The victory of the People’s Democratic Party in the just concluded Ekiti governorship election is still resonating across the south-west political circle. Although political analysts have explained the factors underpinning the All Progressives Congress’ defeat at the polls, the PDP and other contending parties in other states are drawing inspiration and hope from the Ekiti experience. This is the same reason why the PDP in Ondo State is hopeful that the ruling Labour Party would soon meet its end in future elections in the state. PDP leaders in the state are of the notion that the ruling party is waning in popularity and that the second term of Governor Olusegun Mimiko has not offered the people anything new.

Mimiko’s romance with the PDP and its government at the centre is fueling speculations that he would soon dump the LP in solidarity with President Goodluck Jonathan’s 2015 presidential ambition. But Mimiko, his aides and the LP have consistently denied it. The governor is seen as a staunch supporter of the Jonathan administration, albeit. It is a generally held belief that the LP and Mimiko have a greater capacity to deliver Ondo State to the President than the PDP in the state. There had been arguments between leaders of both parties over who was responsible for delivering the state to the President in the last general elections. Jonathan’s victory at the general election was on the platform of the PDP but the LP contends that the victory could be attributed. This controversy would likely continue through the coming months as the nation prepares for general elections scheduled to hold next year.

The last Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency by-election in April, in which the outcome was too close to call between the PDP and the LP candidates, is also a morale booster for the PDP. A case filed by the LP to bar the Independent National Electoral Commission from conducting a residual election in the area comes up for hearing on July 7 (today) at the Federal High Court in Akure. The PDP believes that it had a better chance of polling a higher number of votes in the areas where election did not take place and so has strongly backed INEC to conduct the supplementary elections. The LP’s litigation tended to give credence to this assumption even though the litigation’s merits were premised against the provisions of the Electoral Act.

With this rising confidence in the PDP, the party never fails to take advantage of every opportunity to sound a warning of its preparedness to take power in the coming elections. But its true test will be in the coming national and state assembly elections next year since no governorship election will be holding in Ondo State.

The Ondo State PDP Publicity Secretary, Mr. Wale Ozogoro, in his reaction to the party’s victory, inferred that it showed that the people of the south-west and, indeed, Ondo State had always preferred the PDP to other parties and the party would continue to demonstrate that preference in coming elections in the region.

Also, the party’s governorship candidate in the last election, Chief Olusola Oke, draws impetus from the Ekiti State election, saying his party was on the move to claim its lost grounds in all the south-west states.

In spite of the expectations of the PDP, the LP is banking on the achievements of Mimiko to continue its hold on power in the coming elections. Although a few words are coming from the LP secretariat in the state lately, the voice of Mimiko resonates throughout the state through his personal claim of uncommon transformation in the areas of health, education and infrastructural development. The mega schools and heart care projects are common songs on the lips of many. Mimiko believes the state and its people have not had a better deal than what his administration is offering – since the beginning of this democratic dispensation in 1999. There is, however, no controversy that Mimiko remains the selling point of the LP in Ondo. He is the medium and the message in Ondo State politics. To discredit him, is to discredit the LP, and his absence, to some, means the death of the party in the state.

The efforts by Mimiko to sell the party may not be sufficient when it is time for the people to exercise their voting rights. LP officials are carrying on as if they will have power eternally. They hardly speak on crucial issues affecting the state. It appears that complacency and contentment may have gained the better of them. Even our correspondent’s effort to speak with its chairman, Mr. Dele Akinyele, on the phone to seek information did not yield results as he turned down the request to comment on issues. With the dominance of the party almost total at the state House of Assembly, there is no doubt that politically, LP’s influence is enormous. Recently, the party single-handedly ensured the emergence of Mrs. Jumoke Akindele as the first female Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly. There is only one member of the PDP in the House and no other party has representatives in the legislature besides the LP and PDP. It is not certain if that configuration would remain after next year’s April elections.

Some recent defections from the party to the PDP are, however, threatening the party’s fortunes and future – a development that the LP’s leadership has not taken seriously. Those defectors are always written off as political lightweights, whose presence or absence would not make any difference to the LP. Mr. Benson Enikuomehin, a long time chieftain of the LP in Ilaje Local Government and a one-time Ondo State Commissioner on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, has led a good number of LP members to the PDP. His public declaration for the PDP was done on Sunday, June 29. Their reasons for dumping the ruling party are yet unknown.

The APC has been grappling with the challenge of putting its house in order to put up a challenge for positions in the government of Ondo State. There is no doubt that the party needs to do more if it would be taken seriously by the electorate. Having successfully established its state executive recently with the emergence of Mr. Isaac Kekemeke as chairman, hopes have been brightened for a meaningful outing in the future. The APC being a hybrid of political parties such as the Action Congress of Nigeria, All Nigeria Peoples Party and Congress for Progressive Change had a Herculean task of reconciling the varying interests of the merging parties. Now that this is over, its major aim is to bring all stakeholders together and work to regain lost grounds.

While addressing members on the mission of the party, Kekemeke recently urged them to work for the party’s success. He called on the officers at the local government councils to set their eyes on taking over government at the local level in the next elections.

He charged the leaders to begin to operate with a new orientation by de-emphasising the scramble for party offices and focusing on winning elections in the state. Kekemeke also urged them to embark on a vigorous membership drive in order to ensure the party attained a strong footing to withstand the odds posed by other political parties in the state. He said, “My vision is to deploy my God-given capacity, competence and character in the service of the party to enable it change its name and status from opposition party to ruling party in Ondo state and Nigeria. You should plant the party, recruit more members and unite existing members within the party.”

Following Kekemeke’s admonition, it is not difficult to deduce that the party is beginning a process of rejuvenation. Its performance in the last by-election, where it came third, was attributed to the internal wrangling within the party. The APC loss in Ekiti did not also help matters. With consistency, it could reap the spoils falling out of a clash between the PDP and the LP at any time.

There are other political parties such as the Social Democratic Party, whose rebirth was made possible by some Afenifere stalwarts who included Chief Olu Falae. It has not made any serious impact in recent outings. Action Alliance, All Progressives Grand Alliance and National Conscience Party would not fail to show their presence during elections and at political stakeholders meetings. Their real impact may be felt elsewhere outside Ondo State.

The tempo of political activities is not at its peak in Ondo. Parties are at the moment concerned about putting in place internal structures that would help their ambitions once the contests begin. While the power of incumbency has been defied in Ekiti, the LP would do well to come out of its shell and be more responsive to the electorate if it intends to witness more electoral victories in the state.

(PUNCH)