This may be uncertain times for former Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibukunle Amosun, currently representing Ogun Central at the Senate; as it seems that the very gods have conspired to rid him of his very strong political associates.
Recall that despite what was termed as anti-party activities by the Senator during the 2019 gubernatorial elections in Ogun state where Amosun declared his support for Adekunle Akinlade of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), the party he floated and sponsored, even though Dapo Abiodun was the party’s choice for state, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC pardoned and lifted his suspension months ago, as part of moves to end the lingering crises within the ruling party.
He was not alone in the pardon. Others were Rotimi Akeredolu, ex-Imo governor, Rochas Okorocha, the Director General of Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu and a former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Uguru.
In the race to the 2019 elections, Amosun had on different occasions seen publicly backing opposition candidate to succeed him in the state, while contesting the upper legislative house slot on the platform.
For many in Senator Amosun’s shoes, the emergence of Dapo Abiodun would have spelt doom for his political career within the state and at the federal level.
This was however not the case for him. Even when he was on suspension, he controls the party structure of the APC in the state, as almost all the federal appointments from the state are his candidates.
In fact, political analysts claim the former governor gained an upper hand over his successor, Abiodun, in the scheme of things at the federal level. The persons who have clinched federal appointments in the state give a clearer perspective. Even a former governor and chieftain of the party in the state, Chief Olusegun Osoba, who stood firm with the party when Amosun kept campaigning for Akinlade, seem not to have the kind of influence Amosun has at the federal level.
Amosun couldn’t have done this alone without the influence of his many powerful ‘friends’. Ideally in Nigeria, when a politician assumes a public office in Nigeria, he does not wield the influence associated with the office alone. Friends, family members and political associates wield such influence with him and help wield this influence. Some of them even wield influence more than the public office holder. They nominate people for juicy positions such as making people ministers or commissioners and members of the boards of government agencies.
Checks revealed that all federal appointments due to the state under the current administration, whether done discreetly or openly, have gone the way of people loyal to Amosun, and as expected, this development has boosted his support base, especially by the beneficiaries and those still eyeing federal appointments.
For instance, Amosun’s childhood friend and his Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure during his eight-year term, Olamilekan Adegbite, was appointed the Minister of Mine and Steel Development. Amosun also succeeded in pushing his ally, Adeleke Adewolu, to be appointed as the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Engagement, at the Nigerian Communications Commission. He replaced Sunday Dare, who is now the Minister of Youths and Sports Development.
Adewolu had contested but lost the House of Representatives seat in Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency on the platform of APM. This is viewed as compensation for his loss. In addition, Amosun was able to push for his former Commissioner for Agriculture and Urban and Physical Planning, Mrs Ronke Sokefun, to be appointed as the chairman of the Governing Board of the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation, despite the fact that a nominee, Chief Bode Mustapha, had been screened by the National Assembly for the position. Amosun was also instrumental to the appointment of the serving Postmaster-General/ Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Postal Services, Bisi Adegbuyi.
However, as it stands, political analysts are of the view that Amosun is headed down a spiral spin as the movers and shakers who have helped him wield unprecedented influence within Ogun State and at the federal level in the past few days have died.
One of them is the late Mallam Abba Kyari, the powerful Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, who was laid to rest recently. It is a generally known fact that since his appointment as the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari in August 2015, Abba Kyari quietly became a major player in Nigeria’s power matrix. His closeness to the president and Buhari’s unshakable trust in him saw Mr Kyari became the de facto head of government, especially since the president handed him a free reign, leading to accusations by First Lady Aisha Buhari, and others within the villa, that he had the president in a golden cage.
Since the Borno State indigene was appointed into the position on August 27, 2015. Since then, the former banker and ex-journalist has not left anyone in doubt about his huge influence on the president, one that Amosun benefited immensely from. Kyari’s huge influence in the nation’s political space must have started from one of his traditional roles as the Chief of Staff to the President which is to plan Buhari’s schedule and correspondence, sometimes in conjunction with the State Chief of Protocol, Lawal Kazaure.
In carrying out this task, Kyari decided those the president can grant audience and those he should not meet. He decides the mails he should read and the ones to keep away from him; he also decides places where the president can visit and those places he should avoid like a plague. His words were, most times, binding on the President. Pundits believed, that was why he could readily influence Amosun’s pardon despite stiff opposition from party stalwarts.
Locally also, Amosun is said to have lost two of his very powerful allies. One of them is Alhaji Jelili Jimoh who is known in some circles as JJ Buckana. Alhaji Jelili died few days ago.
The second one is Hon. Asiwaju Barrister Yinka Mafe, a force that was to be reckoned with; especially, in the Remo axis of the state. His influence cut across all age and all. The late Adeyinka Mafe, died this year in Sagamu. The former member of Ogun state house of Assembly representing Sagamu 1 constituency was widely loved by his people, despite losing his bid to represent Remo at the Federal House of Representatives under the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) platform.
Well, at this point in Senator Amosun’s political career, one wonders if his ride around power will continue post-Abba Kyari as it was when the departed northern politician was on his two feet.
Whatever it is, time, they say, will tell.
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