Ayodele Olalere
The victory of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Sen. Ademola Adeleke in recent the Osun State gubernatorial election over the incumbent Governor of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gboyega Isiaka Oyetola has sent shivers down the spines of two other APC-controlled states in the South West, Ogun and Lagos.
The victory in Osun has bolstered the confidence of the opposition party that all hope is not lost in its quest to win in APC’s stronghold.
It has also served as a clarion call to the APC governors of Ogun and Lagos that it is not yet Uhuru for them.
More worrisome is the manner the ruling party lost in Osun as well as the widespread jubilation that greeted the loss throughout the length and breadth of the state as soon as Senator Adeleke was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
READ ALSO: http://NiMet warns Nigerians of impending flood
The internal party crisis, the anger of the Osun people towards the ruling party for some alleged anti-people policies as well as the failure of the governor to bring all aggrieved party members to the round table before the election were the nails that eventually nailed the ambition of Governor Oyetola for a second term ticket.
As soon as APC lost the Osun election, the Lagos gubernatorial candidate of the PDP, Dr. Jide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, called on Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to begin preparing his handover notes in preparation for a defeat in 2023.
In a statement signed by his media aide, Gbenga Ogunleye, Adediran stated that the victory recorded by the PDP in the just-concluded governorship election in Osun State had clearly shown that his party’s chances of winning in Lagos in 2023 had become brighter.
“I congratulate the good people of Osun State for liberating themselves from the whims and caprices of incompetent governance. This election is a testimony that the era of mediocre leadership is finally over.
“Osun State mirrors the hardship and misrule that the people of Lagos have endured for nearly four years. It shows the incompetence that turns people into beggars amid plenty, where the collective patrimony of the people is shared by shylocks.
“The jury is out; Nigerians and, most significantly, Lagosians are tired of the decades of slavery. The youths are fed up with a puppet whose hands are always tied.
READ ALSO: http://Police recruitment merit-based, transparent, non-partisan, says IGP Alkali Baba
“I hereby call on Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to put finishing touches on his handover notes and prepare to leave office,” the statement said.
The Lagos State APC has, however, described Jandor’s threat as mere daydreaming.
The Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Seye Oladejo, had explained that the party’s victory in the Osun governorship election could not be repeated in Lagos and that the opposition party should not equate the forthcoming 2023 governorship election in Lagos with the PDP primary.
But findings revealed the party is not taking it lightly as all hands are now on deck to make sure PDP does not repeat the Osun feat in Lagos.
The Nigerian Xpress sources revealed that the Lagos State APC and the governor will, in the next few weeks, begin moves to ensure the PDP does not spring surprises in the state in 2023.
One of the moves is to reach out to some aggrieved members who lost out in the primary elections into the Lagos House of Assembly under questionable circumstances.
No fewer than 20 lawmakers in the Lagos House of Assembly failed to secure a return ticket at the last primary. Many of them were allegedly deprived of the ticket by some party leaders who imposed their preferred candidates.
In many of the voting centres during the primary, elections did not take place yet certain names were allegedly penned down as winners, a development that has caused bad blood in the party. Some of the aggrieved members are allegedly planning to work against the party.
An aide to the governor who spoke to The Nigerian Xpress on condition of anonymity said Lagosians would soon begin to see how the ruling party would aggressively cut down the influence of the PDP in the state.
“It is now an operation to crack down on PDP. The Osun election was an eye opener that we can no longer take PDP for granted in Lagos. Lagosians will begin to see how we’ll deal with PDP in the next few weeks. It is now serious work. No more complacency,” he said.
In Ogun State, the slogan ‘Ogun lokan’ meaning Ogun is next to be taken by the PDP, went viral on social media.
Some of the government workers in the state who spoke with The Nigerian Xpress lamented the non-performance of the state government led by the Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: http://Tinubu-Shettima hired my Pastor as a Bishop; their generations’ll suffer – Popular Nigerian Archbishop, Samson Mustapha
They cited the bad condition of roads in the state and accused the governor of repairing only the roads in the Ijebu area of the state where he hails from.
They also hope the opposition party would prevent the governor from winning a second term in office by winning the 2023 governorship election.
A cabinet member in the state also confided in The Nigerian Xpress that the governor was in the habit of ignoring advice from his political appointees on the execution of some projects in the state.
His no-love lost relationship with the former governor, Ibikunle Amosun is also said to be a factor that may work against him in 2023. It is a known fact that Amosun remains a cult figure in Ogun State as he reportedly performed to the satisfaction of the Ogun State people while serving as the governor.
The Osun victory has no doubt brought renewed confidence in the PDP that it might regain its reputation in the South-west.
