*Tells real reasons President, Party lost Oyo to PDP
By KEMI KASUMU, General Editor
The wind currently blowing in the politics of Nigeria’s four-year-old ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) portends danger ahead, according to many political analysts. The analysis gets stronger with members of the party admitting same danger looms, except something fast is done. One of them is Alhaji Hammed Eleyele, an oil magnate and close ally of Minister of Communications, Barrister Abdulraheem Adebayo Shittu, who is Oyo State Coordinator of the Buhari/Osinbajo Strategic Campaign Group (MBO) with whom the Minister worked when he became the first to start Buhari’s re-election campaign in 2018. The Iseyin, Oyo State-born businessman-politician regretted that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu imposition of candidates led to the losses that President Buhari and APC particularly lost to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State in the last elections. Excerpts:
In my last interview in Abuja with the Minister of Communications, Barrister Abdulraheem Adebayo Shittu, he told me something different from what an earlier media report said, that he did not shutdown MBO Office in Ibadan. But you left the Shittu’s camp for Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s camp. If there was no issue, why did you change camp?
You see Muhammadu Buhari/Osinbajo Strategic Campaign Group (MBO) doesn’t have any problem so big. The Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, was its Chairman Board of Trustees. But midway a problem happened between him and the National Coordinator of MBO. I tried to intervene but at the end of the day, the problem couldn’t get resolved and it led to the minister totally withdrawing from the group.
I, as the state coordinator, however decided to continue to forge ahead because I was asked in Abuja that in the event the minister ceased to be chairman of the BOT, what would I decide to do? They asked to know whether I would continue or I would stop.
First of all, I didn’t give them any answer and that happened on two occasions until the third time I was also asked, based on advice from other colleagues in the minister’s camp like Nasirudeen Abdulafeez, Oladele Saheed, who all asked me to go ahead and so that I should tell so.
“The essence of the survival of APC has been revealed in this just concluded election. APC is just about Muhammadu Buhari. Remove Buhari, APC is finished. And if he doesn’t contribute in 2023 to the emergence of who succeeds him, APC will fail. So, you can see it. See the election we conducted the same day with that of the President, we recorded a very huge success, particularly in Oyo State where we had nine House of Representatives our of 14 and two Senators out of three.”
But why do you think Abuja would ask you such repeated questions?
It was because the National Coordinator, Mallam Usman Ibrahim, knew that I love the Minister so much that for sometimes they were avoiding me whenever they had meeting because, they believed I was the one feeding the minister with what they were doing.
Eventually when I told the national coordinator that I would continue as Oyo State Coordinator, he said, “Congratulations!” The minister had made up his mind not to be part of the group and what that led to was that the minister ceased being financier of MBO.
Was he the financier of the group before?
He was trying his best and there were some aspects he was taking care of. MBO has staff whose salaries the minister was paying, although not regular. All of that stopped and there was nothing to cater for the running cost of the group from the camp of the minister to which I belonged.
I was in Abuja when Engr. Tola Ajala, one of MBO’s national patrons, called me and said the Minister called him to say that the landlord of our the building housing out office had been worrying him and that, because he had nothing to do with MBO again, engineer may evacuate what belonged to the group from that building. I saw it as one of the biggest mistakes the minister would ever make. Even other members of the Shittu’s camp I sought to know their opinion about the minister’s decision expressed negativity about the appropriateness of it.
And you would agree with me, if I allowed that situation to pass without solution, would it not have spelt the end of MBO in Oyo State? Because it came to a time that what was left for MBO was only that building by which people believed the group still exists. So, quitting and evacuating the group’s belongings from that building was to bring MBO to a stop in the state.
What then did you do as state coordinator to save the situation?
I struggled to find another building at Molete.
Funded by who?
It was funded by Engr. Ajala because that previous office was also funded by him. Ajala was the one that paid N3 million rent for the previous office building. This national patron was always concerned about how not to allow the problem to escalate but when his effort to resolve it failed, he decided to be doing good to both Shittu’s camp and MBO and so, he funded the rent of the other place we got at Molete and which was N750,000 after the previous N3 million. He was even responsible for the funding of banner but, when national level complained about the banner, I took up the funding of another banner, which was just N65,000.
Eleyele.
But you have been accused of dumping Shittu for Ajimobi. How come, Ajimobi could not fund the MBO?
Leaving Shittu does not mean going to Ajimobi. I was in the party and Ajimobi happened to be the Leader of the party in Oyo State. That was what was surprising the Shittu’s camp. They thought our being able to survive was that Ajimobi was financing me but mine was to ensure the party should succeed.
Remember Barrister Shittu didn’t leave the party also?
Yes. He did not leave the party. He said so. But he was saying that he would create another Buhari campaign organization, which I also saw as a wrong decision that, how would you create an organization as big as MBO, well established, and you now want to demolish it just because you have problem with the national coordinator? Whereas, you are far above that national coordinator by being the chairman of the Board of Trustees!
I then asked, where will you put me? I swore allegiance to do my best for the upliftment of MBO and its members. Would I allow MBO to die, therefore? You are no longer with the organization because of unresolved issue. Then, I have to stay with MBO. That was the decision I took which they misunderstood for me going to Ajimobi’s camp whereas, the agenda of MBO is to promote the party and its candidates.
When Shittu left, did Ajimobi embrace or work with MBO?
Ajimobi didn’t work with MBO. The governor complained to the national coordinator that I didn’t come to him and truly I didn’t go to him.
Okay, when you now went to him, did he do anything positive for the group?
I didn’t even go to Ajimobi but I didn’t let anybody know that I didn’t go to him.
But to the Minister, Eleyele had dumped him for Ajimobi. Must he not have seen something before so saying?
He said so because he was amazed by the success I was achieving as state coordinator of MBO. He didn’t know where the support was coming from. I would like to make it clear to our supporters and every other interested Nigerian that I didn’t leave Shittu for Ajimobi. The only time I came in contact with Ajimobi physically was when he came to Sepeteri for campaign and I happened to be at Sepeteri then, which was what I reported on the Facebook and, which also, was where they drew their claim from, thinking that the governor and I had been dining and wining together before he came to Sepeteri.
But what could be wrong that Ajimobi go to the extent of reporting you to the national coordinator that you didn’t come to him?
He reported me to the national coordinator because I simply did not go to him.
If you had gone to him, what would he have done?
As the state coordinator of MBO, I supposed to go to him. But because of the love I have for Barrister Shittu, I refused to go to him. And all the major stakeholders in Oyo State wanted me to go to the governor but I gave them one excuse or another to support my not going to him.
Was that the reason he didn’t really campaign for the President?
I wouldn’t know that Ajimobi didn’t campaign for President Buhari.
But the President lost Oyo State despite the governor and MBO?
That doesn’t mean that he didn’t campaign for the President.
The fact, however, remains that President Buhari lost in Oyo State despite your MBO and Ajimobi’s leadership of APC…?
(Cuts in) The losses we incurred in Oyo State during the elections were a product of many factors which include the internal rancours between the main leaders and the party in the state, the minister inclusive, with himself as the leader of Unity Forum. Those are the people that left the party. Those that left the party were larger in number than those who remained.
But we, at MBO, were on the same page with the camp of the minister. We were aggrieved as well. But once an issue is resolved at national level, MBO doesn’t have option than to abide by the resolution of the national secretariat of our party. That was what I did. Even if the problem escalated beyond that, I would still remain with the party and all the candidates of the party would be my candidates.
Apart from what you gave as reason for the losses, do you also not see imposition of candidate as another?
Imposition of governorship candidate formed part of the losses. In actual fact, there was no any credible primary election. We will therefore regard what happened as imposition and nothing but that. Yes, and possibly with the support of national leader, Asiwaju (Bola Ahmed Tinubu). I believe so. And most of our other candidates also emerged through the same way.
Osun State is shaking, Oyo State is lost to PDP and inconclusive polls declared in six Northern states. Do you have any fear that this Tinubu/Oshiomhole thing aggrieved members talk about won’t affect the future of APC in Nigerian politics? But before you answer this question, tell me, would you say Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu is actually wrong in the issue that is causing him to be aggrieved?
I admire the Minister in some aspects of the decision he took, like going to court. I love it. That is the last resort of any common man. Therefore he did the right thing. What I opposed is his dissociating himself from where the party was going; like his decision not to vote for the governorship candidate of the APC, in person of Adebayo Adelabu a.k.a. Penkelemess because of the way he emerged. All of us didn’t like the way Adelabu emerged. All other candidates were like Shittu, they didn’t like the way Adelabu emerged but they had to agree.
The minister had done the right thing, safe that. And I told people that if Shittu emerges in court tomorrow as APC candidate, he becomes my candidate. That is MBO for you. If it is any other person, he too becomes my candidate. That is what they misunderstood and I cannot be in position to be explaining all of these all the times.
Fear about APC future
And you asked concerning my fear about the future of APC. You see, I don’t entertain any fear. I just see those developments that occurred as opportunities for us to do things right.
Look at those people that left the party in Osun, like the Secretary to the State Government, had it been that they were in the party, with their own followers some numbering up to 30,000 some 10,000… Look at the margin between us and PDP. So, those people had contributed to the success of PDP rather than of APC because they were aggrieved.
So, things were not right. We didn’t take the right step and that made people feel aggrieved. What I see in that is the opportunity for us to do things right next time.
And I have to appreciate President Muhammadu Buhari on the position he took that he wouldn’t interfere in the workings of the institutions like INEC, judiciary and the legislature. That will now make politicians choose people’s satisfaction as against using cunning way to succeed because, they now know that if they don’t make people satisfied by their conduct or performance, they will automatically fail.
How should the President handle the emergence of the Ninth National Assembly leadership?
Because of our experience with the outgoing Eighth National Assembly, I advise that Mr. President should influence the emergence of leaderships of both chambers of the Ninth National Assembly. Those to emerge must be based on his contribution and must have interest of the party at hearts and they must be ready for the sacrifices.
Here we come again, finally, people talk more of the interest of President Muhammadu Buhari than they do of the interest of the party because, they believe that a talk of interest of the party is talking about interest of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu using Oshiomhole as party national chairman, meaning that it will be Tinubu feeding his own candidates again in the National Assembly. Considering how that behaviour made Buhari and APC lose to PDP in Oyo State, what is your take?
The essence of the survival of APC has been revealed in this just concluded election. APC is just about Muhammadu Buhari. Remove Buhari, APC is finished. And if he doesn’t contribute in 2023 to the emergence of who succeeds him, APC will fail.
So, you can see it. See the election we conducted the same day with that of the President, we recorded a very huge success, particularly in Oyo State where we had nine House of Representatives our of 14 and two Senators out of three.
