Politics

How prepared are Kwara opposition parties for 2019? 

 

By Mumini Abdulkareem

As the preparation for the 2019 general election draws nearer, various parties in Kwara State have stepped up campaigns towards the exercise in a bid to make themselves relevant. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fixed Sunday November 18 (yesterday) as date for commencement of campaigns.
Since the elections will be coming in about three months time, some of them have used the last bye-election in the state as a prelude for preparation.
While thirty two parties in the state have indicated interest to participate in the exercise by submitting names of their governorship candidates and running mates, only five of them, viz the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party (LP), Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) and United Party of Nigeria (UPN) participated in the bye-election into the vacant seat of the Irepodun/Ekiti/Oke-Ero/Isin federal constituency following death of Hon Funke Adedoyin.
Although the PDP and APC are the prominent parties in the state, some of the other party officials who spoke to National Pilot on the issue noted that they are very much prepared for the 2019 race, adding that they are not ready to step down for or merge with any party
Already, there are plans to organise debates for the candidates of the various parties in the state by many professional bodies and associations. One of such bodies that have taken up that task is the Kwara Coalition of Business and Professional Associations (KWACOBPA).
While noting why such debate was imperative, the chairman of KWACOBPA, Ahmed Raji said “it is high time people get elected into public offices with the citizens fully abreast of their manifestoes which they can be held accountable for and can keep the government on its toes to ensure they do the needful and provide the basic and necessary infrastructures for the people.
Social Democratic Party (SDP): According to the Chairman of the Kwara State chapter of The Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mr Lekan Alabi, the party is very much ready for the election and putting everything in place in line with the guidelines of INEC.
He added that politicians in the state have enquired about the possibility of using the party to achieve their political ambitions even as he said the party is fully ready to contest the poll.
According to him, the State chapter of the party is ready and open to partnership from any party that wants to work with SDP as regards 2019.
He said “If other parties want to come and join us to wrestle power, we are open to such partnership if they believe in our ideology. We are not subservient to any party because SDP is as strong as any other party in the state and on ground.
“People seeking other platform is a normal phenomenon in the political space because the Nigerian constitution allows free entry and free exit for anybody, there is that freedom.
“Some people (from other parties) have made enquires and others have actually talked to us, that is true, but we are still talking (about possibility contesting on SDP platform).
Meanwhile at the national level, its publicity secretary, Alfa Muhammed, said the party was putting some “finishing touches on preparation for the campaign”.
“We are just putting finishing touches for our campaign team. We are just waiting for the period that INEC has earmarked for the commencement of campaigns. And by then we will commence the action,” Mr Muhammed said.
He said the campaign team was being put together.
”It is still in progress and they would be unveiled in the next few days. I understand the presidential candidate, Donald Duke just arrived from Lagos today, we are going to have a meeting tonight about it. We would have to conclude the composition and inaugurate the campaign team.”
When asked how many candidates the SDP had, he replied that: “We have one presidential candidate and others we would make available on Monday. We have candidates in virtually all the states and they are all contesting for almost all the offices.”
Labour Party (LP): For the Kwara State chapter of the Labour Party (LP), the party is ready to make its mark in the coming election. The state chairman of the party, Comrade Mumini AbdulKareem Onagun said while the party is not oblivious of the political situation of the state, it has concluded arrangement to make its mark in the coming election in the state and working assiduously towards that.
He said the party will field candidates for all the elective positions available for contest in the state, adding that the recent bye-election where the party was among the five that participated in the state poll was a pointer to the party’s readiness for 2019.
He said the party has been holding series of meetings and strategising on how to consolidate on the gains of the party since the last election and making necessary decisions going forward. He said as a party, LP will leverage on the strength of the workers and other members of the party to make a statement in the next election.
Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN): According to the Chairman of the party in the state, Elder Kuti, who spoke to this medium in a telephone chat on the issue, said that the party was not ready to play any second fiddle come 2019, adding that the ACPN with its presidential and governorship candidates are ready to make the difference by returning all its candidates that would stand for elective contests in the poll.
How some fringe opposition parties are preparing nationally.
Meanwhile, its presidential candidate is Oby Ezekwesili, the former Minister of Education and Co-founder of Bring Back Our Girls, BBOG movement.
The party’s publicity secretary, Paul Isamade, said: ”We all know INEC would lift the ban on the campaign on the 18th of November. What we have just been doing so far is consultation and sensitising people.”
When asked about the composition of the party’s campaign committee he responded: “It is not something you can get on the phone.
“Presently I am in Warri, Delta State. And I would be in Abuja on Friday.”
National Conscience Party (NCP): ”We are yet to design a letterhead for our campaign organisation so that messages would go round to those who need it. And we would make sure we forward all the information to your newspaper when the ground is clear,” a party official who did not give his name said.
”It is the campaign committee that would decide the strategy to be used. Some of our members may have their individual strategy. We would need more time.”
When asked how many candidates the party had, he responded:
”I just came back from INEC office so as you can see we are trying to collate them. We had little problems with some names so we are trying to seek them and we do not know if any would be disqualified or would be qualified,” he said.
The All Progressives Grand Alliance: (APGA): In a telephone interview with the party’s publicity secretary, Ifeanacho Oguejiofor, he said the party would commence its own campaign on the November 27 but noted that it would still do “some skeletal campaigns across the federation”.
”Efforts are geared towards having a successful campaign based on issues. We are planning to kick off our national campaign on the 27th of November.
”It is going to be a campaign in all the states of the federation, there is going to be a grand opening of the campaign. We would be doing something on a skeletal basis across the states.”
He said the Director General of the party campaign committee is Samson Olalere.
Independent Democrats (ID): It is one of the two parties registered in 2013, the other being Peoples Democratic Movement.
It participated in all the four governorship polls held so far, namely in Bayelsa, Kogi, Edo and Ondo. It is already preparing for the November 18 governorship election in Anambra State.
As part of the preparations, ID recently held a congress in the state during which it elected new officials. It said it is determined to take power from the ruling APGA.
Its chairman, and also the presidential candidate of the party, Edozie Madu, said, the party is fully prepared for the campaign.
He also said the party would release the list of members of the campaign committee.
Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN): The party’s national chairman, Razak Eyiowuawi,  said  that the party would embark on its campaign “sometime next week”, adding that a date has not been fixed. He said the campaign would start in Kano State.
People for Democratic Change (PDC): This party can be remembered for only two things since the 2015 general elections. First is the petition filed by its candidate in the Enugu East Senatorial District and former governor of the state, Chimaroke Nnamani, against the winner of the election, Gil Nnaji.
A member of the party, Emeka Igwe said that since the party has no presidential candidate, “there would not be any campaign from Sunday”.

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