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Labour Party now battle ready for Osun governorship
Olusesan Laoye and Segun Adeyemi, Osogbo
The labor Party in Osun State now appears to be set for the coming governorship election in as it has now embarked on house to house campaign ahead of other political parties, especially the two leading political parties, the All Progressives, Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
From the feelers in Osun State, the leaders of the party, have changed their slogan as they go about to convince the people to “Change the Change”, which has adversely change “your life and destiny”.
The party it was leant intend to effectively use the labour force this time around in view of the perceived animosity said to be currently on, between all sections of the Labour movement in the state and the government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
At the moment, the civil servants and the doctors are not happy with the APC government. The entire workers in the state have now been put on half salary since 2015 and they are desperately looking for a political party, and candidate who would bail them out. It is this situation that the Labour party intends to capitalize on in the coming election.
The party as part of its strategy, it was gathered, wants to use the division in PDP and as well to lure its members to its fold, as they believed that they would accept the party based on the fact that majority of the people now in Labour are from PDP.
The leader and the governorship candidate of the Party in the last governorship election, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade, was a strong member of the PDP before he left the party for the Labour party when he realized that he could not fulfill his governorship aspiration in PDP as a result of the domineering attitude of the likes of Senator Iyiola Omisore who was alleged to have fenced other interested persons in the governorship race, then, in the PDP. It was also this situation that made late Senator Isiaka Adeleke and the former governor of the state who was also the former National Secretary of the PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, to abandon the PDP at the last minute toward the 2014 governorship election and moved to APC.
Business Hallmark was also reliably informed that, the governorship candidate of the party in the last election Akinbade is also going to be its candidate in the coming election, and that he is currently using his influence to woo notable people in all the political parties to his side. It was leant that he is also penetrating the camp of late Senator Isiaka Adeleke in Ede, based on the fact that he and Adeleke were in good terms before his death. Also, some of the loyalists in Adeleke’s camp were with him, before they all scattered to different political parties during the last governorship election.
Before Adeleke came out to declare his intention in 2014, which eventually caused the fight between him and Omisore, the people of Ede were favourably disposed to Akinbade.
Although there are two contestants from Ede in the coming election, Adejare Belo the former speaker of the Osun State house of Assembly, who was also the running mate to Omisore in the last governorship contest and Abiodun Layonu,(SAN), it was gathered that Akinbade will eventually pull a large followers in Ede, based on his past relationship with the people and notable politicians, now, that Senator Adele is no more.
It was also said that Akinbade being the former, Secretary to the State government under Oyinllola, would use his political influence and his good working relations with politicians across the state and the civil servants who have always referred to his good-will while he was in government, to his advantage this time around, since the power of incumbency would not play a major and significant role.
The way people are trooping to his house indicates that he is already mending fences with those in Omisore’s camp who should have gone to the Labour party with him but for the fact that Omisore from Ife was contesting, then, and they had no option than to back their son and mentor, who wanted the same governorship position.
A source informed Businesshallmark that the good-will and the influence of Akinbade reflected in the last governorship election as he came third, despite the fact that the Labour Party only existed in name without followers or notable politicians. It was Akinbade and his team from PDP that gave the Labour party in Osun relevance during the last election and the party has remained a force to reckon with.
The source also hinted that what would favour the Labour party is if its candidate comes from Osun West, which is naturally the next zone to produce the governor, adding that because Akinbade comes from the zone that could be to his advantage if he eventually emerged as the candidate of the party.
As part of the early strategy of the party to bounce back in full force, its congress was held last week. The congress which was supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the police, and the DSS incompliance with the electoral law, took place at the ward level, local government and finally the state. To also ensure that the congress is hitch free and without rancor, the national Chairman of the party was equally present especially at the state congress.
The National chairman of the Party, Alhaji Abdulkadiri Salam, commended members of the party in Osun State, for standing firm with the party since the last governorship election. He specially thanked Akinbade for holding fort and for his efforts to ensure that the party remains relevant in Osun State. He said the congress was a pointer to the fact that the party is battle ready to slug it out with other political parties, especially the APC and the PDP.
He said that since the party has resolve to take over the mantle of leadership in Osun State, come 2018, it has embarked on house to house campaign and mobilization of voters, to make them realize that Osun state needs a departure from the old order, adding that the only political party that can provide the option is the Labour party
“Today, Nigeria is shaking, and the people are living in abject poverty which is boldly written on theirfaces and this is why the Labour Party is strongly repositioning to change all these. Our party is not a party with moneybags, and people who dole out money freely to deceive the masses, but we have what it takes to bring back the glory of Nigeria, and that of Osun State if we are elected to govern. Our principle and ideology is also enough to reshape the country,’’ he pointed out. He argued that he was sure money would no longer dictate the pace in the politics of the country in all future elections, because Nigerians are now very wise.
Akinbade who is billed to fly the flag of the party next year, said that the congress was held to fulfill all the electoral rigorousness and it is a sign post that the Labour Party is set to take over from Aregbesola because the people of the state are fed up and they look for a credible party and candidate to take over from the APC which has plunged the state into a serious debt which would take several generations to redeem, adding that the presence of the national chairman of the party was an indication that the party is fully prepared to take over Osun State.
He pointed out, “for the fact that the national chairman is with us, it signifies a victory sign for us. Nobody is happy the way things are in Osun today, and the people are eagerly expecting us to take over. By the grace of God and with the support of the people, it is our turn to rule Osun State”.
Meanwhile, the crisis in the PDP and the death of Adeleke from observation are slowing down the process of the two parties moving forward and coming out openly. While the PDP is factionalized along Senator Modu Sheriff’s group and Senator Markarfi’s group, the party has been docile for the past two years in Osun State. Even as a result of the crisis, the party had to abandon the Party secretariat which was donated by the last governorship candidate of the party, Omisore and move to a different building at the Bickett area on Ikirun Road.
What is actually slowing down the APC is the death of Adeleke which is still being treated as controversial and both the party and the state government are willing to have the controversy resolved before serious activities on the election would be made open.
