Peoples Democratic Party chieftains battle opposition parties over who mobilized the South West for President Goodluck Jonathan. NDUBUISI ORJI reports
Friday, May 06, 2011
• Mimiko
Photo: Sun News Publishing

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Two weeks after the presidential elections, controversy over the victory of President Goodluck Jonathan in the south West is yet to abate. It was taken for granted that Jonathan who was the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) candidate in the April 16 poll would not garner much support from the South west geo-political zone.

This sentiment was understandable. The zone is the stronghold of the rival Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN). But the President won five out of the six states in the zone leaving only one to the presidential candidate of the ACN, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

Since results of the elections were declared political stakeholders in the South West, particularly in Ondo and Lagos States have been bickering over who was responsible for Jonathan’s victory in the two states. Ondo is governed by Governor Segun Mimiko of the Labour Party( LP) while Lagos is controlled by the ACN.

In the forefront of these claims and counter claims in Ondo State are Labour Party Chairman Olaiya Oni, Minister of Defence Adetokunbo Kayode and of course the PDP leadership in the state. Shortly after the election results were made public, the LP chairman, in Ondo state, told news men that his party mobilized the state for the President. Therefore, the credit for the PDP presidential candidate in the state should be given to his party and not the President’s party men in Ondo. The LP which did not field any candidate for the presidential poll had adopted Jonathan as its presidential candidate.

Dr Oni said “ PDP lost woefully to LP in the April 9, National Assembly elections. During the build up to the presidential election, PDP members neither mobilized their members nor came out on the election day with their agents. It was as if they abandoned President Jonathan to us. If they have come out and mobilized the people like we did, Jonathan would have scored more votes.” But the PDP top hierarchy in the state said nothing could be farther than the truth. A party chieftain in the state, Mr Sunday Oyepetan said it is mischievous for the LP to be claiming credit for Jonathan’s victory in the state. He said it was equally wrong for the Minister of Defence, Mr Adetokumbo Kayode to be laying claim to solely mobilizing the state for the president.

Oyepitian said “it is worthy of note that out of the 385,376 votes scored by President Jonathan in Ondo State, 197,291 votes (51%) came from the southern senatorial district, where Dr Olusegun Agagu hails from; 99,726 votes (25.7%) came from the central senatorial district, where Governor Olusegun Mimiko hails from and 90,359 (23%) came from the northern senatorial district, where the Minister of Defense Adetokunbo Kayode hails from.” Contary to Oni position, that there no PDP agents to man the polling units for the President during the election, Oyepitan said it was the LP agents that were absent during the election. He challenged any one in doubt to cross check from the electorate if LP agents were at the polling units or collation centre to sign the result sheets.

He added that “in Ondo West Local Government Area home of the self-acclaimed ‘election mobilizer’ Governor Mimiko could only bring out 25,463 out of the 125,467 registered voters during the Presidential elections as against the 36,742 he scored for his LP during the National Assembly elections. From the foregoing we can all imagine the extent of “massive mobilization” that the Labour Party did for Mr President to win,” the party chieftain stated.

He said if anything, LP members worked for other parties in the presidential election. “The votes that the ACN, CPC and other parties scored during the National Assembly elections increased during the Presidential elections. For emphasis, the ACN scored 64,000 votes during the National Assembly elections while it witnessed a growth in the Presidential elections where it scored 74,253 votes, the CPC, a party which has only a marginal presence in Ondo State scored 3,795 votes during the National Assembly elections but scored 11,830 votes during the Presidential elections. Other parties of little consequence that did not score any votes at all during the National Assembly elections now scored 18,187 votes during the presidential elections”.

Also, the party stalwart said contrary to the impression being created by the Minister of Defence, that he single handedly delivered the votes of the state to the president, the Minister only attended one rally in Akure and another in Ikare throughout the campaign and election period. “It is on record that he did not visit any of the 18 Local Government Areas of the state during the campaigns except his own local government, Akoko North West. He did not consult with any traditional ruler, religious leaders, youth or women group”, the party stalwart added.

Similarly, the Ondo State PDP Youth Leadership Forum said the president’s victory in the state was the outcome of collective efforts of party leaders in the state who worked tirelessly to mobilize the state for the president. In a statement made available to Daily Sun and jointly signed by Messrs Elegbeleye Rasheed and Kolawole Femi, said the president’s victory has nothing to do “with the alliance between Kayode and Governor Mimiko.”

Also, in Lagos State , the chairman of the PDP , Mr Setonji Koshedo said it is wrong for the ACN in the state to claim credit for the success the party recorded in Lagos during the presidential election. Koshedo told journalists in Lagos that the ACN state publicity secretary, Mr Joe Igbokwe had at a television programme claimed that his party mobilized the state for Jonathan. In his view, the ACN couldn’t have mobilized the state for the PDP, especially as it has its candidate in the election.

As the controversy over who delivered the Ondo and Lagos states votes to Jonathan continues, one thing is clear, the president is happy that he proved bookmakers wrong by winning the South west votes.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/politics/2011/may/06/politics-06-05-2011-001.htm

rigging of course !!

3 pple
mr. riggin
mr. tribalism
mr. religion

The answer to the question is simple. No need to make unnecessary noise about it. The people who voted in the SW region delivered the SW to Jonathan.

It's not that complicated.