MINISTERIAL LIST TEARS ONDO PDP APART,MANY SINS OF TOKUNBO KAYODE,DEFENCE MINISTER

Ministerial List Tears Ondo PDP Apart

… As Kayode Defence Minister was dropped for Elegbeleye

…his many sins, + why PDP can not forgive him

More facts are emerging why the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State has failed to forgive the suspended minister for Defence, Prince Tokunbo Kayode.

The state chapter of the PDP, through its Chairman and Secretary,Dr.Tayo Dairo and Sola Oludipe, had announced the indefinite suspension of the minister on allegation of anti-party last week.

The executive are yet to reverse the suspension of the Ikaramu-Akoko born lawyer turned politician despite all entireties by the national and zonal body of PDP.

The party leaders alleged the unholy alliance and romance between the minister, Kayode and  ruling Labour Party in the state, to the detriment of his political party.

Sources close to the party told the Sunshine VOICE that the party executives were pressure to take the drastic decision by the members of the National Assembly who loss their return bid.

The NASS members were said to have converged at Abuja and took the decision that they should pay back the minister over their woeful outing at the last poll so that he too can feel what they are feeling.

The state excos acted on the petition of the NASSA members over what they described as Kayode's inability to muster enough support for them during the just concluded general election. 

This move is to blockade the perceived renewed effort by the minister to retain his portfolio having been credited by some party leaders at the zonal and national level for been instrumental to the success of the PDP Southwest rallies.

Kayode was appointed by the late President Musa Yar'Adua  had served in various  ministries as minister from the ministry of Culture and Tourism as well as Labour and Productivity, until he was latter saddle with the responsibility of over seeing the Ministry of Defence by President Goodluck Jonathan, who retained him in the cabinet after the death of his boss.

But the happiness of the party leaders begins to withered as they loss virtually all the bye-elections and polls conducted during his tenure a serving minister.

Some PDP leaders who spoke under anonymity berated Kayode for the monumental loss of the party in all the polls as they believed that if he had played his role sincerely and politically it would have greatly impacted on the fortune of the party.

It was learnt that the minister did not play any active role in the bye-elections conducted in the state and won by the ruling LP before the recent general election.

Specifically, the minister was said to be nowhere to be found during the by-election conducted in the Northern Senatorial District, which the PDP candidate, Jimi Adedapo lost woefully.

They traced the  loss of the PDP candidates at the subsequent election held at Ilaje the backyard of Dr Agagu and the stronghold of the party equally shows the lack of commitment and disloyality of Kayode to the party.

Some Youths group also blamed the minister for the poor showing of the party in the National Assembly and House of Assembly elections.

The group known as the Ondo State Youth Leaders Forum said the ''non challant attitude'' of the minister to the development of the party was responsible for the crack within PDP.

The group, in an open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan signed by its President, Elegbeleye Rasheed PDP aspirant who loss his State House of Assembly bid and Secretary, Kolawole Femi, said that the minister deliberately sold out the party to the opposition, using all the machinery at his disposal in preparation for his second term ministerial slot.

They alleged that the minister was negotiating with the Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, to defect to the PDP before May 29, so that the governor could re-nominate him for the state ministerial slot.

'Tokunbo Kayode has not been a blessing to the Ondo State PDP. He has contributed nothing to the development of the PDP in Ondo State. He only gives money and contracts to his loyalists.

"He is responsible for the poor outing of the PDP in the recently conducted elections in Ondo state. Somebody who cannot deliver his territory to the party, he was only after how to retain his post," the group stated.

But the immediate past Secretary to the State Government [SSG] and a very notable political leader from the southern senatorial district, Barrister Isaac Kekemeke differs on the issue of Kayode's suspension as he accused the party leaders of losing focus.

Hon. Kekemeke who was onetime leader of opposition in the state assembly during the truncated third republic was quoted by some media report that he exonerates Kayode over the abysmal failure of the party in the last election.

He condemned the party executives of conniving and cabal against Kayode, why should he be blame for refusing the party to use armed soldier to rig the last election.

Though the state secretariat of the PDP in Akure is yet to revert the suspension order placed on the minister, but sources closed to the minister said he had been making frantic effort to get his renomination through back door.

Mimiko challenged PDP Leaders over who delivered votes to Jonathan

Mimiko challenged Ondo PDP over who delivered votes to Jonathan

                          Gov Olusegun Mimiko

  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 Jonatha’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 Presidents 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 presidents 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.

This report as culled from The SUN newspapers