As electorate in Kwara State get set to vote in the much awaited March 9 election, Oladipo Magaji, x-rays the race
Unarguably, the gubernatorial poll in Kwara state is a two-horse race between the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and All Progressives Congress(APC). Indeed, the political battle will be won and lost by the duo of the PDP’s Razak Atunwa and his arch-rival, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of the APC.
Although two other parties, Labour Party and Accord, have also fielded candidates who will no doubt try their lucks in the polls billed to hold in four days’ time, their candidates, Comrade Issa Aremu and Prince Ayorinde Adedoyin, respectively, are seen largely as mere pretenders to the race and hence, not considered major threats.
Ahead of the poll, the APC and its supporters, banking on the ‘O To Ge’ revolution and basking in the euphoria of the party’s impressive outing in the just presidential and national assembly polls, are confident of victory. But with a renewed vigour and all-out strategising currently ongoing within the PDP camp, there may be some surprises.
Indeed, Atunwa who is flying the PDP flag, has a his major strength, his membership of the Saraki political dynasty. Although the dynasty was defeated in the presidential and national assembly elections, it still remains a formidable force that can swing events in the state.
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Apart from this, Atunwa is youthful, friendly and accessible. He has wide administrative experience having served as commissioner for Information, Works and Finance in the state before he was elected into the House of Assembly where he became the Speaker. From there he went on to the House of Representatives. Another strength in his kitty is the deal signed between the PDP and leaders of Kwara north to cede power to the zone in 2023 and also give them the Secretary to the State Government(SSG)and Speakership if the PDP win this poll.
His major weakness in this election is the defeat of the party in the last election. The APC won the three senate seats and six seats for House of Representatives to secure a landslide victory by a party against the Saraki dynasty in the first time in about 40 years.
His main rival, the APC’s Abdulrazaq’s major strength in this election is the apparent acceptance of the O To Ge (enough is enough) slogan, by the masses of Kwara state. Thus, he will be going to the election with a great confidence that about 50 percent of the job needed to put him at Government House has been achieved. His party also has support at the federal level which means a lot in a Nigerian election.
His major weaknesses include the fact of his personality and inexperience in public service. The gubernatorial candidate is seen as someone who is too shy to address the crowd. He is also not experienced in public service and may therefore need a long time to understudy the situation on ground leading to delays.
A latest issue that may also affect his chances is the statement credited to a local Islamic cleric that if the APC candidate wins the election it will enable the Yoruba stock of Ilorin Emirate to enthrone a Yoruba Oba to replace the reverrred Emir of Ilorin. If this is true then it will pitch him against the vast majority of Fulani population of the emirate.
On the overall, the race is a tight one.
