Before the anticipated general elections in 2023, Ashiwaju Bola Tinubu needs to “recruit” two prominent Yoruba leaders into the All Progressives’ Congress. If Tinubu can get them to join the party, APC will be much stronger than it is now in the southwest. Even the two politicians would chip in with quota contributions.
The All Progressives’ Congress’ southwest branch is very formidable. Ekiti, Ondo, Osun, Ogun, and Lagos are all under the authority of the party. The Yoruba people live in six states in the area, which is heavily populated. Tinubu, on the other hand, could simply introduce the two politicians undermentioned in this piece to make the APC more viable.
Former Ondo State governor Olusegun Mimiko is the first major Yoruba politician Tinubu should urge to join the APC. Olusegun Mimiko is a former governor with extensive political experience, and no history of Ondo State would be complete without mentioning him.
Mimiko presided over Ondo State for eight years until handing over to Mr. Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu (SAN) in 2016. The former governor of Ondo State was also the Zenith Labour Party’s (ZLP) candidate in the Ondo Central Senatorial District election in 2019, and he performed well despite not winning. Mr. Olusegun Mimiko, too, contested the previous gubernatorial election in Ondo State. He was the primary supporter of former deputy governor Agboola Ajayi. Mr. Ajayi originally defected from the APC to join the PDP, but he lost the PDP’s primary election. He met with Olusegun Mimiko and was able to get the ZLP’s gubernatorial ticket for the Ondo governorship election in October 2020.
To make a long tale short, Mr. Bola Tinubu should schedule a meeting with Olusegun Mimiko with the goal of persuading the top Yoruba leader to join the ruling party. Mimiko’s senatorial ambitions can be realized inside the APC, and Tinubu should tell him that.
Mr. Rasheed Ladoja is the second Yoruba politician Tinubu may recruit into the APC. In Oyo State’s internal politics, the previous governor is well-known. The southern state’s senior statesman is well-versed in the game of politics. That is why Tinubu must include him in the party.
Mr. Seyi Makinde’s victory in the 2019 gubernatorial election in Oyo State was aided by Ladoja. If it weren’t for the united efforts of some of the state’s top politicians, notably Rasheed Ladoja, the incumbent governor may not be able to block the APC. If Governor Makinde abandons Ladoja, the PDP may be unable to win Oyo in 2023.
