APC National Convention: Ogun State Must Put The Best Forward By Ade Bash

The APC National Convention is the hottest topic in the political space right now. After several postponements, it finally looks like the convention is set to hold at the end of this month.

There have been many high-level consultations regarding the nomination of party officials. In Ogun state, there has been a lot of lobbying by politicians to occupy the position ceded to the state in the party’s National Working Committee. There have also been conflicting reports from party sources regarding which offices have been zoned to the South-West region. Barely two weeks ago, a zoning arrangement by Progressive Governors made the rounds and just a few days ago, another zoning formula, purportedly from the President, was shared widely among party members.

There is, therefore, a lot of speculation regarding what positions will be zoned to the region and further microzoned to Ogun state, as there has been no official communication from the party yet. This writer and keen observer of political developments believes that irrespective of what position the state eventually gets, it is crucial that we put our best forward in order to ensure qualitative representation.

The right person would be someone who has a good understanding of Ogun state politics as well as national political dynamics. To truly protect the interests of our dear state, it has to be somebody who has demonstrated, in words and in deeds, that they are committed to Governor Dapo Abiodun’s agenda of building our future together, and that they have key relationships at the federal level which will be used to complement the governor’s efforts and help the state achieve its full potential.

Without prejudice to those rumoured to have signified interest in various positions, I believe that the best person to represent the state at national party level is Derinsola Abiola, a media entrepreneur, philanthropist and active member of the party, who has been hailed in many quarters as both a technocrat and grassroots-oriented politician.

Derinsola has a track record of making meaningful contributions to the party at both the federal level and the state level.

At the federal level, she is often seen engaging the media and discussing developments within not just the APC-led federal government, but also in APC states. She is also a leading voice in promoting women and youth interests within the party. The very articulate Derinsola, who once worked as Special Assistant on Media to the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, is widely regarded as one of the most influential young politicians in the country as she has access to a wide range of government and party officials in different parts of the country and at the federal seat of power.

She served on the media and youth committees of the APC presidential campaign council in 2015, and was subsequently appointed to the party’s Board of Trustees in recognition of her efforts. Since then, she has also been selected for several national party assignments including the much-publicized True Federalism Committee in 2017. In recent times, she served on the Edo State election committee and was the de-facto spokesperson for the South-West caucus of the APC National Youth Lobby Committee. Her name is also included in the list of party members serving in the budget sub-committee for the upcoming national convention, a development regarded as further proof of her strong relationships with leaders within the APC.

She also runs a thriving media and political consultancy firm in Abuja, with clients rumoured to be some of the most influential politicians in the country.

In Ogun state, Derinsola Abiola’s philanthropic gestures have kept her in the news and earned her accolades from different quarters. In February, she won many hearts when the Derinsola Abiola Foundation launched a support fund for indigent students named after her late father and icon of democracy, Chief MKO Abiola. The foundation paid WAEC fees for 100 students and few months ago in November 2021, her foundation also provided business grants to over 100 women chosen from markets, local communities and the APC party structure in Abeokuta, her hometown.

The foundation is also now rumoured to be working on combating youth restiveness, a major challenge in Ogun state, through sports.

In addition to this, Derinsola also enjoys growing support at the grassroots beyond her native Abeokuta North Local Government, as her philanthropic activities and down to earth attitude have endeared her to many. While she lives in Abuja, she also has a home in Abeokuta and seizes every opportunity to engage the grassroots on different topics such as youth and women’s participation and developments within the Prince Dapo Abiodun-led state government via radio engagements during her trips home.

During the party’s membership registration exercise, she also sponsored free passport pictures both individually and in partnership with other young politicians in the state. She is known to make contributions to the party during festive seasons and at other times when required to do so.

Ms. Abiola may be modest, but she has a CV which boasts not just political but also professional credentials. Ogun is a state known for excellence and there really could be no one with the extensive federal network and political savvy required to meaningfully represent us at the federal level than Derinsola Abiola.