Politics Of Defection And Ondo’s Gov Election

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Politics Of Defection And Ondo’s Gov Election

Saturday, 07 January 2012

Senator Ajayi Boroffice, representing Ondo North Senatorial district last week, defected from the Labour Party (LP) that took him to the Senate to the Action Congres of Nigeria (ACN). YINKA OLADOYINBO, in this report, examines the politics of his defection and the impact it can have on the governorship election in the state.

The year 2012 that another governorship election will be held in Ondo State is here and political gladiators in the state have continued to intensify efforts at ensuring that they secure victory at the end of the day. While the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has not left anybody in doubt of its intention to take over government in the state, the Labour Party (LP) has continued to consolidate and welcome new members, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has also been involved in one activity or the other to make it victorious at the end of the day.

One of the major achievements in the camp of the ACN towards the election was the defection of the Senator representing Ondo North Senatorial district in the National Assembly, Robert Ajayi Boroffice, from the LP to the ACN.

The possible defection of Boroffice had been in the news barely two months after the April 2011 general elections, as he was then said to be nursing the ambition of becoming the next governor of the state. However, after consultations and strategising, Boroffice, last December 28, finally ditched the LP and opted for the ACN.

The former Director-General of the National Space Research Development Agency (NASRDA) said he was leaving the LP because of the crisis and factionalisation of the party. He explained that the LP that was a united party at its formation had been balkanised with the coming on board of two factions, with a former member of the state House of Assembly, Kunle Odidi, leading a faction and Chief Olu Ogidan, leading another.

He said he had to leave when it was getting clearer that the crisis would not be resolved on time. He also said he moved to the ACN because there was the need to be properly integrated into Yoruba politics, saying only the ACN could make him achieve that aim.

“My coming to ACN was not motivated or propelled by the desire to become governor; I have only come to contribute to building the party and also contribute to the attempt to give good governance to the state; the ACN wants us to come and join hands to build the party.

“The LP is no longer serving the interest of our people and I am convinced that I cannot effectively function in a party that has factions. I am also convinced that the ACN is the party that can make things happen in the South-West.

“If we are in ACN, there can be strong regional integration, we will be able to implement regional projects that can further develop the region, so that the SouthWest can be a good example for others in the country,” he said.

He, however, said as he was leaving the LP, he was ready to join hands with other leaders of the ACN to enhance the party’s victory in the next governorship election in the state in February.

Meanwhile, many are of the opinion that Boroffice moved to the ACN purposely to contest the next governorship election, as it is believed that he cannot have the ticket as long as the incumbent, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, is still interested in another term in office. This is because immediately after his declaration, posters announcing his governorship ambition were pasted on streets of towns in the state.

Many political observers in the state were, however, convinced that Boroffice’s movement was part of the packaged by some people to propagate the much orchestrated Akoko Agenda in the state. Prior to his defection to the ACN, the party had paraded scores of aspirants from the northern senatorial district, particularly Akokoland, wanting to unseat the present governor of the state.

This has, however, compounded the problem of selection that could be faced by the party in the choice of its flag bearer. Apart from this, the development could further cause disaffection among the Akoko people and at the end polarise the area, as there were prominent people from the area that had signified their intention to contest before the coming on board of Boroffice. Top among them is Dr. Olu Agunloye, the senatorial candidate of the ACN in the last April general elections.

Both Boroffice and Agunloye slugged it out for the ticket of the LP towards the last election before the leadership of the party prevailed upon Agunloye to step down for Boroffice and offered him the ticket for the Akoko NorthWest/Northeast Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. Agunloye rejected the offer and left the LP to contest the election on the platform of the ACN. Immediately after he lost to Boroffice in April 2011, he set a machinery in motion for the governorship election and appeared to be a major contender for the ticket of the ACN.

But with the defection of Boroffice to the ACN, many people had queried his intention and accused him of attempting to scuttle Agunloye’s ambition for the second time in one year. However, aware of this, Boroffice, in his speech during his defection in his country home, Oka-Akoko, said he was not in ACN to scuttle anybody’s ambition.

“I am not in ACN to scuttle anybody’s political ambition and that nobody planted me in ACN to destabilise the party, as it is believed in some quarters; this is the handiwork of mischief makers aimed at eroding my credibility and it will not work,” he said,

The development, however, became complicated when it was alleged that the former chairman of the LP that had also defected to the ACN, DR. Olaiya Oni, was working for the emergence of Boroffice as the candidate of the party.

However, the defection of Boroffice to the ACN has again led to appraisala on the place of the Akoko Agenda in the politics of Ondo State and how far the proponents of the agenda can go in the face of the silence of other ethnic groups and political parties in the state over the move. Presently, it is only the ACN and its aspirants that had been making noise over the agenda, while the LP believed Mimiko has tremendously transformed and developed the state and as such should be allowed to continue with the work he in the state. The PDP is also non-committal on the issue.

But since election is a game of number and winning it depends on the strength of the contenders across the state, the proponents of the agenda need more work to do to galvanise votes from other regions in the state, considering the voting strength of Akokoland.

The last registration exercise by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed that the voting strength of the four local government areas in Akoko is just 6, 000 above that of Akure South Local Government Area in the central senatorial district. Besides, it needs to be ascertained whether the people of Owo/Ose that are in the same senatorial district with the Akokos are in support of the agenda. The Owo/Ose federal constituency has half of the votes from the senatorial district, so the Akokos need the support and cooperation of the people before they can achieve their agenda.

However, to the people of Owo/Ose, the last governor from the senatorial district, Chief Adebayo Adefarati, came from Akoko, so it is just logical to say that if the governor should come from the North, it should be from Owo/Ose axis and not Akokoland.

It is, however, noteworthy that there are many leaders from Akoko, particularly in the LP, that believe in the continuation of the present administration in the state. Such people had always faulted the claim of Boroffice that there were divisions among party members.

The people that gathered in Oka-Akoko in a show of solidarity and unity the same day the senator defected to the ACN said Chief Olumide Ogidan remained the only recognised chairman of the party in the state, saying there was no faction among members. To them, Boroffice was “on his own” and his defection would not affect the fortune of the party.

A commissioner from Akoko SouthWest Local Government Area where Boroffice hails from, Yinka Alabi said, “ The exit of Senator Boroffice from the LP cannot create any vacuum because the man is a new comer into politics. He contested as a Senator for the first time and he was supported by the LP government to win.

“He is only telling us that he is ungrateful. The people of Akoko SouthWest are here today in order to show appreciation to a party that had supported their illustrious sons and daughters to hold political offices. Boroffice has inordinate ambition. The people will not follow him because there is no reason for them to leave.

“It is a free world; we cannot ask him not to leave but his exit will not affect the fortune of the party. Our people are solidly behind the government of the day because it is a government that is performing. We can see the achievements of the Mimiko administration.”

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