Politics
My Political Journey To Zenith Labour Party || By Rashidi Ladoja
AFTER the 2015 elections, Sen Ayo Adeseun and the likes came to me and analysed the results of the state election which gave Sen Abiola Ajimobi just thirty two percent while other opposition parties shared the rest among themselves. They therefore advocated the fusion of all the parties which eventually gave birth to the emergence of a new PDP.
Unfortunately, we later discovered those holding the party at the national level only wanted to enslave us as we got to know that they had already made up their minds on who would carry the flag of the party as a guber candidate.
Political pundits and gladiators started coming around to solicit our support. Among them was the former governor of Osun state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, former governor of Ondo state, Olusegun Mimiko, the elder statesman, Chief Olu Falae sent emissaries and a host of other eminent personalities. Later, a break away faction of the APC called the Unity Forum came to me and solicited that we come together, they claimed they had nothing against President Muhammadu Buhari but Sen Ajimobi and said they would prefer a party without a presidential candidate so that they will have the opportunity to work for Buhari and have a new governor that will not be a tutelage of Governor Ajimobi .
That was the beginning of the formation of the ADC with the coalition of my group, the Labour Party, the Unity Forum, the CNM and a host of others. We decided to have a caretaker committee charged with the responsibility to conduct congresses from the ward to the state levels but it was like the blind was driving the vehicle. I have never seen a situation where congresses will be conducted into the three tiers, that is, the wards, local and state, with just a day interval! And up till this moment, the party cannot be said to have standing executive committees in the wards and local governments.
The worst of scenario played out when we were to have candidates for various elective offices. In Ibarapa East/ Ido, the House of Representatives candidate slotted in his Personal Assistant as the House of Assembly candidate, ditto for Ibadan North West, Ibadan North East and so on and so forth. They came up with the idea of automatic tickets for all serving National Assembly members as if they all did well in their various constituencies to offer them such a ticket. In the Oke Ogun area of state, all seven state Assembly, three Reps candidates are from the Unity Forum, others are just there to look on and serve them, the people who are to be represented have no in-puts at all.
In Iseyin axis where there are four local governments presenting a federal Rep, the Unity Forum went ahead to have both the Rep and Assembly candidates from Iseyin and later the Deputy Governorship candidate from Iseyin again at the detriment of other local governments, where is justice here, how can you win elections with this kind of arrangement?
Are you really taking the interests of the people into consideration at all?
As a politician of note, the interest of the people takes the center stage and the buck stops on my table, the people will ask me, they won’t ask them. When we asked all the leaders of the Unity Forum to come over so that we can iron it out, only Sen Monsura Sunmonu came and the meeting had to be postponed. For the rescheduled meeting, none of them turned up. You can imagine how insultive that could be to a man of my age and status.
With that weak structure, I was so sure the ADC can’t win any election, and with the so called automatic tickets here and there where the people are already waiting to take their pounds of flesh from the so called representatives, those in that party are only wasting their time.
We now gave those willing to work with us, including Sen. Olufemi Lanleyin, the grace to come with us into the Zenith Labour Party but declined. To God be the glory, we now have a strong structure good enough to win elections as most of the people in all the geo-political zones—Ibadan,Oyo Ogbomoso, Oke-Ogun, Ibarapa, all reasoned with us.
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday held a high-level strategic meeting with the Oyo State chapter of the party as part of efforts to reposition the APC for victory and prevent internal crisis ahead of the polls.
The development was first scooped by OYOINSIGHT.COM which quoted multiple party sources familiar with the closed-door deliberations.
Sources disclosed that the meeting, held in Abuja, focused largely on a consensus arrangement being considered by stakeholders of the party in Oyo State, in line with political templates reportedly being adopted in Lagos and Ogun states ahead of the next electoral cycle.
Party insiders said the move was aimed at strengthening unity within the fold of the opposition party in the state, minimising rancour during the primaries and presenting a formidable front against rival parties in 2027.
It was further gathered that some members of the state executive committee may have been subtly informed about preferred consensus candidates being considered for elective positions across the state.
Though details of the deliberations were still sketchy as of press time, sources hinted that the national leadership stressed the need for cohesion, discipline and strategic alignment among stakeholders to improve the party’s electoral fortunes in Oyo.
Those at the meeting included the Oyo APC Chairman, Moses Alake Adeyemo; the state secretary, Fatai Adesina Adeniyi; the Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare; the Organising Secretary, Aderemi Adepoju; and the Legal Adviser, Sunday Aborisade.
Others were the Women Leader, Adekemi Opatunde; the Youth Leader, Olalekan Oladejo; Joshua Oyebamiji; Tunde Oloyede; Sunday Babalola; Joseph Omoniyi; and Mojeed Adebayo.
As of the time of filing this report, the party had yet to issue an official statement on the outcome of the meeting.
The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo, on Monday assured aspirants and party members that the party would conduct transparent, peaceful and credible direct primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Adeyemo declared that no aspirant would be victimised or denied a level playing field, stressing that the party leadership remained committed to internal democracy and progressive ideals.
The former deputy governor spoke while receiving members of the APC Screening and Appeal Committees deployed from the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja at the APC Secretariat in Oke-Ado, Ibadan.
He disclosed that although the party initially explored consensus arrangements across elective positions, prevailing realities indicated that direct primaries would be conducted in some areas, including the governorship contest.
Adeyemo said the party had already put necessary structures in place to ensure a hitch-free exercise capable of strengthening unity within the APC.
He said: “We set machineries in motion for us to achieve the aim of consensus across board but reports available to me indicate that we would have to go by the second option which is direct primary in certain cases including the governorship ticket.
“To this end, we shall work towards organising free, fair and credible exercise in all the affected areas even as we cannot rule out the possibility of some aspirants having a rethink and supporting the consensus arrangement as necessary.
“Where we have more than an aspirant, Abuja would send people to conduct primaries and we at the state level would provide the required support to make everything work out in the interest of our great party.”
The APC chairman explained that all registered party members would participate fully in the exercise at their respective wards on dates to be announced by the National Secretariat.
According to him, affirmation would be adopted in areas where consensus candidates emerge, while voting would be conducted wherever direct primaries become necessary.
“For consensus, members will lend their voices for affirmation while voting will be done in the cases of direct primary,” he added.
Speaking earlier, Chairman of the Screening Committee and former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Taofiq AbdusSalam, assured party faithful that the committee would carry out a thorough, transparent and unbiased screening process.
He said only eligible aspirants would be cleared to participate in the primaries and eventually fly the APC flag in the forthcoming elections.
Other members of the Screening Committee are Kamal Sanusi (Secretary), Smart Oluwole, Tunde Kolade and Olabamiji Agunloye.
Members of the Screening Appeal Committee are Jibola Oduwole (Chairman), Abimbola Jack (Secretary) and Jelil Jimoh.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress on Saturday zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to Southern Nigeria, declaring that the party’s candidate would serve a single four-year term if elected.
The decision was reached during the party’s national convention held in Abuja amid growing momentum within the opposition platform following a wave of high-profile defections from other political parties.
Announcing the development on its official social media handle, the party stated, “NDC presidential ticket is zoned to the South!!”
The party also resolved that its 2031 presidential ticket would be ceded to Northern Nigeria as part of efforts to maintain regional balance and internal equity.
The convention comes as key opposition figures, including former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and former New Nigeria People’s Party presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, joined party leaders and delegates at the Abuja gathering.
Saturday’s convention is expected to ratify several recent decisions taken by the party’s National Executive Committee, including zoning arrangements, amendments to the party constitution, and the election of new national executives.
According to the convention agenda obtained by journalists, discussions centred on zoning, ratification of the amended constitution, and leadership restructuring ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The NDC has in recent weeks witnessed a surge in defections from rival opposition parties, particularly the African Democratic Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
On Tuesday, no fewer than 17 members of the House of Representatives defected from the ADC to the NDC.
Their defections were formally announced during plenary at the House of Representatives.
The lawmakers include Yusuf Datti, Uchenna Okonkwo, Adamu Wakili, Thaddeus Attah, George Ozodinobi, Lilian Orogbu, Oluwaseyi Sowunmi, Peter Aniekwe, Mukhtar Zakari, George Oluwande and Munachim Umezuruike.
Others are Emeka Idu, Jesse Onuakalusi, Ifeanyi Uzokwe, Afam Ogene, Murphy Omoruyi and Abdulhakeem Ado.
The defections came barely two days after Obi and Kwankwaso formally joined the NDC from the ADC.
The duo were presented with the party’s membership cards last Sunday shortly after a closed-door meeting with party leaders.
A former Governor of Bayelsa State and NDC national leader, Seriake Dickson, officially welcomed the opposition figures into the party.
Obi had attributed his exit from the ADC to worsening internal crises, external interference and what he described as increasing hostility within party structures.
The former Anambra State governor said Nigeria’s political environment had become increasingly toxic, marked by intimidation, insecurity and sustained scrutiny of opposition figures.
He also lamented that institutions meant to protect citizens were now often deployed against them, while individuals committed to genuine public service faced mounting pressure both publicly and privately.
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