Date: 2014-08-28

THE spate of endorsements ahead of the 2015 governorship elections in Kwara State, has so far indicated that predicting the eventual outcome of the race might not come easy like in the past.

It is such that trending political calculations might at some stage in the race, upset various camps in a state which until recently was built around a single political family.
Concern over the senatorial zone to produce the next governor and as well guarantee victory, has been the thrust of permutations in the two leading political parties, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The situation was so rife in the APC following postulations that the defection of the governor, Abdullfatah Ahmed and his predecessor, Senator Bukola Saraki from the PDP to APC would cost the governor a second term ticket.
Particularly, the uneasiness in the APC was informed by expectations that the PDP was going to pick its candidate from Kwara Central Senatorial zone.

Since the zone is regarded as a huge electoral asset, given the fact that it boasts of the highest number of registered voters in the state, the nervousness in APC and among the associates of the incumbent governor were not unfounded.
If the PDP eventually picks its candidate from the zone as being speculated, the Southern Senatorial Zone where the governor hails from would be up for grabs. Same applies to the North.

Against the back drop of this mood, it was easy for analysts to conclude that the pendulum might swing either way.
But latest developments seem to have altered the conjecture, as the APC and its supporters are now upbeat about the days ahead.
Instructively, the latest ambiance was informed by the recent endorsements Ahmed has received lately.

In a move described by analysts as strategic for the APC, the Emir of Lafiagi Alhaji Kawu Haliru, threw his weight behind a second term for Ahmed.
The traditional ruler who is among the prominent leaders in the Northern Senatorial Zone, expressed delight that the people of the region were now united behind the state chief executive. The North comprises of Moro, Edu, Pategi, Kaiama, and Baruten Local Government Areas.

At the event which was convened by political office holders from the zone, spokespersons of various organizations, interest groups from the informal and formal sectors, cited the spread of development projects and empowerment schemes across the state as some of the reasons for Ahmed’s endorsement.

Haliru’s blessings also came as a relieve to the governor’s camp, as it meant that the zone’s hitherto agitation for power shift, may no longer rub off on APC’s chances. It had been alleged that the state party leader, Senator Bukola Saraki had masterminded a one term agreement that would have seen Ahmed serve one term and then subsequently hand over to somebody from Kwara North which is yet to produce a governor for the state.

With this endorsement from Kwara North complementing other efforts like the mobilisation of indigenes of Southern Senatorial District in Lagos for voters’ registration, appears to have properly positioned the governor in good stance for an endorsement from the Saraki led state chapter of the party.
While the import of these is not lost on the APC and those mobilising for the governor to have a second term, the PDP is unperturbed, as it stressed that royal support does not qualify one for electoral victory.

The party’s scribe, Mr. Femi Yusuf dismissed the endorsement as a common practice in electioneering periods.
”You can only deserve endorsement if you have surpassed the previous administrations, but the past 12 years have shown that the people in the North senatorial district have been neglected. Go to Baruten or Kayama, Lafiagi and Patigi to see for yourself. The endorsement came from the traditional rulers with the prompting of the state government,” he noted.

But the governor’s Special Adviser on Communication Strategy, Alhaji Raheem Adedoyin, repudiated the PDP’s response, describing the royal support as a testimony to APC’s acceptance across the state.
He also explained that the governor, through his Shared Prosperity Agenda, SPA, has sustained impactful development, noting that the spate of supports for the second term ambition should not come as a surprise.

“He has successfully consolidated on the projects of the former governor and opened up new ones with direct bearing on the lives of the people and that simply explains why the people are clamouring for his comeback,” he stated.
Specifically, Adedoyin said some projects the government had executed include; the Independent Power Project, IPP, rehabilitation of schools and construction of 800km of roads.

The administration, he said, also introduced Harmony Holdings, Kwara Bridge Empowerment Scheme ,KWABES, completed the construction of the Aviation College started by the Saraki administration and built an international standard Vocational Centre at Ajase-Ipo.