The political atmosphere in Ogun state at the moment is not looking good for the incumbent governor Ibikunle Amosun as he has lost out in a power game within the party in the state. The governor has unsuccessfully tried to install a successor in Hon Abdulkadir Akinlade who is a serving house of representatives member in the state.
The Ogun state governor had hoped that his relationship with President Buhari will make him have his way no matter how he handles the party affairs in the state. This made the governor single handedly pick all the 40 electoral posts in the state comprising of the Governor, Deputy Governor, 3 Senators, 9 House of representatives and 26 house of assembly members. This was against the party’s directive of a direct primary method from the party’s HQ.
Governor Amosun boasted that he would get away with anything as long as the President is still alive. He sighted examples of how he influenced ministerial slots and board appointments against the will of the leaders from the south west.
Recent happenings within the party has shown that the governor has lost out in all fronts through the direct primary option adopted by the National arm of the party. Determined to have his way, the governor has made over 5 trips to the Presidency, lobbying, blackmailing and mounting pressure on President Buhari to give a directive to the APC national chairman Adams Oshiomole to accept all his list irrespective of the results of the primaries.
The President was said to have told governor Amosun to tow the party line and respect the party’s constitution. The Governor led emissaries including royal fathers and other eminent personalities but the President refused to interfere in party decisions.
The president’s actions and stand was reported to have annoyed governor Amosun who told close friends add associates at his Ibara GRA mansion that President Buhari has betrayed him with all the help he has rendered to him even before he became the President.
Governor Amosun revealed how he was responsible for the payment of the school fees of the children of President Buhari when he had nothing. He further revealed how to took Buhari to Asiwaju Tinubu which led to him being adopted as the APC presidential candidate in 2015.
It was further revealed that Gov Ibikunle Amosun told his friends how he purchased a bullet proof Lexus LX570 for Buhari when he survived a bomb blast. The governor said “the President has chosen to abandon me when I needed him most. I was there for him when he had nothing, when he couldn’t even pay his children’s school fees. I gave him an apartment in my house at Ikeja GRA when he couldn’t afford hotel accommodation and I personally sent my Mercedes Benz C300 to pick him from the airport whenever he comes Lagos. How can he now do this to me” the governor lamented.
Meanwhile the governor has perfected plans to push his consensus candidates who have lost out in the primaries to another party so as to enable them contest while he stays behind to pursue anti party moves against the party’s candidates for the 2019 elections.
