the forces that tore the party apart in 2018 are still struggling to mend fences. Aside from the 2019 electoral loss, its former leader Abiola Ajimobi, died on June 25, 2020, thereby worsening the fortunes of the party. With Ajimobi’s demise, the party immediately faced the challenge of who should step into his shoes. The most senior, according to the party’s constitution, is former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala. But, many members found it difficult to accept him as their leader and pledge their loyalty to him; perhaps because he was formerly a member of the PDP.

Then came the dissolution of party executives from the national to the ward level. Prior to the dissolution, factions emerged in the party. There were those who grouped under Unity Forum with the late Ajimobi as the common enemy. Some of them had, however, joined the PDP after supporting Makinde to win the election. Some have also shifted loyalty to a regional leader outside the state.

There was also those loyal to Ajimobi. They held all elective positions and appointment till today. They also include those who picked the party’s ticket for the last election. But with Ajimobi’s death, the group is already diminishing in number as some are finding their way to other factions.

There were those loyal to Alao-Akala. The former governor just returned to the party only two weeks before the last governorship election.

There were also those who regard themselves as non-aligned forces because they do not belong to any of the factions.

But, the APC Caretaker Chairman, Chief Akin Oke said the unique thing about Oyo APC is that major players and actors have come together as one. He said those still unable to fully join the fold are the ones that have shifted their loyalty to a major party leader outside Oyo State. He said the registration of new members and the revalidation of old ones ordered by the national leadership has made reconciliation irrelevant.

He added: “We know that we are bouncing back because we have closed ranks to prevent what worked against us in the 2019 election. The issue of reconciliation is over because we are already rebuilding the party through fresh registration.”