*With his many ‘sins’ according to detractors

By Daud Olatunji

Without prejudice, the battle for the most coveted Oke-Mosan governorship seat in Ogun State is among five political parties out of which three are most prominent for next month’s election.

The pendulum seems to be swinging towards the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the Social Democratic Party, SDP, while the Labour Party, LP, seems to be gradually gathering momentum.
On May 29, 2015, the incumbent governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun would be deemed to have exhausted his first constitutional term in office.

But whether or not Amosun will be lucky to get a second term mandate from Ogun people, like his predecessor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, would be decided by the February 28, election.

Expectedly, the governor who is the candidate of the APC in the state seems not to be leaving any stone unturned, as he has been embarking on ward-to-ward campaign to all the 236 wards in the 20 local government areas of the state.

However, his albatross remains the SDP whose members are off-shoots of the APC in the state.

To many political observers, the emergence of SDP in the state is a dangerous development for Amosun’s second term bid, as it has the potential to scuttle his ambition.

It will be recalled that the supremacy battle between Amosun and his estranged political godfather and former governor of the state, Aremo Olusegun Osoba led to the exodus of the latter and his followers from APC to the SDP.

This development has reduced the chance of the APC as it lost all its Senators and six out of its nine members of the House of Representatives to the SDP. Many of its leaders were said to have joined the horse party.

However, despite the loss suffered to SDP, the APC in the state is still waxing strong with its membership strength. Part of its strength is that while it enjoys power of incumbency, it is also in possession of government machinery from local government to the state level.

There is a strong belief that the APC enjoys a wide acceptance from the people in the state especially in Ogun Central where the governor hails from.

Further findings have shown that the governor also enjoys good patronage from market women led by Iyalode of Egbaland, Chief Alaba Lawson.

Some traditional rulers were reported to be gunning for Amosun as the next governor. Top on the list of the Obas that prefer Amosun is the Olowu of Owu Kingdom in Abeokuta, Oba Adegboyega Dosunmu; the Osile of Oke-Ona, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso, whose son is the APC Senatorial candidate in Ogun Central among other Obas, especially those of Owu extraction.

It was however, gathered that most of the traditional rulers in the state among whom are the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo and the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, have tacitly given support for the governor.

Aside the formation of SDP in the state, Amosun’s albatross have been said to be the attempt to scrap the first University of Education, Tai Solarin University of Education, even despite his reversal of the policy, the people of Ijebuland seem not to have buried the hatchet.

It was learned that the Ijebu people had lost confidence in Amosun over the issue of TASUED. They have this notion that he might revisit the issue of scrapping, if given a second term mandate.

Another many sins of the regime is that Amosun hampered the free flow of money in the state, even as he has been alleged to have engaged in circulating the state’s resources among his political associates and family members.

Amosun has also been alleged of engaging in white elephant projects, which according to the proponents of this claim encouraged cash flight.
The governor was also blamed for allegedly neglecting the rural people who constitute 70 per cent of voters.

The claim of marginalisation of Ogun West is a strong factor against the second term ambition of Amosun, as the region has produced two governorship candidates for this election.

Amosun’s relationship with civil servants is also a big deal in his bid to get re-elected. Other factors that may militate against his second term ambition, according to the findings is the alleged lopsidedness in the appointment of commissioners.

Majority of the local governments were said to have been denied the opportunity to produce commissioners, while few others have two or even three commissioners in his cabinet.

Even, the personality of some of the commissioners appointed by Amosun was said to be questionable, as they were alleged to be either imposed on the governor or alien to the people of the state.

Amosun’s government is also alleged of engaging in nepotism. An unconfirmed report has it that, about 43 members of Amosun’s family are in his government, while his elder brother is being accused of abusing the privilege of his (Amosun’s) office.

He was said to have cornered a lot of the contracts awarded by the government, while the party members got none. All these factors, according to the findings may militate against Amosun’s second term ambition.