*Abuja Needs More Hands, Olaosebikan, Others In The Mix
By Ifeanyi Ibeabuchi, Politics reporter
Efforts by federally-ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to garner overwhelming votes in 2027 for President Bola Tinubu in his native South-West zone is obviously one of the many planks upon which the President’s re-election bid stands.
With strong opposition expected from the coalition African Democratic Congress (ADC) majorly spearheaded by Tinubu’s political enemies, Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai, Rauf Aregbesola, Rotimi Amaechi, and other heavyweights, pursuing a catchy narrative of alleged non-performance by Tinubu amid the dire socio-economic suffering of many Nigerians, the President’s camp cannot afford to rest on its oars in, perhaps, the false thinking atop a windy hammock that the South-West is secure for Tinubu.
It is trite knowledge that the President will be seeking to better his 2023 vote returns next year not just in the zone but nationally, and for this to happen, will rely on proven field generals who must necessarily be empowered ahead the crucial presidential poll.
Against this backdrop, a look at the President’s 2023 votes in the six South-West states will suffice.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in Ekiti State, he secured a total of 201,494 as against his closest challenger, People’s Democratic Party (PDP)’s Atiku Abubakar, who received 89,554. Other parties even got far less.
Ondo State gave Tinubu 369,924 votes while PDP got 115,463.
In Oyo State, the President notched 449,884 votes with PDP coming second with 182,977.
For Ogun State, Tinubu got 341,554; PDP, 123,831.
Tinubu lost Osun State. He received 343,945 votes to PDP’s 354,366.
In Lagos State, Nigeria’s commercial capital and Tinubu’s place of domicile and arena of his immense power influence since 1999, he also succumbed to defeat –this time to Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi. While the President got 572,606, LP secured 582,454 votes.
It is a no-brainer, as deciphered above, that the President will be desperately seeking to greatly up these figures to serve as a potential bulwark against possibly expected vote losses in parts of the far North and South-East, both zones where there have been outcries over his economic and security policies.
Analysts and keen observers of the unfolding political strategies on ground in the South-West believe that the President will need to strengthen and reinforce his personnel arsenal with other committed, loyal, and disciplined party stalwarts from outside his current appointments.
There are several such in the South-West states.
For instance, in Oyo State, the analysts frequently circle Kehinde Olaosebikan, a former Chairman of Oluyole Local Government Area (LGA).
The state promises to be a battleground in 2027 as it is presently governed by a PDP Governor Seyi Makinde, who recently openly declared that Tinubu does not deserve a second term,thus signalling that a political war of control looms in the cradle of the famous powerful old Oyo Empire.
It is recorded that in the 2023 presidential election, the APC scored 14,891 votes in Oluyole LGA, contributing to the party’s total of 449,884 votes, which secured victory for Tinubu in the critical South-West state.
Reports quote the ex-Council Chair, grassroots mobilizer and APC rallying point in the LG as saying at a recent APC unity rally in Olomi area of Ibadan, the state capital, that efforts are intensifying in grassroots mobilisation to significantly triple APC’s 2023 performance.
“Politics is local, and I want to say that in addition to the mammoth crowd you see here today, we are working assiduously to see that more eligible voters register, that more registered voters collect their voters’ cards and, most importantly, at the appropriate time.
“We will ensure that overwhelming numbers of voters cast their votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and all the APC candidates in 2027,” he reportedly said.
The Convener of the PBAT-KO grassroots movement, is confident that the ruling party has grown in strength and membership across Oluyole LGA, where, he added, reverred political figures, community leaders, and traditional rulers in the area have aligned with the party.
Described as a staunch supporter of President Tinubu, the journalist, PR expert, and former Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to legendary Oyo State Governor, the now-late Lam Adesina, has consistently and vocally supported Tinubu’s administration, often appearing in the media to laud his leadership and policies.
The former Council Chairman, who served as South-West Zonal Coordinator for Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) in 2023, firmly believes that the President will get a second term in office in 2027, saying re-electing Tinubu will usher “unending growth and development to Nigeria.”
To him, Tinubu will leave a lasting, positive legacy in view of what he described as the President’s accomplishments in all areas of public welfare and national development, crafted by Tinubu’s unique, progress-centred leadership model.
Routinely, he mentions positive outcomes of the administration’s policies particularly in stabilizing of the Naira; LG autonomy, relatively better security; fiscal restructuring; lower prices of foodstuffs and cost of living; unprecedented students’ loans; financial and material grants to farmers and vulnerable Nigerians; unprecedented hundreds of billions of Naira in arrears paid to federal pensioners; ability to harmonize the different ethnic nationalities to see themselves as Nigerians first and foremost; stability in the education sector; massive highways and bridge construction across the land; and others.
The grassroots politician has often hailed these policies of the administration as “robust and audacious,” arguing that they are woven for the best interest of present and future Nigerians.
Furthermore, in several media interviews, he poured encomiums on the President for showing “strong and visionary leadership” and defended the administration against critics of its economic and other policies.
Olaosebikan has actively promoted the narrative that Tinubu’s leadership is a direct continuum of the successful development, stability, and “visionary leadership” the President established in Lagos since 1999.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Olaosebikan.
