The defeat of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN in the recent gubernatorial election in Ondo State has opened up discussion on the prospects of the party in a region it had lately taken as its fiefdom. Is it fairy tale or what?
BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN & DAPO AKINREFON
Just few months ago the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN machine was in its strides, marching across the land. In Benue, Akwa Ibom, Niger, Imo and across the South-West, the party led by Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu was in near overdrive, threatening the dominance of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on the polity.
After successfully uprooting the PDP in Oyo and Ogun states, and fighting the party to a standstill in Akwa Ibom and Benue states, the ACN was setting its eyes on being a truly national party.
As it looked forward on the national stage, its inability to bring the Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Segun Mimiko within its fold after his court victory in 2009 continued to be an irritation. It was an itch that turned into an ego problem.
The ACN's seemingly grumpy attempt to redress the situation and bring Ondo under its cover ended in a near fiasco with the party taking third in a three-way race with the ruling Labour Party and the PDP.
That may have now turned into a big undoing as the party's almost dominant hold in the South-West is for once been threatened.
The party's feat in boosting its votes from by more than 380 per cent from what it achieved in 2007 may be commended by some party enthusiasts. However, given the party's efforts and expectations, its third place finish has turned into an issue for the party and its rivals in the region.
It is thus not surprising that party elders have found it difficult to come to terms with the result of the election.
At the end of a meeting of the party leaders last Monday, the party released a communiqué in which it shied away from endorsing the result of the election that returned Dr. Mimiko to office for a second term.
"For us in the Action Congress of Nigeria, the Ondo State election is a battle in a larger war; the war of deepening democracy and ensuring accountability in our country. We are therefore resolved to put the elections behind us whilst pursuing the task of providing leadership to our people effectively."
Akande, ACN national chairman; Adebanjo: Staunch Awoist; Gov Mimiko, and Tinubu, ACN national leader
Putting the election behind them is, however, something many political stakeholders say the ACN hierarchy has definitely not done with its refusal to acknowledge the result of the Ondo gubernatorial election.
Endorsing the result of the election could, however, be the slightest of the problems of the ACN.
The backlash from the party's seeming desperation to push Mimiko out of office and the suggestion that the underbelly of the ACN in the South-West has been found could be a more troubling matter for the party.
Once otherwise quiet political voices in the South-West, who were once thought to have been retired from the political field are now finding their voices.
"Their true colour is beginning to show, people are now seeing them in their true colour that they are pretenders and that is why I am saying that by the grace of God, between now and 2015, more than two or three ACN governors in the South-West will go," Chief Olu Falae, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and presidential candidate of the Alliance for Democracy in the 1999 presidential election told Vanguard in an interview.
"They have exposed themselves to the people of the South-West that they are not progressives and once that is established, the rest is history," Falae added in assertion of his claims of the imminent demise of the ACN.
Senator Gbenga Obadara representing Ogun Central in the Senate, however, dismissed such insinuations saying that the party was waxing stronger.
"It is not only that we will retain the South-West, we will also win all seats in the House of Representatives and Senate positions in the South-West," the lawmaker boasted.
Asserting the potentials of the party, he continued: "If you look at what is happening, where was ACN 10 years ago in Ondo State? Did you see the awakening we have done and mode of participation within few weeks to the Ondo governorship election? That tells you we have a future, that tells you we are going places."
Senator Obadara's optimism nonetheless, there is no doubt to the seeming sense of desolation in the ranks of the party. It was such depression that the National Assembly caucus of the party sought to address in a statement issued on Sunday night.
The statement issued by Senator Gbenga Ashafa, the secretary of the ACN caucus in the National Assembly urged the party: "All members of our party in Ondo State deserve commendation for their loyalty and steadfastness. There is no cause for despondency at the current development," Ashafa said in the statement made available to Vanguard in Lagos.
Such assurance, however, needs not to be restricted to Ondo State given the rising enthusiasm of those opposed to the ACN hegemony in the region.
All over the South-West, those opposed to the ACN are now seeking ways to make political capital out of what they consider as the difficulties of the party.
From nowhere, Labour Party has begun to find voice in Osun State raising up issues now and again against the incumbent ACN governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
…Yoruba, party leaders speak
They can lose if imposition continues — Ayo Adebanjo
A chieftain of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo warned of looming defeat if the ACN fails to practice internal democracy.
Adebanjo said that "the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, can lose the South- West in 2015 if the process of imposition continues, they will continue to lose elections. People are not happy about the ACN candidates because everybody was sure they were imposed.
“When you are talking of democracy, it must be all round but it is unfortunate though that the ACN is not practicing internal democracy."
ACN leaders are not progressives — Falae
Another chieftain of Afenifere agrees that ACN would lose future polls in the South-West.
His words: “Of course the ACN will lose in the South-West. What happened was that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo bulldozed PDP into the South- West during his second term. During his first term, I defeated him (Obasanjo) in every state in the South-West, in every local government and including the polling booth in front of his house in Abeokuta in 1999.
“But in 2003, no other South western person was contesting with him. And then, he used that to bulldoze the PDP into the South-West because the PDP is a foreign entity here, the PDP is not indigenous to this place. The South-West is the home of progressive politics but the PDP is not a progressive party and so, it does not belong here. From the Action Group, to the UPN, to SDP and then to AD, these were the progressive party. The PDP has no business coming to the South West but Obasanjo used his influence to bulldoze the PDP into the South-West.
“But once his influence was no longer there, the ACN and Tinubu used their money to get rid of the PDP.
“It was not difficult because the PDP has no tap root and it cannot have any tap root in the South-West because this is the home of progressive politics. And since there was no alternative progressive available, the ACN was able to win five out of the six states. But really, as I said recently, ACN is a pretender, it is not a progressive party, it is not Afenifere party.
“Afenifere does not support ACN and because of that, they went and created the Afenifere Renewal Group. What are they renewing in Afenifere? Is it free education that they want to renew? Is it making the welfare of the people the number priority? These are the fundamentals of Afenifere started by late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
The can cannot control Afenifere, they needed something they could manipulate and use to deceive the people that they are Afenifere but they are not. ACN was formed by Tinubu and AD former governors who broke away from AD because they said we were supervising them when they were in government. They broke away and teamed up with dissidents from PDP. It was because there was no alternative that was why the people endorsed them.
You are beginning to see that there is nothing progressive about them (ACN) or democratic about them. You have seen elections in Lagos state and how the leadership handpicked them, that is no progressive politics, that is not Afenifere politics. You saw what happened in Ondo state where the leaders handpicked somebody and asked the party to go and vote for him. That sounds like company politics and not progressive politics.
So, their true colour is beginning to show, people are now seeing them in their true colour that they are pretenders and that is why I am saying that by the grace of God, between now and 2015, more than two or three ACN governors in the South West will go. They have exposed themselves to the people of the South West that they are not progressives and once that is established, the rest is history.
We're retaking the S/West —PDP
In a telephone with Vanguard, the Publicity Secretary of the PDP in Lagos State, Mr Gani Taofik expressed optimism of the party to stage a come back in the region.
He said "I have no doubt that the PDP will stage a come back in the South West. Let me tell you that for every victory in Nigeria, historically, it has been traced to the PDP. As you know very well, the first party that was formed was the PDP but if you are looking at the personalities that have won election, 90 per cent of them are products of the PDP. If anybody thinks that PDP is not going to stage a come back should know that the major opposition to the ACN is the PDP.
And in any case, the election history in Nigeria has shown that when we go into elections, but fails at the court for lack of proper representation. And so, I see that from 2014, when we will be having the Ekiti elections, we are winning the state because a candidate like Ayo Fayose, who has declared for the party, is a heavy weight in Ekiti state. With that, I believe that from 2014, PDP will begin to reclaim the South West. Lagos State will incontrovertibly be taken over by the PDP.
ACN is going places —Sen Obadara
While faulting the prediction that the can might lose the South West, Senator Gbenga Obadara, who represents Ogun Central Senatorial District, said "there is nothing of such."
In addition, he said "as at now, it is not only that we will retain the South West, we will win all seats in the House of Representatives and Senate positions in the South West. If you look at what is happening, where was ACN 10 years ago in Ondo State? Did you see the awakening we have done and mode of participation within few weeks to the Ondo governorship election? That tells you we have a future, that tells you we are going places."
Commenting on the allegation of imposition of candidates, the lawmaker said "let me just enlighten people. We have direct and indirect primaries but what we are having is indirect primary. The party sets up a committee that will interview you and that committee will look at your pedigree and character before it takes a decision. That is how our candidates emerge".
It is hogwash — Sen Ojudu
Lampooning the leadership of Afenifere, another the lawmaker elected on the platform of the ACN, Senator Femi Ojudu said "can anyone of them (Afenifere) win elections in their ward? Whast South West are they talking about? Are they in control of anything in the South West?"
Ojudu, who represents Ekiti Central Senatorial added that "I don't recgonise them as Afenifere other than Afenifere Renewal Group. That talk is hogwash."
