From  Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure

Come, Friday 24th February, this year, power will change hands in Ondo State. The pendulum of power will shift from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which had been in control of the state for eight years to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) will on this day be sworn in as the fifth executive Governor of the state. He will be taking over from Governor Olusegun Mimiko, who is serving his second and final term in office.

As Governor Mimiko leaves, he is leaving with a battery of crisis. The crises in the state appear to be more than those he met when he assumed office as the fourth executive Governor of the state eight years ago. Today, there is leadership tussle in the state House of Assembly, and this has affected his administration in no small way as he (Mimiko) could not present the 2017 budget as a result of the development. Also, the nonpayment of salaries and pension, remain a sore point in the life of administration. And from all indications, the new governor will be assuming office without any budgetary provision.

Akeredolu, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and former Commissioner for Justice in Ondo State had emerged winner of the November 26 gubernatorial election on the platform of the APC. His victory in the election, for the first time in recent times was without any litigation, as none of his opponents challenged his victory before the Elections Petition Tribunal, an indication that he was generally acceptable to the people, including members of the opposition political parties.

Interestingly, not even his closest rival in the gubernatorial poll, Mr Eyitayo Jegede of the PDP, or Chief Olusola Oke of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), who came a distant third in the poll, could challenge Akeredolu’s victory. Rather, the duo accepted the outcome of the election in good faith and promised to support the incoming government.

For Mimiko, he may have done his best for the state; Daily Sun however gathered that his best may not be sufficient enough, as some residents of the state have continued to condemn some of the policies and programmes. But there are others too lauding the administration. 

Like Mimiko who was confronted with many challenges in his eight years of administering the state, Akeredolu may also face similar phenomenon as many of the challenges are already rearing their heads, even before he takes over.

For instance, the dust that was raised following the faceoff between Akeredolu and the former Governor of Lagos State who is also the National Leader of the APC before the election is yet to settle. This, Daily Sun gathered has remained a source of “strong division” within the APC in the state, a development that portends serious challenge to the incoming administration.

Both Akeredolu and Tinubu did not hide their differences before the election, and it was a general belief in the state that Tinubu sponsored Oke who contested on the platform of the AD against his party’s candidate (Akeredolu). It was even rumoured that Tinubu financed the campaigns of Oke and also rallied support for him both within and outside the state.

Political observers in the state believes that the victory of Akeredolu was destined by God, especially considering the bickering and open confrontation within the rank and file of the party’s leadership, both in the state and at the national level. Unlike the 2016 election, there was no primary election in 2012. The leadership of the party including Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande and others just considered him (Akeredolu) on merit and offered him the ticket. The development led to an uproar; following which some other aspirants such as Dr Olu Agunloye, Mr Saka Lawal, late Olaiya Oni and others parted ways with the ACN in protest.  However, in the election proper, Akeredolu lost, as he came a distant third, while Mimiko retained his seat for second term, with Chief Olusola Oke who contested then under the PDP coming second.

In a twist of fate however, Tinubu who had supported Akeredolu in 2012, against all odds, turned against him in 2016 and supported another aspirant against Akeredolu, a thing that forced the former NBA president, to come hard on Tinubu and was always lashing out at him, where ever he had the opportunity t o speak, claiming that God chose him in 2012 and not Tinubu.

Considering the foregoing, Akeredolu Daily Sun gathered, is likely to distance himself and his government from Tinubu as he (Tinubu) had no input into making the new governor. There are also strong indications that appointments into the government would be done without any input by Tinubu. This is unlike the situation in other states of the South West geo political zone, especially Osun and Lagos states, where Tinubu allegedly had serious input in the appointment of key political office holders, especially commissioners and board members.

Although the APC claimed that the crisis between Akeredolu and Tinubu has since been settled, there is nothing on ground to indicate any resolution of crisis, just as the new governor’s men told Daily Sun that Akeredolu would not allow Tinubu to dictate to him.

To lend credence to the governor’s supporters’ position, Daily Sun learnt that since Akeredolu was declared the governor-elect, he had not paid any personal or official visit to Tinubu, whereas he had done so to other leaders of the party who supported him, especially President Muhammadu Buhari, the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El- Rufai and the minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi among others. Also, Daily Sun further gathered that even when President Buhari impressed it on Akeredolu to visit Tinubu in London, with a view to settling whatever differences they may have had over the election, Akeredolu refused to go. He was said to have been prevailed upon by another South-West governor, not to go, just as he (Akeredolu) also stayed away from the recent APC South-West stakeholders’ meeting, held in Ibadan, a meeting, that had the information minister, Lai Mohammed who is from the North-Central, in attendance.

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In spite of all these, the APC in the state insists all was well.  The party’s Publicity Secretary, Mr Abayomi Adesanya told Daily Sun that there was no more quarrel between Akeredolu and Tinubu, stressing that Tinubu remains the National Leader of the party who on several occasions had reiterated his readiness to support Akeredolu and the APC in Ondo state.

However, Adesanya was swift to add that members of the APC involved in anti- party activities during the November 26 gubernatorial poll, especially those who worked for the AD would be disciplined in line

with the constitution of the party, adding that anti -party activities are serious offences which attract expulsion as punishment.

He said appointment into political offices would be done based on merit, adding that “Akeredolu has the prerogative to appoint whoever he wants into any of the political office. It is the right of the governor to appoint his choice people. However, the party may also have some roles to play in this regards as only those who have supported the party can be given such privilege to serve.”

Although no one knows who will make the list of appointees in the incoming administration, it one major challenge before the incoming government of Akeredolu is the leadership crisis in the House of Assembly, as there appears to be no truce yet, despite efforts by well spirited individuals and political leaders to broker peace between the two factions in the House.

Already, there are two individuals laying claim to the speakership of the House of Assembly. They are Mrs Jumoke Akindele and Hon Malachi Coker and this development may portend serious challenge to Akeredolu’s government.

The leadership crisis in the House of Assembly generated protests by youths in the state and this has prevented the outgoing governor from presenting the 2017 budget before the House. The crisis also led to attack on the convoy of Mimiko during a protest by some youths in the House of Assembly complex, leading to the arrest of seven persons who have since been remanded at the Olokuta prison.

If the crisis in the House of Assembly is allowed to fester, Akeredolu may inherit a divided House, and there may not even be any House in place. This is so because the Police has since sealed off the House of Assembly complex on the orders of the Inspector General of Police. Should Akeredolu inherit this crisis, he would need to wait till 2019 when election into the House of Assembly would be conducted for peace to return to the House and this may have grievous consequences on his government.

Also, the accumulated salary and pension arrears not paid by the Mimiko’s administration portend serious challenge to the incoming government of Akeredolu. The expectation by many civil servants that Akeredolu would settle the outstanding arrears if not met may cause a serious industrial unrest in the state in no distant time.

Aware of the huge tasks ahead of him, Akeredolu has appointed a former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC),  Funsho Kupolokun as the Chairman of the transition committee in the State. He has also set up 30 other committees to prepare the ground for him. The committees, Daily Sun gathered, would render advice and proffer solutions to the challenges confronting the state in different sectors of the economy.

Akeredolu said his decision to constitute a transition committee was to ensure smooth handing over process by the present administration in the state, stressing that Kupolokun is to organize a smooth transition from the outgoing Mimiko’s administration to that of the APC. He said the committee has up to February 20 to present its report. He also urged the committee to meet with all relevant stakeholders before the inauguration of his government.

On his part, Kupolokun, promised to ensure that the challenges before Akeredolu are surmounted. He tasked the governor-elect to look beyond the monthly federal allocation, saying the federal allocation accruing to the state could not cater for the needs of the state. He said not much could be done if the incoming administration relies on monthly federal allocation.

Hear him:  “the era of total reliance on monthly federal allocation has gone, hence the need for the state to develop means of generating funds to cater for the needs of the people. It is therefore important for the incoming administration to look inward for ways of generating money to run the affairs of the state.”