By Seye Olumide, Southwest Bureau Chief)
Going by the final list released recently by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of candidates and political parties that will participate in the scheduled March 11, 2023 governorship election in Oyo State, 16 flag bearers and parties have been cleared and certified to participate in the contest. But among this figure, three are considered as being outstanding and who can make significant influence while two specifically are regarded as the major contenders. First is the incumbent governor of Oyo State, Engineer Seyi Makinde, who is running for second term on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his closest contender is candidate of major opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Teslim Folarin, who currently represents Oyo Central in the upper chamber of the National Assembly.
But there is also the candidate of Accord Party, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, a former Deputy Governor of Central Bank, who is also the candidate of APC in the 2019 governorship election in the state. Adelabu lost the 2019 gubernatorial poll to Makinde whereas he also lost the APC’s 2023 gubernatorial ticket to Folarin before he defected to take up Accord Party ticket.
The remaining 13 contenders are regarded as mere participants who are likely going to form alliances with any of the major parties – PDP or APC. A tour of all the secretariats and or party headquarters of these 13 political parties did not indicate any serious political activities ongoing, which could show they are really into the goverånorship race.
But the two major contenders, Makinde and Folarin are going to bank on three critical factors that will make any of them win or lose the race.. While Makinde will bank on his achievements in the last four years in office to solicit for votes among Oyo electorate, Folarin will project his scorecard as a 12 years senator representing Oyo Central to woo the voters to his side.
Adelabu on his part may want to project his experience as a former Deputy Governor of Central Bank and what he was able to attract to Oyo in terms of Federal government projects while he was in service. He may also project himself as possessing the prerequisite economic and administrative knowledge and experience to bail the state out economically if elected.
Indeed, only Makinde and Folarin can boast of records of achievements in service to the state to project in their campaigns. But they may likely face the challenges of character baggage.
For now, Makinde is labelled as a traitor that cannot be trusted as an ally anymore going by the way he allegedly treated those who helped him to attain power immediately he became governor in 2019, whereas Folarin is carrying the baggage of ‘wild and weird person’, who belongs to the class of the late Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu’s politics, who used to throw Oyo in a kind of chaos during general elections.
The duo may also rely on the strength of the presidential candidates of their parties, Bola Ahmed Tinubu of APC and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of PDP. Recall that the INEC timetable for the 2023 general elections scheduled the presidential election on February 25, about two weeks before the gubernatorial polls.
There is likely going to be a bandwagon effect on the Oyo gubernatorial election for whichever party and candidate that wins the February 25 presidential poll between Tinubu and Atiku.
Another factor that may play out between Makinde and Folarin is the elite and masses factor. A former chieftain of PDP, who later joined New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Alhaji Bisi Olopooeyan told The Guardian that as of now, there is no notable politician in Oyo and member of the elite that are with Makinde.
He said many of the elite in Oyo are lackadaisical about Makinde’s re-election but his argument was punctured on the premise that over 41 notable traditional rulers across the state recently endorsed the incumbent for re-election.
But the APC candidate is working relentlessly across the 33 local councils, the senatorial districts and every wards, not only to project himself but also to explain why Tinubu must be elected as president to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023 and he is elected as Oyo governor for the benefit of the state.
The complication therefore for the two major contenders is whether the Oyo electorate would prefer to vote APC on February 25 and return to vote for Makinde of PDP on March 11 next year. An investigation carried out by The Guardian indicated that the grassroots voters in the state are not yet educated and enlightened enough to make different choices in two weeks between APC and PDP presidential and governorship candidates.
There is therefore the likelihood that whichever party and or candidate that wins the presidential election may transfer the euphoria of victory to the governorship poll in Oyo.
Makinde’s achievements
Recently, Governor Makinde, took members of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, round iconic projects undertaken by his administration, declaring that his focus is to move the state from accelerated development to sustainable growth, if he is re-elected as governor in 2023.
He stated that this vision lies behind the Omituntun 2.0, noting that the government has, in the last three years, focused on putting in place policies and projects that have not only helped in repositioning the state but in also lifting the people from poverty to prosperity.
While addressing members of the NGE, when he hosted them at the Executive Chambers of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, Makinde said that he would leave the state in better shape if re-elected.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, indicated that the governor, after the courtesy visit later led the members of the Guild on an inspection tour of various projects, including the Methodist Model School, Bodija, Ibadan; the headquarters of the Oyo State Security Network codenamed Amotekun; the 65 kilometres Moniya-Iseyin Road, 78 kilometres Iseyin-Fapote-Ogbomoso road; the 12 kilometers ongoing Apata-Bembo-Jankata Road, Ibadan road; the ongoing dualisation of the Airport Road, Ibadan and the 500,000 capacity aviation fuel storage facility being undertaken by the State at the Ibadan Airport. Other projects inspected by the Guild of Editors included the Lere Adigun Housing Estate, Basorun, Ibadan and the Ode Oba Primary Healthcare Centre, Iseyin, which is one of the 299 completed Primary Healthcare Centres in the state.
At the Governor’s Office where a mini reception was held in honour of the visitors led by its president, Mr. Mustapha Isa, the governor explained how his administration has been able to achieve a massive success in reducing the infrastructure deficit in the state through the Alternative Project Funding Approach, saying: “Some of the projects you will be seeing have been carried out through Alternative Project Funding Approach (APFA), which has been able to sanitise the mode of delivery in the state.
He added: “When we leave here, we will have a stop-over at a model primary school at Bodija. From there, we will go to the Amotekun Headquarters, because security is one of the major pillars of our accelerated development (Omituntun 1.0).
“The Omituntun 2.0 is about sustainable development. We have been able to put things in place and we feel that once we take on the issue of sustainability, when I finish my work here, others can take over.
“From there, we will pass the 65km Moniya-Iseyin road. I can guarantee that you will not see a single pot-hole on that road as it is a standard for our state roads.
“We will also go to the Iseyin-Ogbomoso road, which is a brand new one. It didn’t exist before we came in. It is a 78 km stretch of road linking Iseyin to the Ogbomoso axis of the state.
“All the bridges are done and the road itself is almost completed and we still hope to commission the project in January. We will see a model PHC at Iseyin because our target is to have one functional PHC in all the 351 wards in the state. The idea is for people not to go beyond 1km radius from wherever they are leaving to access primary health care facilities.
“From there, we will come back to Ibadan, and we will be able to show you a few of the infrastructure we have been able to put together. We will go towards the Airport. The road is being dualised and the Airport itself is central to expanding our economy. I tell people that if you want to expand your economy and the airport only has one flight in a day, it does not tell a good story.”
The tour of projects terminated at the model housing estate where the governor explained the rationale behind embarking on the housing estate. “All the government housing estates, whether they were built during the time of Baba Awolowo or anyone else, most times, they ended up being a failure, because they would start well, the government would be maintaining the roads and drainages, but after some time, they would become conduits for civil servants and political office holders to exert their influence. But we felt that the government can provide a conducive environment. I can do the acquisition as a government but the infrastructure and maintenance must be private-driven.”
Folarin’s scorecard
The major rival of Makinde, Senator Folarin, who commissioned new school facilities recently, said he had facilitated 17 ICT Centres and 88 fully-furnished classrooms in three years excluding what he did in the last two terms he served his senatorial district.
He has also commissioned fully-furnished 36 blocks of classrooms with 20 toilet rooms, solar-powered boreholes and solar lights at Elekuro Junior and Senior Secondary Schools, at Abonde, in the Ona-Ara Local Government Area of the state.
The three-term senator also handed over another four (4) ICT Centres to beneficiary secondary schools, which included Ilora Baptist High School, Ilora (Afijio LGA); Ladigbolu Grammar School, Ladigbolu (Oyo West LGA); Sasa Community High School, Sasa (Akinyele LGA); and Community High School, Isebo (Egbeda LGA) of Oyo Central.
The ICT Centres were equipped with Mikano generators, projectors, printers, photocopiers, inverter batteries and internet subscription for a year, among others.
Folarin said that he was passionate and committed to providing a serene environment for students to acquire sound education in their pursuit for academic excellence and research for information and, by extension, improve teaching methods.
The leading governorship candidate in Oyo State stated that his administration would be highly committed to qualitative education for all, not quantitative education, without substance.
With the current situation, it is still difficult to predict who will win the next Oyo gubernatorial poll. But either Makinde or Folarin is in a better position to take victory above the remaining 13 contenders.
Source: The Guardian
