Senator Musiliu Obanikoro’s vehement opposition to the outcome of the governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP had set the plain for the party to enter the contest as a divided house. Yesterday the game was altered with a mending of fences that is bound to alarm the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor and Dapo Akinrefon

THE game plan for the Lagos State governorship election next February was reset yesterday after the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP settled its internal differences at the Eko Hotel Lagos.

Erstwhile minister of state for defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro had been at loggerheads with the mainstream of the party led by Chief Olabode George over the outcome of the governorship primaries that was decided in favour of Mr. Jimi Agbaje. Agbaje a new entrant into the party was the favoured aspirant of both George and another power broker in the party, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe.

Obanikoro had scored 343 votes at the end of the primary to trail Agbaje who scored 432 votes out of the 806 delegates at the primary.

However, at the end of the polling the total number of votes scored ended at 867 votes forcing Obanikoro to allege a deliberate manipulation of the votes to ensure that George’s favoured candidate came top.

Following the outcome, Obanikoro who was the party’s 2007 governorship candidate on one part and George and Ogunlewe on the other publicly traded insults that inevitably delighted strategists of the ruling party in the state, All Progressives Congress, APC.

Speaking to newsmen few days after the polls, Obanikoro had said: “There is no election results and the elections should be cancelled. The process is completely tainted and going forward with that, will lead to an outcome that will not be beneficial to the party.”

“My immediate reaction is that the election was a sham. I still cannot comprehend how accredited delegates of 806, will turn out to be 868.

“To be honest with you, you can tell that it was a predetermined exercise. People like us are not in this democracy for the sake of it, we are in it to ensure that the right things are done so that the country can be on the right path. We intend to fight this, there is an opportunity for an appeal and we will appeal and we hope the party will do the right thing.”

“Bode George has been the problem as far as this party is concerned and there is no doubt in my mind that he supervised this electoral malpractice.

Electoral malpractice

How do you expect the panel chairman arriving Lagos at 10 am on Monday and not starting the election until 5pm in the evening.”

George had responded last week and taken Obanikoro to the cleaners saying: ‘’What is the pedigree of this young man who has abandoned the typical African deference to Elders? We know who sprung from violence and banditry. We know whose antecedents reek in noisome, vagrant, untidy ruffians.

“Politics is not a do or die affair. No civilized person with impeccable pedigree will seek a tacky refuge in destruction and ruin simply because he has lost in a free and fair contest. Obanikoro should go quietly into that good night if he means well for Lagos.”

In the heat of passion, Obanikoro went to court to stop the PDP from presenting Agbaje as the candidate of the party.

Indeed, while the PDP chieftains were trading insults, the APC was healing egos that had been injured during its own governorship primary.

With the prospect of the PDP entering the election as a divided house, there were clear indications that the PDP would lose the state to APC. It was against this background that the PDP top hierarchy led by Vice-President Namadi Sambo came to town yesterday for an unprecedented meeting with all the governorship aspirants.

At the end of the meeting that also had some of the major aspirants Senator Obanikoro, Engineer Deji Doherty, Ambassador Tokunbo Kamson and Mr Babatunde Gbadamosi, the party chieftains resolved to back Agbaje for the governorship.

Also present at the meeting were the immediate past governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, Mrs Aduke Maina member PDP BOT, Dr Abimbola Ogunkelu, Sen Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, Mr Tunji Shelle, Mrs Modupe Shashore among others.

Giving his determination to put the past behind him, Obanikoro said:

“Despite the inadequacies experienced in our governorship primary, a lot has been said, we have disagreed but we have agreed that Jimi Agbaje is our candidate. I want to express my appreciation to my supporters that stood by us. There is time for everything and that is why I want to implore all of you that yesterday belong to yesterday. My passion for Lagos State is known to all of you and that passion will trigger a level of sacrifice that will ensure victory.”

He added that “when you do that talk, you must do the walk because success and failure have a very thin line.

Controversial governorship

A lot of us must be prepared to sacrifice and we should also bear in mind that there is no winner and there is no loser in this endeavour we have just ended. We must be ready to dislodge the APC in Alausa. It is time to do that and when that is done, PDP will be the winner in Lagos State. It is time for the APC to go.”

Commending the presidency for brokering the truce in the controversial governorship primaries of the party, he said “I want to thank the President and the Vice-President and the best way to repay them is by winning Lagos state for them. Winning on February 28, 2015 is a task that must be done.”

We’ll deliver Lagos to PDP — Agbaje

Musiliu Obanikoro

On his part, Agbaje commended the other aspirants for supporting him just as he expressed optimism that the PDP will deliver Lagos State.

He said “during the meeting that ended, we agreed that we would all sleep better and by us sleeping better, it means that some people will not sleep well.”

He, however said the peace parley initiated by the president has made the party in state stronger in the state.

He said “through the intervention of the President and the Vice president, our party, the PDP in Lagos State is made strong.”

Other aggrieved governorship aspirants Messrs Kamson, Mr Gbadamosi and Mr Doherty pledged their loyalty and commitment to work for the party’s victory in 2015.

The situation earlier painted of the PDP entering the election as a divided house has no doubt been recast and it the ruling party in the state is bound to return to the drawing board.