Ogun: Eleven PDP aspirants eye Amosun’s seat

LATEST UPDATE: Ogun: Eleven PDP aspirants eye Amosun’s seat

BY CHARLES ADEGBITE

In Ogun State, the battle to drive the incumbent governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun out of Oke- Monsan in 2015, by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is becoming tougher. Eleven aspirants are jostling for the party’s ticket. The battle is becoming fierce among the aspirants partly because they are an assembly of politicians from the Labour Party and a couple of aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), who recently decamped to the PDP and joined those who were initially in the race to contest for the party’s ticket.

The power game is already going on and the people of the gateway state are already watching to see who the umbrella party will present to face the incumbent governor among the aspirants.

Alhaji Sarafa Tunji Ishola : He was the Minister of Power and Steel during late President Umar Musa Yar’adua administra­tion between July 2007 and October, 2008 and former Secretary To Ogun State Government during Otunba Gbenga Daniel”s tenure (2003 and 2007). He is a grassroots politician who started as Chairman of Abeokuta North Local Government Area (1997-1998) and Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Finance (1999-2003). He first expressed his ambition to govern the state in 2009 when he joined the governorship race for the 2011 election but could not secure the party’s ticket because of the zoning to Yewa division of Ogun State by the party. He is in the race again.

Hon Dimeji Bankole: The former Speaker of the House of Representatives, who lost his bid to contest for the third term as Representa­tive of the people Abeokuta South Federal Constituency in 2011 is also eyeing Amosun’s job. But sources from the PDP in Ogun State said he is not enjoying the best of support from the party leadership in the state because of alleged failure to relate properly with them. He is leveraging on his last position as former Nos:4 citizen in Nigeria.

Prince Gboyega Nasir Isiaka: This former Managing Director of Gateway Holdings, was the governorship candidate of the PDP in 2011 before court nullified his candidature in favour of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s preferred candidate General Adetunji Olurin (retd). He later became the flag bearer of Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), the party his political godfather, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, hurriedly formed to safe his followers from being victims of political tsunami that was ranging in the state then. He came third in the 2011 governorship election. Now he is in the race again as one of the PDP gubernatorial aspirants for the 2015 election after his politi­cal merry-go-round from PPN to Labour Party and back to PDP, his initial political home.

The first class chartered accountant from the Obafemi Awolowo University is of the best brains from Yewa division of Ogun State.

Hon Kayode Amusan: A two-term mem­ber of the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2011 first made known his desire to govern the state towards the end of his tenure as a federal lawmaker in 2010. However went it was glaring to him that PDP has zoned the governorship ticket to Yewa he quickly joined the race for senate which he also lost.W ith his billboards erected across the major towns in Ogun State, each bearing the inscription “Ogun State In My Mind” this Egba born politician is also jostling for the guber ticket of PDP again. Whether he will get the ticket or not, political observers are watching.

Hon Isiaq Akinlade: This is another federal lawmaker in the struggle for governorship ticket of the PDP. He is one of the longest serv­ing members of the House of Representatives having been representing his people of Egbado South/Ipokia Federal Constituency since 2003 till date. When the clamour for Yewa Lokan (Its Yewa’s turn to produce governor) reached peak and it became clear to him that the PDP would not give him governorship ticket for the 2011 election he defected to the then Action Congress of Nigeria with the hope that if the would zone the ticket to Yewa division as PDP did he would be considered since all others governorship aspirants from Yewa were in the PDP then. When ACN gave the ticket to Amo­sun he opted for the House of Representatives and won. Realising again that Amosun will want to contest for a second term and crisis was already rocking the party, he returned to the PDP for the purpose of realizing guberna­torial ambition come 2015.

Dr. Yomi Majekodunmi: A seasoned banker and brilliant administrator, is from the Majekodunmi dynasty of Abeokuta. He is a bosom friend of and former Chief of Staf to Governor Gbenga Daniel, during the latter’s second term in office between 2007 and 2011. This Egba chief is also in the race and hoping to get the PDP ticket to confront the incumbent governor in the 2015 general election.

Engr. Tony Ojesina: This former Com­missioner for Environment during Daniel’s first term between 2003 and 2007 is also in the race, This Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s kinsman from Owu-Egba is said to be making efforts to get consideration as well. Would he be given the ticket to confront Amosu, his Owu brother? Would other Egba contestants allow another Owu man to be governor after Obasanjo has been President for eight years; and Owu son and daughter were senators be­tween 2003 and 2011before Amosun became governor again in 2011? These are some of the things political observers are watching out for.

Alhaji Rafiu Ogunleye: This former Dep­uty Governor during Chief Olusegun Osoba’s first administration between 1992 and 1993 is also in the race. He is an Ijebu man and one o f the aggrieved members of the ACN who left when the internal crisis between Amosun and Osoba’s factions of the party deepened and solution to the crisis could not be found.

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