A House that is divided against itself.

THE opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, is entering today’s contest as a divided house. This is quite unlike in 2012 when the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, which is one of the parties that merged to form APC, formed a united force to
support its candidate, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu. Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN Mr. Akeredolu is remarkably, also the candidate of the APC for today’s election. The protracted internal crisis in the APC worsened after the party’s governorship primaries held on September 3 at the International Event Centre, The Dome, Akure. Before the primaries all the 24 governorship aspirants had been dropping the name of the national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as having endorsed them separately as the preferred candidate for the party. But the big masquerade was unveiled few weeks to the primaries when Tinubu’s body language tilted towards Dr Olusegun Abraham. Hell was let loose as four of the major aspirants – Olusola Oke, Ajayi Boroffice, Rotimi Akeredolu and Bode Ayorinde reportedly ganged up against Abraham, in a bid, to ‘shame’ Tinubu. Abraham lost with 36 votes to Akeredolu, who was said to have the backing of a cabal in the Presidency who had the aim of displacing Tinubu’s influence in the region. The crisis in the party was compounded by the way the national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun handled the petitions that alleged that the delegates’ list for the election was padded to allegedly favour Akeredolu. Tinubu, who was disturbed by the ‘undemocratic’ manner Oyegun handled the dispute called for the national chairman’s resignation and since then the relationship between the two top leaders of APC has been frosty. The internal battle led to the boycott of the mega rally in Akure last Saturday by Tinubu, three South-West governors, and some of his associates. The utterances of Akeredolu and those sympathetic to his cause that they can win the election without the support of Tinubu is widening the crack within the party in the state. Although, Akeredolu has been able to reconcile with the Ondo State APC Chairman, Isaac Kekemeke, who he had a running battle with for supporting Abraham supposedly on the orders of Tinubu, many other leaders have refused to work for his success in the coming election. The defection of one of the governorship aspirants, Olusola Oke to the Alliance for Democracy, AD is now tearing the party into shreds. The speculation all around is that Tinubu was said to have instructed his foot soldiers to align with Oke and one of them, Bola Ilori was immediately appointed as the Director General of the Oke Campaign Organisation. He is considered as the link man between the Osun governor, Rauf Aregbesola and Tinubu.

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