Exactly a year ago – On the 9th of March 2019, the incumbent governor of Oyo State Engineer Abiodun Oluwaseyi Makinde was elected by the people of the state to govern them for the next four years. After his emergence, the UNILAG trained engineer had to wait till the 29th of May 2019 when he was sworn as the 28th governor of the state.
OYOINSIGHT.COM’s Adebayo Abdulrahman takes a look at six vital moment and occurrence that contributed to the victory of the governor.
A PREDICTABLE PRIMARY
On the 30th of September 2018, at a primary election held at the famous Obafemi Awolowo stadium (former liberty stadium) to determine the gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Seyi Makinde emerged as the flag bearer of the party after polling ninety nine percent of valid votes casted by delegates.
Makinde polled 2772 votes to defeat his only opponent Senator Ayo Adeseun who managed to garner 21 votes. The result of the primary election did not come as a surprise to many political observers in the state who had predicted his victory at the primaries but no one knew it was the beginning of what willbecome the biggest governorship election victory in the history of the state.
THE FIGHT OF KINGS
Isiaka Abiola Adeyemi Ajimobi is the first and only man to have ruled Oyo State for two terms that spanned from May 29th 2011 to May 28th 2019. During the second term of the (now former) governor of the State he fought many first political battles that could have been avoided. These battles made the governor unpopular in the State.
Foremost among these battles was the political misunderstanding between the Office of the Governor and the Olubadan of Ibadan – a first class king who is the traditional ruler of Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State. The tussle with the Olubadan started when a review committee set up by the government headed by Akintunde Boade recommended the creation of new monarchs in Ibadan as part of a review of the Olubadan chieftancy system. This review was greeted with strong criticism from both the Olubadan and majority of Ibadan sons and daughters.
Since 2017 when the government announced its decision to review the system till the end of the governor’s tenure in May 2019, the tussle with the Olubadan and aggrieved stakeholders foremost among who is former governor Senator Rashidi Ladojawas locked in a legal battle.
Even though the Governor Inaugurated 21 new kings before the end of his tenure, this did not reduce the effect the review would have on the senatorial aspiration of the Governor and the popularity of his political party because he had already lost in the court of public opinion thereby giving the main opposition party a platform to launch its campaign and sell the integrity of its candidate.
THE DISUNITY THAT BIRTHED UNITY FORUM
On the 5th of June 2018, Unity Forum – a group of aggrieved members of the then ruling party in the State who are not satisfy with the way the State governor and leader of the party is handling its affairs in the State, announced its decision to leave the All Progressives Party.
Unity Forum before leaving the party is a faction that consist two senators, nine House of Representatives members, several members of the State House of Assembly including the Deputy Speaker and their supporters.
This faction left the party for the Action Democratic Congress because of the political differences with the leadership of the party at the State level over the result of the Party Congress which many claimed was filled with several irregularities and the alleged influence the Governor had over who wins the ticket to fly the party’s logo as its candidate in the election.
The disunity of unity forum from APC had a significant impact on the results of the election because the heavyweights in this political faction and their supporters worked against the candidate of the APC, Adebayo Adegoke Adelabu.
PRESIDENTIAL AND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTION RESULTS
Two weeks before the gubernatorial election in the State, the general elections for Presidential and National Assembly candidates took place across the country. The result of this election also had a significant impact on the victory of the PDP in the gubernatorial elections because it gave the (then) opposition party the momentum it needs to refill the hope of its supporters.
The defeat of the incumbent governor at the period Senator Abiola Ajimobi in the Oyo South Senatorial elections also fuelled the disunion in the party and confirmed that the masses are truly not ready to vote the progressives.
In the result of this election, the presidential candidate of PDP defeated the country’s President, Muhammadu Buhari of the APC in the state, PDP also won one senatorial seat and several House of Representative posts.
AN UNAVOIDABLE ALLIANCE
The result of the Presidential and National Assembly election reshaped the political terrain of the State and made it clear that for the opposition to be rest assured of a victory they must come together to defeat the incumbent.
After series of meeting between the major stakeholders in the oppositions, four parties – PDP, ADC, ZLP, SDP reached a coalition agreement to support the candidate of the PDP,Engineer Abiodun Oluwaseyi Makinde.
THE EMERGENCE OF OMI TUNTUN…
On the 9th of March 2019, the good people of Oyo State came out to express their opinion through the ballot and at the end of the exercise the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Partypolled 515,621 votes to defeat his closest rival, Adebayo Adelabu of the All Progressive Congress who polled 357,982 votes.
The victory of Seyi Makinde at the polls was not only convincing but also historic because it made him the first gubernatorial candidate to poll over half a million vote in the history of governorship elections in the state.
