· Says Aiyedatiwa’s alienation of key stakeholders won’t stop party in state
Chief Demola Ijabiyi is the Chairman of the PBAT Elders Forum in Ondo State and a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. In this interview, the octogenarian speaks on the role of Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, in mobilizing grassroots support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election, the contentious National Assembly primaries, and the state of the party ahead of 2027.
By Dayo Johnson, Akure
Ahead of 2027, there are many fragmented groups within the APC in Ondo State. What’s your take?
That is not right. Once you approach an election, there will be numerous support groups. In the 2023 elections, I was secretary of one of the support groups. People come out to support their candidates by sponsoring groups on their own. If you remember, in 2023, Tinubu had over 3,000 support groups. That is not fragmentation of the party.
I will tell you about the Elders Forum. I initiated it. I noticed that we elders don’t have any forum where we can meet and interact and promote the election of Tinubu, so I contacted the governor. I said let us have an Elders Forum. When I didn’t get a response from him, I traveled to Abuja to see Bunmi Tunji-Ojo and I told him: ‘You see; your principal is contesting, would you mind if we have an Elders Forum?’
He said that he has been thinking about it because he could see that Lagos had such a forum, Ogun State had such a forum, so why can’t we have it in Ondo State. So, it is a personal initiative, which he supported. It doesn’t have to do with any fragmentation or any special group.
Don’t you think you could have waited a bit to get a response from the governor?
We cannot wait indefinitely. We even wrote him a letter, and he didn’t reply. Now, we have other support groups. You see, when you are not in government as a politician, no politician wants to lie idle, and when you see an opportunity to operate, you embrace it.
Is it right for support groups to operate without the governor’s approval?
Any support group can spring up. Support groups are volunteers. A few days ago, some young men came to me from one of the wards in Akure, and they said they want to support Tinubu, they want to support BTO, and they have their own group. That is a support group. You have them like that all over the place. You don’t have to be under anybody because you are independent.
Could this be why accusing fingers are being pointed at the interior minister of unsettling the party?
I am an elder of the party; the real issue in the state is that Tunji-Ojo is supporting a lot of support groups, and through that he has made a name for himself. He has become popular, and those who do not like it, of course, will feel threatened. The minister does not know much about this thing that you are talking about. All he is doing is to support Tinubu’s re-election.
What’s your take on claims that some support groups are creating tension?
No. We have two dichotomies in the state. We have pro-Tunji-Ojo, and we have pro-Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa but both teams are working towards the same purpose – Tinubu’s re-election. If both of us are working towards the President’s re-election, I don’t see any problem in that. The governor’s team has ambassadors; he has formed various groups, and they are all working for Tinubu. Tunji-Ojo is supporting a lot of groups. They are also working for Tinubu.
Why is it a problem for the party?
With due respect; I am pro-Tunji-Ojo and I love the governor. So, why should the governor be my enemy? We have never crossed paths with each other.
Tunji-Ojo has invested in the system within the party, promoting so many groups that have become popular. On the other hand, the governor has alienated a lot of people. I’m a party member. We have a group of 400 elders of the party, selected at the local government level, and the governor is not relating to us. We have 12 members in the National Assembly; after Jimoh Ibrahim was appointed, we have 11 members left, and only one of them is with the governor.
There was a time I attended a meeting at the state secretariat called by the then chairman of the party but some thugs were sent there and I was beaten. Up till today, I don’t know why that happened. I thought that the governor should have spoken out and apologized to us as elders of the party.
Are you not afraid the opposition may capitalize on this?
Which opposition? There is no opposition in Ondo State. As a politician, we don’t take anything for granted. We have a goal in Ondo State. We want to deliver as many votes as possible for President Tinubu. I don’t know the miracle the opposition can come up with to challenge the APC. We are determined to work round the clock to make sure that we deliver Ondo State to Tinubu. All the support groups are echoing it that we want to deliver a minimum of one million votes to Tinubu.
What’s your take on the NWC’s decision on the NASS primaries?
There could never be any candidate until the National Working Committee says so. That is party supremacy. When you conduct an election on the field, the party gave a directive that no results should be announced on the field. Those conducting the election are agents of the National Working Committee. There is also an Appeal Committee set up by the NWC. So those who emerged on that day cannot yet claim to be candidates until the Appeal Committee sits on the matter.
You cannot claim injustice when you have not emerged as a candidate. If you are aggrieved, go back to your party. Protest to the party. If you go to court, it is your right. But technically speaking, you cannot go to court and say you are a candidate of the party because the party has not declared you as a candidate.
Is all well with the party going into the general elections?
As long as all of us are working, there is no group now that I know that is hobnobbing with other political parties. All those things are normal in political parties. If you are aggrieved somehow, you have to vent your anger somewhere. Let those who are aggrieved go and vent their anger in court. It doesn’t affect the agenda of the party, which is to deliver the President to Tinubu.
Will you say everybody is on the same page working for the success of the party in 2027?
All those things are normal in political parties. If you are aggrieved somehow, you have to vent your anger somewhere. If you don’t vent your anger somewhere, you will vent it on the party. So let those who are aggrieved go and vent their anger in court. It doesn’t affect the agenda of the party, which is to deliver the President to Tinubu.
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