IN the last April general elections, the southwest zone of the country experience a new political direction. The then ruling party in the zone, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was roundly defeated and upstaged by the Action Congress Nigeria (ACN) in the electoral exercise, which has been widely acknowledged as being reasonably credible, free and fair.



With the exemption of Lagos State, which has been widely acknowledged as being the stronghold of the ACN since the inception of the ongoing democratic experiment, four other states in the southwest, in one swell swoop, fell into the hands of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led party.



These include Ekiti, Osun, Ogun, and Oyo States, while Ondo State came under the controlling influence of the Labour Party.



However, the political fortune of the PDP took a turn for the worse as the ACN tsunami swept across southwest shortly before and during the April elections. The ACN took over the mantle of political leadership from the PDP, which had similarly in 2003, wrestled the mantle from the progressives, which started with the judicial victory of Governor Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party over former Governor Olusegun Agagu of the PDP in Ondo State in February, 2009.



The same scenario played itself out in Ekiti and Osun states respectively as the Judiciary in October and November, 2010, upturned the electoral victories of former Governors Segun Oni and Olagunsoye Oyinlola respectively and declared Kayode Fayemi and Rauf Aregbesola as the winners of the 2007 gubernatorial elections in both states.



The problem of PDP was further compounded at the polls in April as the party lost out in virtually all the elections with it’s gubernatorial candidates in Oyo and Ogun states, Chief Adebayo Alao Akala and General Adetunji Olurin, losing to the ACN candidates Senator Abiola Ajimobi, and Ibikunle Amosun. As things are, the question is, will the governors fulfill their electoral promises?



For example, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti are peculiar problems, which may pose as major challenges to the governors, even in their genuine quest to make positive and lasting impacts on their people and entrench a culture of good governance and effective public administration in their respective public administration in their respective states.



In Lagos, Governor Raji Babatunde Fashola rode to power on a popular crest in 2007 as his political party the ACN, enjoys a cult hero following, from time immemorial, and aided by the big financial resources at its disposal, the state has been fortunate with having performers as it’s rulers.



It was thus on this account that Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, after an eight year rule of his administration as the state governor, was credited with laying a good foundation for his successor and for the erstwhile Chief of Staff, Raji Fashola to build upon.



Against the motion that the incumbent occupant has so far not disappointed the ACN faithful and many prominent Lagosians and many of those residing in the state in terms of delivery of the dividends of democracy. This lends credence to the optimism being expressed that the man who is operating in a familiar terrain would have no problem executing his party’s programmes in the state.



It was also said that having been in power for the first four years, he may not have much problem in ensuring further socio-economic development of the state even at a faster rate.



However, it cannot be controverted that his emergence as the state governor in 2007 was enmeshed in some controversies as he was seen then as an imposition by the former governor, Tinubu. His re-election bid in the build up to the 2011 elections was also mired in controversy as he had obviously fallen out with his godfather, Tinubu.



In Ogun State where Senator Ibikunle Amosun is the current governor, the issue of Ogun debt burden cannot be ruled out.

Not quite a few people will agree that the immediate past governor of the state, Gbenga Daniel left many things undone in his eight-year administration of the state.



To these set of people, the former governor was only able to make some significant impact during his first term between 2003 and 2007, but spent his second term fighting many battles to the deterrent of the development of the state and its people. Many developmental projects were neglected, like Sango fly-over bridge. It was like people heaved a sigh of relief with the loss of the PDP at the April polls.



With Senator Amosun now in the saddle, the expectation is that most of the things left undone by his predecessor would be attended to without further delay. The people cannot be blamed for asking for an accelerated development in the state, most of the roads leading to the mega towns in the state are in shambles and there are many areas begging for attention.



But can Amosun who came to office to meet a staggering debt profile left behind by Gbenga Daniel be able to meet up with demands of the people? With a huge debt of N49 billion, even as attested to by Daniel himself, how far can Amosun go in making the necessary changes and put smiles on the face of the people?



In Osun, Rauf Aregbesola is facing the problem of appointment of his commissioners. It was exactly six months to his administration; a lot of dust have been raised on why he refused to appoint his commissioners. That was what led to the recent allegation by the PDP in the state to elect his commissioners for him and that if he refuses they will take him to court. Some people in the state believe he is running a government of one man show riot squad and this is sending wrong signals to those seeking to correct this anomaly. The governor however seems unperturbed by the criticisms trailing his refusal to appoint commissioners.



Aregbesola had also become a subject of criticism over his employment of graduates for his OYES scheme. His critics said that employing graduates for menial jobs and paying them peanuts was dehumanising.



While in Oyo State, the people are full of high expectations perhaps of a greater magnitude, from the ACN government in the pace-setter state. This is informed by the fact that the immediate past administration in the state did creditably well, particularly in the areas of roads and infrastructure. To them, the former administration had raised the stake in public administration in the state.



The current governor, Senator Ajumobi on the day of inauguration promised to make fundamental changes and give public administration a new face as a clear and marked departure from what he called the rot in the state. He also said that more employment opportunities would be created for the people of the state.

But the question on the lips of observers in the state is how far he can go in raising the bar in public administration.



The question becomes pertinent in view of the issues at stake in the state. Before coming to power, the state chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) had been factionalised with the two factions engaging in violent crisis, threatening the peace of the state.



While one of the factions led by Lamidi Mukaila (a.k.a Auxiliary) was said to have been loyal to former Governor Alao Alala, the other faction led by Alhaji Lateef Akinshola (Tokyo) was obviously a loyalist of Ajumobi. The factions had without doubt been a distraction for successive administrations in the state, as their activities dated beyond the Alao Akala era.



Another question is, can Senator Ajumobi effectively and decisively deal with the NURTW’s menace in the state?

Same also, another problem on ground for Ajumobi is the N18,000 minimum wage. His problem started by the promise made by his predecessor to pay the May salary of public workers in the state using the new minimum salary scale.



The governor, during his inauguration promised to create 20,000 jobs in the agricultural sector within 100 days. While he is battling with the problem of minimum wage, can this be possible?



In Ondo State, Governor Olusegun Mimiko is a lone ranger. And moreover, since inception into office, the man has been a subject of criticism. Because some groups felt that he is busy executing projects that should be handled by local government administrators. However, the governor said that his party, Labour, believes more on rural development.



Another challenge, which may serve as distraction for Mimiko is the pressure on him by the ACN to cross over, being a progressive party. Also, some days ago, Governor Mimiko faced some challenges on the issue of minimum wage, which made the workers go on strike.



In Ekiti State, Governor Kayode Fayemi has also been facing a serious battle with his predecessor over the issue of N5.4 billion debt left behind for him, which Oni immediately denied and asked for public challenge. He also said in his statement that the three and half year spent by governor Oni is waste.



The issue now is how would Governor Kayode Fayemi tackle other problems like the issue of minimum wage?

http://www.momentng.com/en/news/3051/the-battle-before-progressives-in-south-west.html

Same old crap. In 2015, They will all revert to PDP.