In campus politics, the competition for presidential seats is always stiff while some elective posts are unopposed. Dapo Abiodun's second term bid could also be a zero-contest if proceedings stay this way.
Supporters of Abiodun might be licking their lips as the gubernatorial election draws near in Ogun State.
The incumbent governor could fight the easiest battle for a gubernatorial stool if the courts continue to ‘hold his major contenders to ransom’.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) cleared 13 candidates to vie for the seat.
But the Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta has repelled "two strong contenders" for the seat, meaning that they are no more in the race, pending the decision of the appellate courts.
Unfortunately, the candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Prof. David Bamgbose died a few days after he was unveiled as the Peoples Redemption party’s flagbearer.
The electoral body surprisingly included his name in its list as the candidate of the PRP.
Abiodun's gateway opened up much clearer when an Abeokuta Federal High Court nullified all the primary elections conducted by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The judgement affected Ladi Adebutu, who many saw as a major threat to Abiodun.
Earlier, Adebutu had become a decider, being able to convince Adekunle Akinlade, a big political force himself and a former gubernatorial candidate to be his running mate.
Akinlade was the runners up in the 2019 gubernatorial election in the state coming from a novel party, Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
He was the chosen son of the immediate past governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.
Therefore, as soon as Akinlade teamed up with the PDP some political commentators felt that the party would give Abiodun's second-term push a run for its money.
The PDP with Akinlade's arm would benefit from the reach of the former lawmaker alongside many foot soldiers and loyalists of Amosun.
Senator Ibikunle Amosun had said in a BBC interview recently that he directed his loyalists who are unhappy with Dapo Abiodun's running of the All Progressives Congress and the party's primary election conducted by the APC to go to any platform they feel can actualise their ambitions.
As the PDP was setting out to unseat Abiidun and mapping out workable grassroots strategies, unforeseen difficulties uprooted their mechanism.
On September 27, the Abeokuta court sacked Adebutu, Akinlade and the remaining 38 candidates of the PDP.
How worse can it get? The ODP is yet to wake up from the political accident. PDP candidates could not flag off their campaigns and the party has been thrown into torrents of court cases ever since.
Agreed that the PDP has been hit by its woes, the party and the candidate of Ibikunle Amosun, the immediate past governor of the state, Biyi Otegbeye and his African Democratic Congress (ADC) is now plagued too.
The party and its strong force had bumped into the discussion lagoon with critical stakeholders and found rhythm across the 236 wards of the State lately.
It was also becoming a party to reckon with as far as the gubernatorial seat in the state is concerned until Friday when the court sacked Otegbeye and all the ADC Assembly candidates.
It was the Labour Party in Ogun that dragged the legal practitioner, Otegbeye to court on the allegations that the primary election conducted by his party was not valid.
LP felt that the primary election disconnects with the electoral act which mandated that it must be supervised by INEC, but that of the party was not monitored by the electoral umpire.
In his ruling, Justice Akintayo Aluko agreed with the plaintiff that the ADC primaries were not monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), saying this negates the dictates of the Electoral Act.
The court had compelled INEC to delete the names of Otegbeye and the 26 Assembly hopefuls from its list of political office seekers.
The judgement has weakened a political movement that has shaken headway in recent months.
ADC members and supporters are beginning to panic because the judgement doesn't only unsettle the party but may mean that the party wouldn't be running for office if the court does not vindicate it and its candidates.
More frustratingly for Amosun, Otegbeye and those who do not want Governor Dapo Abiodun for a second term, the court did not order a rerun of primaries but only ordered INEC to erase ADC candidates from the list.
For all these political back and forth, the winner in this game so far is the incumbent governor.
The generality of the public has become worried about how the PDPs have found themselves wanting chaotic internal democracy.
How also did Otegbeye’s name get into the INEC portal if truly the ADC primaries were not witnessed by the electoral body?
Is there any possibility that both parties can cleanse themselves of these legal meanings before the election?
Nobody also knows the extent of damage the unsettlement has done to the momentum and preparation of the two opposition parties.
The PDP and the ADC have maintained that Dapo Abiodun and his party, the APC, are the "weed behind their crops".
The party has been in jubilant mode since the judgments were delivered.
Whether or not the party has a hand in this, it would not care since its ultimate goals are manifesting sooner than it expects.
It was gathered that the appeal court would deliver judgement on the PDP case today, November 28, while the ADC has also threatened to appeal the judgement of the High Court.
Dapo Abiodun's second term bid could be a banana peel if the outcome of the appeals does not favour both the PDP and ADC.
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