OGUN 2015: THE FORCES AGAINST DIMEJI BANKOLE'S AMBITION

Dimeji Bankole

Ogun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is searching for a credible governorship candidate to run against Governor Ibikunle Amosun in next year’s election. A section of the party has endorsed former House of Representatives Speaker Dimeji Bankole for the governorship. But, another section is kicking against the endorsement. Can Bankole get the ticket? 



Former Speaker of the House of  Representatives Dimeji Bankole has an ambition. In next year’s election, he wants to contest against Governor Ibikunle Amosun. A section of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has endorsed his aspiration. But, many stakeholders are also kicking against it. The question is: can he get the ticket?
Bankole has been nursing the ambition before the death of President Umaru Yar’ Adua. He was very close to the former leader. But, when Dr. Goodluck Jonathan succeeded him, there were new calculations. In 2011, his tenure as the Speaker ended. The people of Abeokuta South Constituency voted for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, a relatively known Segun Williams. . Thus, the man who succeeded former Speaker  Patricia Etteh failed in his third term bid for the House.
The defeat was particularly shocking and humiliating. Bankole had hoped to keep his seat and continue as the Speaker in the Lower Chamber. Unlike his Senate counterpart, Gen. David Mark, who made it,  Bankole returned home to a divided party battling with crises. Since then, he has been scheming to bounce back.
On returning to Abeokuta, the state capital, he could not unify the divided party. Neither could he avert the defections to the APC and the Labour Party (LP). The factional leaders have not sheathed their

swords. Although Bankole has been preaching unity, his advice has fallen on deaf ears.
Shortly after leaving the position of the Speaker, Bankole was being hunted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC). He was arraigned at the Federal High Court, Abuja. Before he left office, there was an allegation that he was involved in  N9bn contract scam.
The EFCC had claimed that the ex – Speaker  had a hand in the fraudulent purchase of two Range Rover bullet-proof vehicles,  two Range Rover vehicles, three Mercedes Benz S-600 cars, 400 television sets, 400 units of DSTV systems, 800 units of desktop computers, and 100 units of Sharp Digital Copier.
But, in February, respite came his way as the court  discharged and acquitted him, following the inability of the anti-graft body to prove the allegation.
For Bankole, the trial was a bitter side of politics. Having survived it, he believed that the coast was clear for him to move forward. He renewed his bid for the governorship. Bankole strated to hold consultations with stakeholders. Now, his aspiration has become a divisive issue in Ogun PDP.
Few months ago, he met secretly  with public relations experts in Lagos to assist in laundering his image.Roles were assigned to these foot soldiers. According to sources, they were to storm over 4,500 villages and communities to prepare the ground for his ambition. Their assignment also include door-to-door mobilisation and political sensitisation.
However, Bankole is in a dilemma. While some people have advised him to contest the governorship, others said that he should try his luck at the senatorial election. Sources said that prominent PDP leaders have yet to give him their assurance that they would back him for the number one seat. The President, a source said, is not also thinking about him. There is also a division among Egba leaders. Majority of them are supporting Amosun for a second term.
The ex – Speaker is a Muslim. He is an Egba indigene from the Ogun Central Senatorial District. Amosun is also a Muslim and an Egba from Owu in the Central District.
To analysts, if Bankole picks the governorship ticket, he would have to scramble for votes from the Central District with the governor, who enjoys incumbency power.
Besides, Amosun is perceived as a performer, who has changed the face of the state capital. The governor is also popular in Ogun East(Ijebuland and Remo) and Ogun West(Yewaland) because he has turned them into a huge construction site. Therefore, it may be difficult for Bankole to campaign against him across the three districts.
Bankole  also faces other challenges. Will the people of Yewaland cast their vote for Bankole, another Egba man? The thinking is that, if he gets there in 2015, he will like to go for a second term. That means that the ambition of governorship contenders from the highly marginalised Yewa/Awori ethnic group would be in jeopardy.
The fear of defeat at the poll appeared to have also seized Bankole in recent times. Sources said that   he is worried about the likely effect of electoral defeat for the second term at home. Should he be defeated, he would become an electoral liability in need of rehabilitation.
Another challenge is that Ogun PDP is now a weak platform. The factions are waxing stronger in crisis to the detriment of the platform. Things have continued to fall apart and the centre cannot hold. Reconciliation has failed and warring leaders are working at cross-purposes. In this atmosphere of disunity, the PDP’s calculations for 2015 are affected.
The PDP went for the 2011 general elections as a divided house. Failing to put its house in order, it lost its deposit at the polls as over 95 per cent the elective seats were swept by the APC. The Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), which was a faction of the PDP, also could not make a headway. Up to now, the followers of former Governor Gbenga Daniel and the PDP executive committee led by Chief Bayo Dayo are still at loggerheads.
The crisis, mistrust and division that heralded the party’s woeful defeat have not abated. Although majority of PDP leaders in Ogun claim to be working for the second term ambition of President Jonathan, they have not closed ranks at home.
Few months ago, a chieftain, Prince Buruji Kashamu, dismissed Bankole’s  consultation with stakeholders as a joke. The PDP Southwest mobiliser and financier said his aspiration does not enjoy the support of party followers.
Since 2011, Bankole appeared to have  been aloof to local politics. Thus, his sudden re-appearance was a surprise to many people. After losing his seat, he was left in the cold. Federal appointments eluded him and he was never perceived as one of the national leaders of the party.
Kashamu  gave reason for dismissing Bankole’s ambition as a ruse. He said: “Like most people, I also heard of Dimeji Bankole’s ambition through the media. Every true member of the party, who has an ambition, is free to declare it. In fact, we expect more of such declarations to be made in the days ahead. However, such ambitions should be done with respect for constituted authority.
“Anyone who says because he has an ambition, things must be done his own way, is definitely not serious. Anyone who says, for him to realise his ambition, the authentic and legally recognised state executive put in place by party members should be broken,  is definitely a joker.”
Also, earlier during his numerous row with the then Governor, Gbenga Daniel,  while serving as Speaker, Bankole was reported to have said that he was too busy with national assignments of making life better for Nigerians towards initiating and supervising quality laws and rarely have time for the “Ogun local politics.”
Also, many have said in Egbaland that Bankole is in the race to fulfill the long time dream of his father to rule the state. But, the old man has since forgotten that dream. In fact, a source said that the elderly Bankole, an astute politician, had advised his son to vie for either the Senate of the House of Representatives, based on the reality on ground. To him, parliamentary elections are not as tedious as the governorship.
The former Speaker may have heeded the advise by shelving his public declaration last week. But, some of his associates said that he has not given up hope.
When he visited the party’s office, the ex – Speaker told party leaders and his supporters that he had not come to make any declaration, but to preach a message of unity. He said Ogun PDP needed harmony to move forward.
Bankole said: “There is no word about aspiration or any other sort in the letter I sent to you and I want that established. If I ever decide to aspire, I will come and tell you. This is not the purpose of the visit.
“We mend the fences of our members, aggrieved people inside and outside this party, to make sure that we give the opposition party a good run for their money in 2015.  That is the purpose of my visit. That has been the purpose of the three senatorial districts that I have done and I will continue to do so.  It is precisely what I’ve done in the three senatorial districts since I came back from the United States a few months ago, which is the purpose of unifying our great party.
“ I’ve come to report my own findings to you all and  appeal to the wisdom of this state executive on what needs to be done in averting a mistake, precisely after a proper diagnosis of what happened to us in 2011.”
However, a source said that Bankole may declare his ambition in few weeks. According to the source, the former Speaker is waiting for the blessing of Aso Villa. Although there are hurdles on the way, he is hopeful. For Bankole, hope is the elixir of life.






Via The Nation