'No regret challenging outcome of LG primary poll’
Gbenga Akinwande is a political activist and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State. In this interview with ERNEST NWOKOLO, he speaks on Ogun 2027 political
Gbenga Akinwande is a political activist and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State. In this interview with ERNEST NWOKOLO, he speaks on Ogun 2027 political developments and other matters.
What lesson has Nigerian politics taught you in the last couple of years as someone who aspired to be a local government chairman in Ogun State?
Nigeria's politics is quite deceptive and very discouraging, but if you are someone who wants your communities and country to be better, then you must get involved. It is unpatriotic to just sit down and watch other people making decisions that will affect your life and well-being, while you are just looking, most particularly, if the people in leadership are not good at making quality decisions. Prior to my aspiration for the local government chairmanship contest, I had done a lot for my communities with my personal resources, which I believe, if I were the local government chairman, with the ideas and experience I had gathered overseas, I would make Yewa North Local Government a wealthy community and a reference point in Nigeria. Unfortunately for me, we don't have many such critical thinkers among our leaders in Yewa North who can connect with those ideologies and visions.
You have also been to the court to challenge what you considered as unfairness and abuse of due process in your party's primary, leading to the 2024 council poll. Are you satisfied with challenging the matter in court?
The court is an arm of our democratic process, and every responsible citizen should take that opportunity as a way of dialogue, not resorting to anarchy or other violence means. Honestly, I have no regrets about going to court because, as a democrat, I did that to help our democratic process.
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In that local government election primary of our great party, the APC in 2024, I was ashamed as a progressive democrat because our party's constitution was violated, the Electoral Act of 2022 and the constitution of our great country were violated by senior party officials and leaders of Ogun State APC. As a democrat and a die-hard APC person, I believe challenging such impunity and undemocratic tendencies was the right thing to do because similar impunity and hazardous behaviours led to the collapse of the almighty PDP politically.
The electoral act 2022, which was used for that election and our party constitution emphasized that candidates could emerge through consensus, direct or indirect primaries. In choosing a candidate for Yewa North Local Government, none of these three methods was adopted. This implies that the current chairman of Yewa North local government is a sole administrator. More so, the chairmanship position was already zoned to the Ayetoro Area. I have video evidence to support this assertion when the local government's party chairman, Chief Adekunle Adeosun and other excos addressed all the aspirants on September 1st, 2024, in Ayetoro. Zoning is part of our party DNA.
Although due to pressure and persuasion from my family, my political associates and my Kabiyesi, the Olu of Idofoi, Oba Olatunji Abioro, I have decided to withdraw from going forward with the court process, but unfortunately, we still have a long way to go in this country.
The judiciary ought to be careful and to do its work diligently without fear or favour so as not to be seen as not protecting the hope of the common man but the privileged and to avoid helping in destroying democracy.
