BY DEMOLA AKINYEMI
There are several political parties in Kwara State, but only three are known to have strong political structures across the State. They are the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

A peep into the activities of the parties since the primaries ended reveal an unfolding political scenairo in which the acclaimed strong man of Kwara politics, Dr Olusola Saraki is pitched in a peculiar political contest with his son and governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki to realise the governorship ambition of his daughter – Senator Gbemisola Saraki.

How PDP is weathering the storm

Expectedly, there was  rancour among the aspirants in the PDP over the emergence of Alh Abdulfatah Ahmed as the party’s flagbearer. He was commissioner for Finance for about six years before his redeployment to the newly created ministry of Economic Planning and Development about a year ago.

Gbemisola (left); Olusola Saraki (2nd L) and Belgore (right).

Others who contested the plum seat with him in the party are Engr Sunday Adebayo Babalola, Hon Bashir  Omolaja Bolarinwa, Senator Makanjuola Ajadi, Alh Yekini Alabi, Chief Theophilus Bamigboye,  Alh Ibrahim Bio, Senator Mohammed Ahmed and Professor Shuaib Oba Abdulraheem among others.

Ahmed is perceived more as a technocrat than a politician compared with many of the aspirants, a development that trumped up stiff opposition against his emergence, even though it was obvious that he was the choice of the leadership of the party.

After the primaries, the party leadership directed the flag bearer to reach out to all the aspirants and other stakeholders for their support, in the spirit of sportsmanship. It worked as about 80 percent of the aspirants agreed and collapsed their structures for him with the sole aim of being compensated when the candidate wins.

To ensure that the PDP flagbearer wins in the polls, Governor Saraki is leaving no stone unturned. Part of the strategies according to investigation was his decision to move into the camp of President Good luck Jonathan the winner of the PDP presidential primaries to enjoy some level of support from the centre. He also reached out to other pressure and interest groups in Kwara including traditional rulers,student unions and opinion leaders in Kwara South which produced the candidate to rally round their son, because the governor had done his best including going against the interest of his father to ensure equity and fair play.

Interestingly, this strategy appears to be paying off as renowned opposition groups, Kwara Patriots and Kwara Stakeholders forum emigrated from ACN then to CPC and finally to PDP. This was in difference to the party’s respect for zoning of the governorship to Kwara South where the groups exist.

Though the Muslim/ Muslim ticket of the PDP is widely seen as an unexpected political miscalculation that could swing Christian votes to the opposition, the strategy seems to have put the ruling party on a comfortable lead except the unexpected happens.

Besides, the primaries also threw up Bukola Saraki as the Kwara Senatorial candidate in a re run election after, Alh Isiaka Gold who initially won the seat, and was later picked as the gubernatorial running mate suddenly withdrew from the race.

Also, the core loyalists of the governor’s father Dr Olusola Saraki, Alh Shaaba Lafiagi also emerged as the PDP senatorial candidate in Kwara North while Senator Simeon Ajibola was nominated for Kwara south as the party’s candidate. Alh Abdulganiyu Cook Olododo was picked as the House of Representatives candidate for Ilorin South/Ilorin West constituency.

The pattern seemed to  confirm the alleged feud between the governor and his father who also fielded candidates in ACPN against all his old loyalists who remained in PDP, a development that will make the forthcoming election in the state a battle of the titans

ACPN’s  counter-force

The inability of Senator Ruqqayat Gbemisola Saraki, a  two-term PDP serving senator from Kwara Central  to realize her gubernatorial ambition in the PDP popularised the ACPN that was hardly known not only in Kwara, but also across the country. The older Saraki, the Waziri of Ilorin angrily directed his supporters and loyalists to leave PDP and join the ACPN and they complied in droves.

However only two commissioners: Chief Tunji Ayeni of the ministry of Environment and Mrs. Caroline Titilayo Adumo left the  PDP cabinet of Governor Bukola Saraki  as a result. The other appointees remained in the governor’s PDP.

The same with all the members of the House of Assembly and the newly elected members of the local government executives across the 16 local governments in the state, who stayed put in PDP.

Senator Gbemisola Saraki, the arrowhead of this party, may also be fighting the political battle of her life because already, her elder brother has taken her slot in Kwara Central in PDP while her party has already fielded another candidate, Hajia Yisa Ruqqiyat Ajoke, a relatively unknown woman politician in the zone for the next election.

Also, the party’s candidate in the House of Representatives representing Ilorin South/Ilorin/West, constituency, Alh Abdulwahab Issa, a core Olusola Saraki loyalist who is currently a PDP two-termer in the House will slug it out with Alh Abdulganiyu Cook Olododo of the PDP. Olodod is a grassroots politician, former local government chairman, commissioner at various times, Chief of Staff, and former SSG.

The membership of Arc Lola Ashiru, a political leader from Offa in this party was also confirmed with his emergence as the party’s Kwara South senatorial candidate to face Senator Simeon Ajibola on the platform of PDP who will be seeking a third term in the coming election. Ashiru was a gubernatorial aspirant in the ACN.

Over alleged imposition, he dumped the ACN and flew into the waiting hands of Dr Olusola Saraki, who was recruiting political warlords to replace those who stayed put in PDP in disobedience to his directive.

Similarly, the ACPN also fielded candidates for the 18 legislative seats in the state House of Assembly.

Based on these developments, the insinuations in some quarters that a vote for PDP and ACPN is a vote for the Sarakis is highly contestable, more importantly especially since the leadership of ACPN has warned its PDP rivals, particularly the governorship candidate and others to stop using elder Saraki’s political name ‘Oloye’ in their campaign posters and bill boards as political gimmick so as not to confuse ACPN’s unsuspecting supporters at the polls.

The National Secretary of the party, Alh Ganiyu. O.Galadima  in an interview with journalists in Ilorin, dismissed impressions that the party was new. He said that ACPN was established late 2006, contrary to the rumor that it was newly floated for the gubernatorial ambition of Senator Gbemisola Saraki, adding that it was in existence in 23 states of the federation and was contesting the forthcoming elections in 11 states.

The ACN’s challenge

Before the PDP was broken into two over the gubernatorial ambition of Senator Gbemisola Saraki, ACN was largely seen as the real opposition party that would give the ruling party a good fight. But no sooner had Alh Muhammed Dele Belgore (SAN) emerged as the party’s governorship flag-bearer, and other candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives and state House of Assembly were announced than the  leadership of the party was  literarily broken into pieces over allegation of imposition of candidates.

It took, the efforts of  Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the arrowhead of the party in the state Alh Lai Mohammed political to bring about what is left of the party in Kwara today

The mammoth crowd that thronged the campaign office of the flagbearer, when it was formally opened defeated the notion that those who left the party actually left a vacuum.

Belgore, who refuted claims that the party was depleted owing to defections said the recent landslide the party recorded in the Offa local government rerun polls and in key parts of Ilorin and Patigi underlined the soaring acceptability of the party among Kwarans.

Democratic Peoples Party (PDP)

The governorship candidate of the party Hon Gbenga Olawepo  has always been contesting for the coveted seat since 2003.That was the period he made a good show of the contest dispatching his logistics and energies as he campaigned across the nook and crannies of the state. He came third, when the present ruling party in the state came on board. The immediate past Governor Alh Muhammad Alabi Lawal came second.

Since then Hon Gbenga Olawepo has not put in commensurate efforts, a development that made many of his supporters to seek political refuge in PDP for means of survival. Today, Hon Gbenga Olawepo a prodigy of the media industry is the main figure of the party in the state.

United Nigeria Peoples Party (UNPP)

The rallying figure of the party in the state is Alh Nurudeen Imam Mohammed a.k.a Tiger, a former Special Assistant to Governor Bukola Saraki on Media and General Manager Kwara Television who is making spirited efforts to garner support for the party.

Engr Moruf Bola Shittu, a native of Offa and  the party’s’ governorship candidate is a green horn in Kwara politics. There are indications that Moruf Bola_Shittu who has his colorful posters across the nook and crannies of the state without the corresponding foot soldiers, might collapse his structure into any of the leading political parties as the election draws near.

All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP)

Alh Bolaji Khaleel, former commissioner for Works during the military era has remained an apostle of the party in the state since the commencement of the present democratic experiment. He never for one day left the party and his leader, Alh Ibrahim Shekarau. As the governorship candidate of the party, it is to be seen how far he will go

Congress for Progressive Change (CPC)

The party has indeed witnessed political turbulence in Kwara with the entrance and exit of notable politicians from ACN and other political parties in and out of the party.

It was turned to a somewhat transit camp. Today, Hajia Bilkis Gambari, Kwara Central senatorial candidate is one of the few popular politicians left in the party. She also dumped ACN over her political ambition alleging imposition.

The party’s gubernatorial flagbearer, Alh Abdulraman Abdulrasaq only announced his intention in two large bill boards strategically located in the state capital. Nothing much has been heard about his mission statement in complementing his  billboard slogan’’Kwara is on my mind, and in my heart”.