In this piece, HEAD POLITICS, MUMINI ABDULKAREEM writes on the debate of the centrality of the newly inaugurated council chairmen to the chances of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state come 2019.
The Euphoria
Penultimate Tuesday at the Kwara state Government House, Ilorin, it was a momentous occasion for the state chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as the party capped its sweeping victory of the sixteen local government chairmanship seats with the inauguration of the council bosses that attracted many party stalwarts and supporters.
Although the APC lost eight councillorship seats to the opposition out of the 193 in the state, it was however still considered by some of the party’s apologists and supporters as a marked victory and accorded it pomp and pageantry.
At the occasion, which held at the council chamber of the Government House, the Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed has a message for the new chief executives of the third tier administration.
Ahmed among other things, charged the new administrators to synergise with all relevant stakeholders in order to raise their Internally Generated Revenue to meet their statutory responsibilities. He further pledged to work harder and closer with them to find a sustainable solution to salary crisis at the local government level and issues of security among others while. shunning unnecessary appointments, ostentatious living and other conducts that could call their integrity to question and hamper capacity to uplift the people in these challenging times.
Concerns
While the swearing-in ceremony was taking place, many permutations, especially that of the concerns of 2019 election, no doubt occupied the minds of many party leaders and supporters and how the role of the new executives can consolidate the chances of the party going forward. This apprehension was not unconnected with the performances of some of the party leaders who were defeated hands down by the opposition in their wards during the council election and raising very salient questions about the fortunes of the party come 2019. If these new incumbents get it right with good governance and people oriented policies this time around, it is clear that the party will reap massively from such goodwill to reassure the electorates that the APC still holds the ace in the state. But if on the other hand, the party failed to learn from the “rebellious” attitude of the people at the last council poll, then it will be a very worrisome and intriguing tale for the 2019 episode. According to analysts, one of the most portent campaigns for the party henceforth is to right the many “wrongs” that were harvested during its fact finding appraisal of the last council election and the council bosses may be the poster boys and girls to reinvent the party.
Sceptics
For the doubting Thomas, the governor’s charge during the inauguration of the council chairmen is not new but what will be the news will be for the new executives to demonstrate capacity and domesticate the governors charge to add value to governance and the fortunes of the party. The argument has been that we have all travelled this terrain before during the era of the Transition Implementation Committee (TIC) that lasted for one year cumulatively, which ushered in the newly inaugurated chairmen. But how the situation plays out this time around will go a long way to assuage the grievances of most of the affected workers in the state many of whom form part of the voting public. The onus lies on the chairmen to prove the sceptics wrong and improve the fortunes of the party.
Performance
While the TIC chairmen were under the spotlight as their tenure lasted, question of how far they were able to fulfil their purpose and mandate handed to them by the Governor never went away. In fact, some analysts have continued to debate their value addition with a storyline that has revolved around while they came and saw quite alright, they were unable to conquer the daunting challenges met on ground, especially as regards salary backlogs, it was a debate that is still subject to various interpretative narratives and has even been graduated by sceptics in this present scenario. But can the new local government chairmen afford not to performed or fail the party this time around no matter the excuses, whether genuine or not especially in the light of recent development is a question for another day that must be answered before commencement of real campaigns for 2019.
INEC “Conundrum”
One of the posers that the last election raised was the issue of card reader and whether it would have been the same ball game if the technology was adopted for the council poll. However that possibility is looking increasingly realistic come 2019 with the vibes coming from the National Assembly and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). While the lawmakers have concluded that INEC should henceforth conduct the council election and only waiting for the assent of the President, which many said its already a done deal going by Buhari’s antecedent to eradicate corruption in all spheres of our national life, INEC on the other hand has accentuated that narrative with its new pronouncement that 2019 election results will be transmitted electronically from polling units to its states headquarters. According to the commission’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Ebonyi, Prof. Godswill Obioma, who disclosed it at a meeting with over 50 faith-based organisations on Tuesday, in Abakaliki, the new technology is part of efforts by INEC to eliminate rigging, electoral frauds and other irregularities and to ensure the enthronement of credibility and transparency in the electoral process. Obioma reassured the electorate that their votes would count in the 2019 general elections and urged them to participate in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR). “The new strategy will discourage politicians from ballot box snatching, stuffing of ballot boxes and indulgence in other forms of electoral irregularities. The commission will do everything to ensure that votes count in 2019 and that those who will emerge will emerge through popular votes”, he added. Described as “disturbing” though very commendable, some analysts believe this might be a watershed in getting election right in the country. With the implementation of this new development, popular votes through popular candidates as against party’s choices is increasingly becoming the way to go and the new council bosses have a key role to play in this circumstance if their party’s already threatened marriage with the electorate must be further solidified.
Opposition Optimism
Already the opposition party in the state led by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have started fantasying about the prospect of their party in 2019 with the last local government election results. The chairman of the party, Iyiola Oyedepo who maintained that the party is poised for history in the 2019 election said the last council election was an eye opener for the ruling party in the state and a test case for the 2019 contest. He warned that the party should not be carried away with the euphoria of the moment, adding that it is the victory of the party come 2019 that will determine his place in the political history of the state. Nevertheless, if the newly elected council bosses step up their game and provide uncommon governance in line with the expectations of the masses, then the PDP’s optimism might hover in the realm of scepticism and reservation by the electorate. Going contrary on this issue is not even an option for the council chairmen.
Workable Partnership
For sure, the partnership model proposed by the state government during the inauguration of the new local government chairmen must be one that is taken beyond the realm of rhetoric but with tangible results to convince the electorate that the opposition has nothing to offer in terms of good governance. While analysts are of the view that the ruling APC need to seriously rebrand and repackage the party to answer many questions raised by the electorate, the party”s apologist strongly believe that the APC has no foe. They argued that the setback witnessed during the last election is not irredeemable and can easily be corrected with top notch performances of its foot soldiers who are expected to champion the course of the party at the local government cadre going into 2019.
Reality
As things presently stand, it is obvious that there is already a disconnect between and within the APC with the electorate on the issue of good governance which manifested in the last council election and there is the urgent need to reconnect that relationship before the wee hours of 2019. This is were the council chairmen comes in. As the closest to the people and with the synergy with the government, it is hope that many of the issues which cost the party to lose grounds in the last council poll will be adequately and painstakingly addressed to provide the moral highground and people’s mandate to seek votes from the electorate in 2019. This, analysts believe, is one of the steps that will effectively checkmate all the political missiles been hauled by the opposition which it expect to ride on going to 2019.
