Over 40 individuals across major political divides are jostling to succeed the governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, Fourteen months to the 2019 general elections, In this report, our correspondent examines the chances of one of the contenders and a former governor of the state, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala in the race dailytrust reports.

The race to the Agodi Government House in Oyo State for 2019 has since begun, with prospective governorship aspirants emerging virtually on a daily basis.

Ajimobi, the first governor to rule the state twice since the beginning of the First Republic, will complete his second term in May, 2019, and certainly, he will be interested in who becomes governor after him.

 Of course, some of the individuals signifying interest in the race are mere pretenders while some are contenders. Obviously, some of the aspirants are indicating interest in order to negotiate for a lesser appointment should their political party eventually wins in 2019, while some are determined to slog it out with whoever clinches the ticket of the other political parties.

Considering the sophistication of the Oyo State politics in the South-West region, Daily Trust on Sunday noticed that many of the people aspiring for the job lack the political clout to contest in the 2019 general elections.

Among the contenders who are making other aspirants in the All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus jittery is the former governor of the state, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala.

Akala’s political future is a major subject in various social events and political gathering in recent times.

 Like other aspirants, Akala has not declared his intention publicly, probably as a mark of respect for the electoral act, but one of his close associates told Daily Trust on Sunday in Ibadan that the former governor would certainly contest on the platform of the APC and most likely return to the Government House.

Since the former governor left office in 2011, he has contested twice but could not make it.

In 2011, he contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the party that gave him victory in 2007, but was defeated by Senator Abiola Ajimobi of the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). He was defeated with 33,000 votes.

 Akala, probably doubtful of his chances in the PDP, defected to the Labour Party (LP) prior to the 2015 elections and contested the governorship election but came third, behind the incumbent governor and another former governor of the state, Rasidi Ladoja of the Accord Party (LP).

 If that outing is anything to go by, it means Akala’s political acumen actually deteriorated.

So far, Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that about 30 APC members have indicated interest to vie for the governorship position in 2019.  Pundits averred that Akala is among the few people considered to be more experienced, competent and resourceful among them.

 Others are former deputy speaker of the state House of Assembly, Chief Adeniyi Akintola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN); deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Bayo Adelabu; former chief of staff to Governor Ajimobi in his first term, Professor Adeolu Akande, and Senator Soji Akanbi.

However, beyond Oyo State, Akala may likely enjoy the support of the stalwarts of the party in the region because of his relationship with political leaders.

 Rumours have it that the national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was instrumental to Akala’s defection to the APC.

 Another feather attached to him is that he remains the only deputy governor to succeed his boss in Oyo State. He understands the politics of the state. The results of his previous elections show that he is a popular candidate.

 A clear indication of his popularity is that he took his political structure to the Labour Party in 2015, few weeks to the general elections and came third in the race while the PDP that had structure already came fourth.

Also, Akala has political leaders and disciples across the three major senatorial districts in the state. His leadership role in the PDP, Labour and now in the APC can earn him the ticket of the party because he has built relationships with many of his party men.

As a former governor, he has exposure and knows the weak point of his former party, the PDP. Observers said he was the most sellable candidate that has structure across the major political parties in the state. They added that he was the most generous and kind governor in the history of the state. The “ATM governor,” as he was fondly called, Akala demonstrated great leadership qualities and embarked on many developmental projects between 2007 and 2011.

 However, what seems to be a challenge to his camp is that he is not “the son of the soil of Ibadan land,” which contributes 55 per cent of the total votes in the state.

 But one of his close aides, who pleaded for anonymity, said the state belonged to all its citizens, and no one can be denied his constitutional right. He said that apart from the five local government areas in Ogbomoso, where Akala hails from, Ibadan always contributed greatly to his performances during elections. He noted that the former governor would bring experience and commitment to continue from where the present governor would stop in 2019.

 He said, “On the issue of political influence in Ibadan land, it is about who can continue to deliver with experience, not a starter. That is why Lagos is progressing. All the people who have been governing Lagos State have been in the system; that is why they can make progress.

 “Akala was there before, and he understands the plight of the people. His achievements are there for people to see. The most important thing is for him to bring his experience to the governance of the state. We need him to continue from where Ajimobi stops in 2019 and deliver the dividends of democracy to the people. In the 2011 and 2015 elections, Akala made impact. He was second and third respectively. It shows that even in Ibadan land, he has his people.’’

Speaking on why the former governor defected to the APC, the erstwhile director of Alao-Akala Campaign Organisation, Dr Kola Balogun, described Akala’s decision as “a response to the yearnings of supporters who wondered what their next step on the political scene would be.”

“Party members had asked Alao-Akala what our next step would be, considering our not-too-good experience with the Labour Party and the PDP. The former governor had said that at the right time he would call a meeting where we would jointly decide after looking at all options available.  We looked at the available options, which are the PDP, Labour, Accord and the APC.

 “Accord is not an option; Labour is not an option, at all. We have never had any dealings with the APC. We have only been interacting with the APC and they are waiting for us to help strengthen the structure of the party. The APC knows our worth, politically; we also know their worth.  We believed that if we come together we could solidify the structure of the APC to be a mega party.

 “Majority of members advised him to join the APC. Finally, all the supporters of Alao-Akala will join the APC. After meeting with the leadership of the APC we will inform the general public of when we will make a formal declaration,” he said.

 Akala started his political career as a member of the New Dimension, a political association of progressive young elements. He participated in the zero-party local government election of 1996.

In the 1997 local government election, Otunba Alao-Akala sponsored a chairmanship candidate and seven councillors to victory on the ticket of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP).

 He participated in the Ogbomoso federal constituency primary election of the UNCP in 1997. He contested and won the chairmanship seat of the Ogbomoso North Local Government Area, along with seven councillors on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (APP) in 1998.

He was elected the vice chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Oyo State chapter, between 1999 and 2002.

 Seen as a versatile and visionary political leader, Alao-Akala founded the Ogbomoso Unity Forum, a political association which later joined the PDP. He became the deputy governor of Oyo State from May 2003 to January 2006.

As the 2019 elections draw near, can Akala beat all the members he met in the APC to cling the gubernatorial ticket of the party? Only time will tell.