How Oyo APC can survive – Akanbi
After suffering a second governorship election defeat within four years, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State requires a rebuilding to stand a better chance in future governorship elections.
A chieftain of the party in the state Sen. Soji Akanbi made this position in a chat with The Nation in Ibadan, the state capital.
Akanbi, who represented Oyo South at the Senate from 2015 to 2019, is also the Oyo State coordinator of the South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA), a group that campaigned for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s emergence as the presidential candidate of the APC and his eventual victory in the February 25 election.
Aside losing the governorship election, the APC won only four of the 32 House of Assembly seats in Oyo State, a further loss compared with the five seats it won in 2019.
The former lawmaker posited that the only way his party can come around again in the state was to start a rebuilding process, pointing out that it has been patching till now, a situation that weakens its chances in elections.
He also believes that only collegiate leadership can rescue and unite the party and also return it to winning ways.
The APC chieftain explained that the party must remember that the ultimate power belongs to the people who choose those to govern them through the ballot.
He said the party should be built around those that are credible and popular with the masses in order to have an appeal, stressing that candidate to be presented should also have the same qualities.
His words: “APC will go back to the drawing board and a new leadership will evolve. APC is starting from the scratch. That is the only way forward. You cannot build something on nothing. They patched up till now but it has collapsed. We need to erect a new foundation.
“The national leadership can help in the rebuilding process by piloting emerging leaders. There can not be a clear leader; it has to be collegiate.
“It is now more obvious than before that the masses have the final say. While rebuilding, we should be conscious of people who have appeal to the masses. That’s the kind of people our great party should present as candidates, and should build its leadership around.
“Politics is so dynamic. The masses always have a clear record of individuals. You reap what you sow. If you are good to them, the masses will be good to you in return.
“That’s the way forward for the APC in Oyo State.”
