The crisis brewing in the Lagos chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) may take a dangerous turn if urgent steps are not taken by the party leadership to wade into the matter.
It is no news that a new comer
into the party, Mr. Jimi Agbaje was announced winner of the governorship
primary of the party held last week Monday in Oregun, Lagos.
Shortly after the primary,
Obanikoro granted interview to TVC, a television station believed to be run by the
National Leader of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola
Ahmed Tinubu, where he claimed he was robbed of victory by Bode George and
Ogunlewe.
Obanikoro alleged in the
interview that Chief Bode George sent some thugs to the primary to harm his
(Obanikoro) supporters.
The former minster said that he would
not accept the outcome of the election because he was cheated, and called for a
rerun.
He questioned how the number of
votes exceeded the number of accredited number of delegates for the primary.
Obanikoro, who was the flagbearer
of the PDP in the governorship election of 2007 in Lagos State, said that 806
delegates were accredited for the election, but that the number of votes cast
was 868. He called for an investigation into the matter and cancellation of the
primary.
“The entire primary was a sham. I
still cannot comprehend how accredited delegates of 806 would turn out to be
868. To be honest with you, with the benefit of hindsight, you can tell that
the outcome was predetermined,” Obanikoro said in the interview.
“The path of fraudulent election
success is condemnable and we intend to fight this. There is an opportunity to
appeal and I hope the party will do the right thing. Bode George has been the
major problem as far as this party is concerned and there is no doubt in my
mind that he supervised this electoral malpractice,” he added.
Furthermore, the former Senator
asked, “How do you explain the panel chairman arriving in Lagos by 10am and not
starting the election until about 5pm?”
“There are so many things that
you can look at, like the pronouncement made by Bode George, Ogunlewe and
others. One of the reasons why this party has failed in Lagos is because it is
being led by the likes of Bode George and Ogunlewe,” he pointed out.
“In 2006 during the primary, Bode
George manipulated the same way to produce the widow of the slain politician,
Mr. Funsho Williams, Hilda as winner until common sense prevailed. We submitted
ourselves to a process that we thought would be free and fair, but
unfortunately, they decided to play religious politics and manipulation of
electoral process particularly on the election day.
“Bode George brought thugs to
come and harass and intimidate delegates at the primary. I was not even at the
primary, when violence started, but it was Bode George’s people. One of them
even stabbed a nephew of mine during the selection of delegates. This is known
to the police. One of them was arrested at the Mainland. He shot at people.
They perpetrate violence and then run to him for cover,” he said.
Some tale-bearers however informed
First
Weekly last week that Obanikoro is poised for a showdown with Bode
George.
They said that the former chairman
of Lagos Island Local Government wants to wrestle power of the party’s
structure from Bode George and Ogunlewe once and for all.
According to our source, Obanikoro
believes that the excesses of Bode George and Ogunlewe and their grip on the
party in Lagos are too much.
“What Koro (as Obanikoro is
fondly called) is angry about is the way Bode George and Ogunlewe see
themselves as gods in Lagos PDP. The two party chieftains believe they can
choose who to be what in Lagos PDP.
“Look at the way they planned
Jimi Agbaje’s victory, not minding the fact that Koro has been a very loyal party
member for a long time.
“How can you make someone that
joined the party few months ago as PDP governorship candidate in Lagos when
Koro is there,” our source asked.
It was further gathered that
Obanikoro is not resting on his oars in achieving his aim of becoming the flag-bearer
of the party for the 2015 and that if he does not succeed, he might seek an
alternative and work against the PDP in 2015.
“If Koro fails in his bid to get
the party’s slot for the guber election, he might have no choice than to dump
the PDP for another party. His return to Tinubu may look slim, but joining
Labour Party like a former governor of Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala
seems more like a reality,” a source who claimed to be in the know, exclusively
informed us.
It was revealed that for now, Obanikoro
has decided to take his case to President Goodluck Jonathan for him to persuade
the party leaders in the state to handover the party’s flag to him for the
gubernatorial election in Lagos State in 2015.
“Koro has been talking to
President Jonathan on the matter and he might likely meet physically with him
soon,” one of those who claimed to be in the know, divulged to First
Weekly.
We further learnt that Obanikoro
resigned his appointment as the minister of state for defence in the cabinet of
President Jonathan some months ago, when he allegedly got assurances from the
President that he would be handed the PDP guber slot in Lagos State.
“Koro was assured by the
President that he would fly the PDP’s flag in Lagos in 2015, which was why he
resigned as a minister. But unknown to him, Bode George and Ogunlewe had
different plans. They were rooting for Agbaje and kept it away from Jonathan,”
one of our sources alleged.
“You see, Koro is not in the good
books of Bode George and Ogunlewe. You will recall that Koro recently spoke
against Chief Bode George, when he claimed that Lagos PDP enjoyed peace and
stability when Bode George was in prison over corruption issues.
“Do you think Koro would be happy
to have lost to Agbaje having worked hard for the PDP to win in Ekiti State and
fought hard for the party in the Osun State election? Where were Bode George
and Ogunlewe when Koro was in Ekiti and Osun with Kashamu (Buruji) and the
Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan?
“Even if Koro had wronged Bode
George, I think he should think of the party first, not his personal gains.
Koro is the man that can match the candidate of the APC in the 2015 guber
election in Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, and not Agbaje who is relatively
new in the party.
“What has he (Agbaje) done to
warrant his emergence as PDP flag-bearer in Lagos? Apart from being a Pharmacist,
what else has he done?
“You see, Bode George is taking
things too far and I think it is high time the national party leaders called
him to order before he gives APC an easy coast to victory in 2015,” our
aggrieved source said.
However, Bode George had carpeted
Obanikoro in a report last week.
“I don’t want to lose my anger,
but I hate it when people don’t have respect for elders, no respect for others
and think they alone have the right to be there. The day he lobbied to be
Minister, he brought Adebayo Ala-Akala to my office to prostrate and beg me
because they did election here in my compound and he was not selected. He had
just one vote.
“Humility and civility are the
tenets of growth. How can he say the election was a fight between him and myself?
This was a boy that was born in 1960. If I did not go to school, I would have
had him as my son. He has the nerves to say he is fighting me.
“I brought him (Obanikoro). He
joined the party here. If he has many types of apparels, he will never have as
many rags as us. That experience is in-born. The Bible and the Quran say
‘respect your parents so that your days may be long,” Bode George said.
Many political watchers in
Nigeria never believed that Obanikoro would lose the primary to relatively
unknown Agbaje due to the former’s experience in governance.
Obanikoro once served as the
chairman of Lagos Island Local Government, he was also a senator before
contesting the 2007 governorship election against the incumbent governor of the
state, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN). He was subsequently appointed as Nigeria’s
High Commissioner to Ghana before he was later made a Minister last year.
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