Eromosele Ebhomele All Progressives Congress holds its governorship primary in Lagos and other states of Nigeria Early signs that the election would favour Akinwunmi Ambode became obvious when youths and delegates danced around him as he remained at the venue of the election while all the other aspirants left one after the other. The last aspirant to leave Ambode at the venue of the exercise when it was getting late was Ganiyu Solomon. Ambode won the APC governorship primary by a landslide after polling 3,735 votes out of the total valid votes of 5,725 cast to defeat 11 other aspirants, with the Lagos State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr. Kadri Hamzat coming second with a vote of 1,201. Other 11 aspirants got cumulative votes of 789. [caption id="attachment_16401" align="aligncenter" width="278"] •Ambode[/caption] The voting, as observed started late afternoon after the delegates had been accredited for the exercise. While Ikorodu Local Government Area had 498 delegates who voted, Ibeju-Lekki had 189 accredited delegates. Epe had 291 delegates who voted, while the number of delegates that voted in Badagry was 305 out of 313. Alimosho recorded the highest number of delegates with 583, Mushin had 280, Eti Osa had 329, Ajeromi-Ifelodun had 234 who voted out of a total 243 from the Local Government Area. In Ojo, 237 delegates voted while 15 registered delegates were absent. In Agege LGA, it was 193 while in Ifako-Ijaye it was 214. The total number of voters from Mainland Local Government Area was 264, while Surulere had 340. In Lagos Island LGA, 252 voted, in Amuwo-Odofin, 212 delegates voted with six delegates absent, in Kosofe 299 delegates voted. In Ikeja, 290 delegates voted, in Somolu LGA, 243 delegates voted, in Oshodi LGA, 282 voted while in Apapa, 196 voted. List of winners of the primary elections on the platform of the APC across the country include Senator Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan who polled a total of 2425 votes against Ibrahim Tumba who had 18, and two others who polled 14 and five votes respectively in Taraba, Speaker Aminu Tambuwal also won in Sokoto with a total vote of 3,466. In Kwara State, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, polled a total of 3,016 votes even though he won unopposed, Dakuku Peterside polled 3,914 votes out of 3773 to get the APC ticket in Rivers, Governor Ibikunle Amosun got a total of 3,554 votes caste in his favour even though he had no competition, while Okey Ezea was endorsed as the party’s consensus flagbearer for the governorship election in 2015 in Enugu. [caption id="attachment_16402" align="aligncenter" width="300"] •Gov Ahmed: won in Kwara[/caption] In Delta, Olorogun Otega Emerhor was declared winner by Aliu Yahaya Sa’ad, the electoral committee chairman after he polled a total of 3,584 votes to beat Chief Fidelis Tilije who scored 195 votes. The only female in the contest, Princess Nana Modupe, Onwordi polled two votes. In Oyo, Governor Abiola Ajimobi won after polling 4662 votes to beat his opponent, Dr. Ayobami Adesina, son of former governor of the state, Alhaji Lam Adesina, who polled 22 votes. Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe also got the endorsement of over 2000 delegates of the party in Damaturu. Before last week, the political situation in Lagos State, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, was easy to predict, especially as it concerned the aspirants for the 2015 governorship election in the state on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC. The state, no doubt, is central to the importance of Nigeria. With this in mind, residents of the state, as well as outsiders interested in its affairs, studied the intrigues, the fun and the direction the pendulum swung daily. Soon, the situation became tension-riddled, unpredictable and full of suspense. The number of aspirants scaled up to 11, each gunning for a chunk of the votes from the delegates to emerge the candidate of the party for the election in which the Peoples Democratic Party, which began on a divided note ahead of the 2015 elections, as well as other political parties, would participate. Even though they all knew that politics of this nature would be a game of chance and sagacity, they flung themselves into the ring. Obafemi Hamzat, the current commissioner for Works and Infrastructure and Akinwunmi Ambode, a former accountant-general of Lagos State, were the first to make their intentions known, though some others had engaged themselves in nocturnal meetings which they called consultation. A conspicuous sign that Ambode could be the most favoured to take over from Babatunde Fashola came up at the launch of a book in honour of the financial expert. At the event, Oba Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos openly endorsed Ambode, who he claimed the other traditional rulers had also endorsed. While this public endorsement by the number one traditional ruler in the state must have lifted the chances of an already optimistic Ambode, it dealt an injurious blow to the ambition of other aspirants, and a more injurious one on Hamzat, who, it is speculated, had Fashola’s nod to vie for the position. “We cannot have a man like this (Ambode) and allow somebody whose father is an Oba in Ewekoro, Ogun State be the Governor of Lagos. Although Lagos State belongs to all Nigerians and the state will continue to offer opportunities to every Nigerian to actualise the Nigerian dream, Ambode remains the best man with the required pedigree and character to take Lagos to the next level,” Akiolu said at the event. It is widely known that Mufutau Olatunji Hamzat, father of Obafemi Hamzat, is the traditional ruler of Ewekoro, a town in Ogun, a neighbouring state to Lagos. He had always been a strong politician with a powerful political structure before he emerged a traditional ruler. Though Oba Akiolu did not mention Hamzat in the statement which was part of the speech he delivered at the event, the news soon spread across the state that the commissioner may not have the ticket or that he had much work to do before the primaries of the party. [caption id="attachment_16403" align="aligncenter" width="300"] •Hamzat[/caption] Oba Akiolu’s statement further threw up the debate of who, among the contending aspirants, was truly an indigene of Lagos. The intrigues got deeper. Loyalists of the various aspirants began to dig up what could have been secret if not for politics. Concerning indigenisation, aspirants like Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji of the state House of Assembly and Leke Pitan, a former commissioner for Health in Lagos, had no problem. Ikuforiji was born in Epe on 24 August, 1958 to the family of the late Chief and Mrs. Murtala Atanda Ikuforiji. He even attended primary and secondary schools in Epe, a town in the Lagos East senatorial district where, it is speculated, the party zoned the governorship seat for 2015. Also, Dr. Pitan was born on 14 January, 1956 into the Christian family of the Late Senior Evangelist David Ibikunle Pitan and Madam Solabomi Ojuolape Pitan in Agbowa–Ikosi, Epe. However, Ambode, Ganiyu Olarenwaju Solomon, and a host of other aspirants had to do everything within their powers to convince the people that they are not just indigenes of Lagos, but that they are from Lagos East. [caption id="attachment_16406" align="aligncenter" width="206"] •Senator Ganiyu Solomon[/caption] Seemingly unperturbed by the punch against him, Hamzat insisted that he has a link with Epe even though his father is a traditional ruler somewhere else. His explanation was further boosted by retired Major-General Leo Segun Ajiborisha, the first military administrator of Osun State. Ajiborisha, a native of Epe, explained that Hamzat is from the same Ajiborisha family, which he said was well known in Epe and that those saying he is not from Epe should come out with their proof. [caption id="attachment_16405" align="aligncenter" width="300"] •Leke Pitan[/caption] Calling Hamzat his cousin, he said: “In politics, there are all kinds of campaigns of calumny going on among politicians. He who has alleged that Dr. Obafemi Hamzat or his father is not from Epe, should prove it. He that alleges must prove it. That is what our constitution says. My own great grandfather is Chief Aina Ajiborisha. His own father is the one that gave birth to all of them. His name is Ajiworo Ajiborisha. You should know that everybody in Lagos came from one place or the other except Akarigbere.” [caption id="attachment_16404" align="aligncenter" width="298"] •Ikuforiji[/caption] He continued: “The Akarigbere came with Oba Ado from Benin. But when they came to Lagos, they met some land owners, who are Idejos. We are talking about Elegushi, Oniru, Ojora, Ajiran, Ojomu and others. Because of trade, other people entered Lagos. Also, because of their spiritual prowess, they were summoned into the cabinet of Oba of Lagos. So, there was my great grandfather, Chief Aina Ajiborisha and then the great grandfather of Oba Olatunji Hamzat. They were in Lagos until the problem of King Kosoko started. They were serving King Kosoko very well. In fact, they were the spiritualists of King Kosoko. First of all, they moved to Badagry. They fought some wars in Ewekoro and its environs. They came back to Lagos. They wanted to enter through Ijebu-Ode to Epe. But they eventually entered through Lagos. Oba Olatunji Hamzat was born by Chief Soyeyinbo Hamzat Ajiborisha. One of his wives was called Mama Mobanke Ajiborisha.” He said after Hamzat lost his father at age 12, he began living with one Chief Mufutau Badmus, a rich Muslim. “He sent Oba Olatunji Hamzat to Koranic School and registered him in Native Authority School. Chief Badmus decided to remove Ajiborisha from his name because as a devout Muslim, he could not send a child bearing Ajiborisha to school...That is how he stopped bearing Ajiborisha officially. Ambode, few days after the public endorsement, was struck with a revelation that he is from the riverine area of Ondo State. But he and some notable people in Epe punctured this claim by his perceived enemies. They insisted that Ambode has his roots in the area. Oba Okunola Adesanya, the Oluilara of Ilara and one of the paramount rulers of Epe, who spoke on behalf of the Olu of Epe and other monarchs at the induction of Ambode and other prominent sons of Epe into the Epe Club, said apart from being a bona fide son of Epe, Ambode was the messiah that the people of the area had been waiting for to liberate them. Also, Lanre Rasaq, a former commissioner of Transportation in the state, said Ambode was a jewel for the Epe people, emphasising that as a son of Epe, Ambode touched lives as the accountant-general of the state. Solomon also explained that he was related to Ikorodu, a part of the Lagos East. Just few days after Ikuforiji formally declared his interest to run for the position of governor in 2015, 34 of his colleagues at the House reportedly met with Ambode and gave him their support. Hours before then, members of the National Assembly from Lagos State had endorsed Ambode, with Gbajabiamila describing him as a bridge builder. Speaking for other National Assembly members who attended the meeting with Ambode including Abayomi Ayeola, Babatunde Adewale, Hakkem Muniru, Abiodun Faleke, Aliu Kazeem and Yakub Balogun, Rafeequat Onabamiro, Femi Gbajabiamila, Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, Samuel Adejare, Adeola Solomon, Toyin Suarau, Jide Akinloye, Ganiyu Olukolu and Abayomi Ogunnusi, a statement signed by Gbajabiamila’s media aide, Olanrewaju Smart, said: “In a rigorous cross examination he (Ambode) also seized the opportunity to inform the Lagos federal lawmakers about his vision for the state. At the end of pre-primary election meeting, the legislators declared their support for Ambode. The governorship hopeful also promised to complement the giant stride of the incumbent governor, Babatunde Fashola he once served.” The meeting between Ambode and members of the Lagos Assembly must have rattled the Speaker and those close to him. At the meeting, it was learnt that the lawmakers blessed Ambode and promised to work for him. Even when they later denied endorsing the aspirant, their denial was strictly based on condition of anonymity. With the various endorsements of Ambode, the handwriting got clearer by the day that he could clinch the party’s ticket. Moreover, party chieftains told everyone who wanted to listen that Ambode’s ambition was in agreement with the powers that be within the party. A major advantage for him is his religion. He is coming at a time Lagosians began to clamour for a Christian as governor. Most of the other aspirants are Muslims except Leke Pitan, who many believed did not have the political weight as Ambode or even Hamzat. Solomon, preferably called by his initials, GOS, is believed to have the clout and structure to effectively slug it out with Ambode. His major challenge had to do with his alleged stubbornness and fear that, as a politician, he could take over the party structure in the state if given such opportunity. A meeting by the other aspirants to come up with a consensus candidate that could wrest the position of the party’s flagbearer from Ambode had constantly hit the rocks. According to reports, one of such meetings held at the Protea Hotel, Maryland area of Lagos recently, yielded no result as it was revealed that Hamzat stormed out of the meeting in anger that a consensus may not benefit him. “They arrived at a plot to select or elect one of them as a consensus candidate ahead of the primary election coming up on 4 December 2014. Their plan is to pool their resources, machinery and followership together in support of such consensus candidate against Ambode at the primaries. Believing erroneously that Tinubu is behind Ambode’s aspiration and hoping to deal a devastating political blow on both of them at the primaries, the aspirants, at an earlier meeting, agreed to meet and produce a consensus candidate in good time so as to allow for time to project their choice candidate as acceptable to them all, The Guardian newspaper had reported a source as saying concerning the meeting. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, national leader of the APC, had given credence to that erroneous belief of the endorsement of Ambode when he reportedly told the aspirants in a meeting that he had not endorsed any of them. He was said to have told the aspirants to all get prepared to test their strength at the primary election. Tinubu, who was said to have reminded the aspirants that they could not all be governor, urged them to work with anyone who emerges finally as well as the party to ensure victory at the poll since the party was not taking mildly the threat by the PDP to capture Lagos. A disunity at this stage, he warned, would spell doom for the APC. He was reported to have warned aspirants against the continued use of his name to give the impression that he was backing any of them. These happened before Supo Shasore hit the public with his unique way of declaring his interest in the race. Shasore, a former attorney-general of the state, was earlier rumoured to be interested in contesting. The rumour turned to reality when his posters got displayed in every nook and cranny of the state. He also engaged in serious advertisements to press his ambition – which was considered to have come late – into the consciousness of the voting residents of the state. [caption id="attachment_16407" align="aligncenter" width="300"] •Shasore[/caption] As the countdown to the primary election in the state thickened, the aspirants, except Ambode, kicked for a postponement. The election was earlier moved to 3 December by the party, but under the aegis of Lagos Governorship Aspirants 2014, the aspirants said their decision was hinged on many reasons one of which was that the primaries, as it had been defined to hold, could lead to legal issues that could thwart the party’s chances at the main election. While advising for the building of consensus before the primary election would hold, in a letter signed by most of the aspirants including Olanrewaju Ope, Solomon, Ikuforiji, Tayo Akinmade Ayinde, Pitan, Hamzat, Dr. Tola Kasali, Shasore, Adekunle Disu, Adetokunbo Tobun Agbesanwa and Adetokunbo Williams, to Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, the party’s national chairman, Muiz Banire, the national legal adviser, and other party stalwarts in the state, the aspirants inisted that where elections would hold, the delegates should be from the 20 Local Government Areas as recognised in the constitution as well as the party’s article rather than an additional list of delegates from the Local Council Development Areas not recognised by the constitution as this could lead to crisis. They also raised fear of possible violence during the primary election. Henry Ajomale, chairman of the Lagos chapter of the party, said some of the fears of the aspirants had been put into consideration before the primaries. One of such solutions was the approval by the national secretariat that the exercise be held at a more secure and accommodating place, hence the choice of Tafawa Balewa Square, Onikan. Corroborating this, Joe Igbokwe said some of the fears by the aspirants had been resolved and that the indirect primaries would hold as expected. Governorship Primaries In Other States While the tense situation in Lagos could be considered normal for a state of such importance, especially since the incumbent was serving the constitutional second term in office, the same cannot be said of states controlled by the APC and which have their governors currently serving first term. Such states include Ogun, where Senator Ibikunle Amosun has been endorsed for another term and where his major obstacle to clinching the ticket would have been Segun Osoba and his loyalists that have now moved over to the Social Democratic Party, SDP; and Oyo State where Governor Abiola Ajimobi has also been endorsed. Other states where the governors have been endorsed for a second term include Borno, Nassarawa, Yobe, and Kwara. In Rivers State, which Governor Rotimi Amaechi would have served for eight years by 29 May, 2015, Dakuku Peterside, chairman of the House of Representatives’ committee on Petroleum, has been endorsed for the party’s ticket ahead of Senator Magnus Abe. In Imo State, there has been a level of silence concerning the ticket for the party. Governor Rochas Okorocha, who is currently serving one term, is one of the aspirants seeking the APC ticket for the presidential election. So far, no aspirant has declared interest to run on the party’s platform in the state, revving up insinuations that the seat must have been reserved for Okorocha in the likely event that he does not clinch the APC ticket as flagbearer for the presidential election. In Sokoto State Aminu Tambuwal remains the favoured aspirant having been allegedly endorsed by the state governor and high-ranking monarchs in the state. Though Tambuwal had Senator Dahiru Umar to slug it out with, analysts predicted a smooth ride for the Speaker of the House of Representatives who recently defected to the APC from the PDP. [caption id="attachment_16408" align="aligncenter" width="300"] •Tambuwal: Now the Sokoto candidate[/caption] Now that the primaries have come and gone, the major battles ahead for the party involve retaining their territories at the state level and at the National Assembly, expanding into some states already being governed by the PDP and ultimately taking over the much coveted seat of the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the coming elections. That is , of course, where all other things remain equal. – Additional reports by Kazeem Ugbodaga and Jamiu Yisa