10 for governor in Ondo PDP

 

 

Next year’s governorship election in Ondo State is gathering momentum. Can the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) upstage the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election? DAMISI OJO looks at the growing number of aspirants and their chances.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was the ruling party in Ondo State before the 2015 general elections. However, the party got enmeshed in a deep crisis that rocked its foundation to the marrow.

This development led to the failure of its candidate, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), to succeed Dr. Olusegun Mimiko. The latter’s quest to impose the former as the governorship candidate in the 2016 election prompted generated controversy.

Since then, things have been falling apart. The defection of Mimiko from the PDP to the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) complicated the matter. However, another opportunity is knocking at the door, with the 2020 governorship election around the corner. As a result,  stakeholders are doing everything possible to put the past behind and strategise for the future.

From across the 203 wards in the state and the three Senatorial Districts, party members are anxious to partake in the electoral process.

In the opposition PDP, 17 party stalwarts have indicated interest in the governorship seat, boasting to dislodge the APC and governor Akeredolu from Alagbaka House.

Majority of the aspirants are from Ondo South Senatorial District that has been the stronghold of PDP since 1999. The aspirants include: the National Vice Chairman, Dr. Eddy Olafeso; Chief Sola Ebiseni, Senator Boluwaji Kunlere, Otunba Bamidele Akingboye (OBA), the former State Publicity Secretary, Mr. Banji Okunomo, and the deputy governorship candidate in the last election, Prince Olu Mafo, among others.

In the Ondo Central District, former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Eyitayo Jegede is still interested in running. Aspirants from Ondo North are: the former Special Adviser on Labour Matters, Mr. Dayo Fadahunsi and former Commissioner for Culture, Tourism and Special Duties, Mr. Femi Adekambi.

The interest was shown by many PDP loyalists to partake in the contest has gingered the party members to move all out mobilise more people into the opposition party to succeed Akeredolu after 2020 election.

The chairman, Mr. Clement Faboyede, said the party is making frantic efforts to put its house in order across the 18 local government areas.

Besides, the party had mapped out strategies to hold a free and credible primary. During the last election, PDP won two of the three senatorial seats, including Ondo South and Ondo Central districts. Its candidates also won two House of Representatives seats in the South.

Faboyede recalled that the opposition party lost the 2016 election due to crisis  the party, but expressed optimism that next year’s election will be a clear departure from it. The aspirants are:

 

Jegede

Jegede, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) was regarded as a political son of former Governor Olusegun Mimiko before disagreement crossed their path. The Akure- born politician contested the 2016 election but failed because of the internal wrangling within the PDP. He is from the same Ondo Central District, where the former Governor Mimiko hails from.

However, he said this is not a barrier, especially with the blank cheque granted by the leadership of the party to any interested aspirants to contest.

His supporters are still intact and ready to support him to get to Alagbaka House.

For the past few months, Jegede has been consulting those who matter for the project he said was ordained by God.

 

Olafeso

Olafeso, former Commissioner for Information, has shown his interest to dislodge Akeredolu from power in February 2021.

The National Vice Chairman (South West) said his ambition is a rescue mission to salvage the state from the present doldrums.

He said: “There is no government in Ondo State. This is the state of Ajasin; it is the state of Adefarati; it is the state of Agagu and Mimiko. We are now witnessing a situation, where students are paying for tuition from primary school level to secondary school.

“The tertiary institutions are far beyond the ordinary man. I’m a product of the Awolowo era. I won’t have been educated if there is no social welfare program for the ordinary man on the street. They have abdicated their responsibility and they have stepped on the head of the history,” he recounted.

Olafeso said many PDP members who had moved to other parties would come back home to work together for the party at the appropriate time. This, he added, is when the party would reclaim its lost glory and provide good governance and dividends of democracy to the masses.

 

Ebiseni

Sola Ebiseni is also from the Ilaje constituency of the Southern District. One of the committee members and leaders in the PDP, Ebiseni was a Commissioner for Environment during Mimiko’s administration. The legal practitioner was also the chairman of the old Ilaje Local Government.

He was also a governorship aspirant of the PDP in the 2016 election. As an experienced politician, he has good programmes for the people if given the ticket.

Boluwaji Kunlere was a one- time Senator representing Ondo Central District. He was the State Secretary of the PDP when the former Deputy Governor, Ali Olanusi was its state chairman.

The Igbotako-born legal luminary is highly connected. He is in the race to bring good tidings to the people.

 

Akingboye

Bamidele Akingboye (OBA) is a veteran governorship aspirant. In fact, if PDP decides to give its ticket to the most visible person to seek nomination forms in the PDP in Ondo state, Akingboye is the person. He has the passion to serve the state if given the ticket.

 

Mafo

Olu Mafo is another legal luminary and former deputy governorship candidate of the PDP during the 2016 poll.

Mafo was also the former commissioner for Information in the state, very energetic and politically consistent.

 

Okunomo

The immediate past publicity secretary of the PDP was the first aspirant to show his interest in the 2020 race. He is a versatile young man that can diligently serve the state in that capacity.

Banji Okunomo is also from Ondo South District.

 

Adekanmbi

Only two aspirants are from the Ondo North District. They are the Owo-born former Commissioner for Culture, Tourism, and Special Duties, Mr. Femi Adekanmbi and former Special Adviser to the Governor on Labour Matters Dayo Fadahunsi.

The hurdles before them are that they are competing with the incumbent Governor Akeredolu, who has been in governance and performing his roles to the satisfaction of many people.

As the the day is still young for the governorship race in the Sunshine state, more development will be witnessed before the final commencement of the tough tournament.

An observer said: “Governance and politics now have become a purely family affair in the state. We all worked assiduously for Aketi during the primary election. We abandoned our own son, Olusola Oke, to vote this man, Aketi, but he has abandoned all of us.

“Even when forming his cabinet, he appointed those who never worked for him at the primary and abandoned us. We are waiting for him next year; if he eventually gets the party ticket, we will work against him and the party.”

The distraught APC chieftain revealed that one of their leaders, Mr. Igbekele Akinrinwa, despite the fact of the marginalization has been pleading with members to continue to support the Akeredolu administration.

It would be recalled that thousands of PDP chieftains joined APC out of anger in the build-up to the 2016 election due to the strategic political blunder by Dr. Olusegun. Despite breaking the two-terms jinx in the state, Mimiko’s decision to select a successor from the same Central District he hails from cost the party the election.

PDP members who are in APC include, the then Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi; former Assembly Speakers: Victor Olabimtan and Abdulsalam Taofeek, the Chairman of SUBEB, Princess Oladunni Odu; the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo; the Commissioner for Education, Mr. Femi Agagu, the brother and Chief of Staff to former governor, late Dr. Agagu among others.

The thinking among political actors  is that Olafeso possesses the charisma and touch to unite the party. They argue that his eloquence and academic brilliance would stand him in good stead during the PDP primaries.

Some party faithful point to Olafeso’s robust relationship with the wave-making Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, as points that could count to his advantage.

Many appointees have grudges against Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, especially his style of governance, which they say makes it extremely difficult to maintain the party and their supporters.

The fact that Olafeso hails from Okitipupa LGA, seen as PDP’s formidable base in the South District since 1999 as well as the success recorded by the party in the last election across the state, is traced to his inclusive style of leadership.

Although many PDP leaders agree that Olafeso’s astute leadership style in the South West region led to the party’s victory also in Lagos, Osun and Ekiti States, they regret the massive rigging by the ruling party, which deployed the infamous power of incumbency.

Not long ago, it was speculated that the Deputy Governor, Ajayi, was planning to resign in December so as to contest the governorship on the PDP platform. It was also alleged that the Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, was sponsoring him.

He was also said to be penciling the member representing Akure North and Akure South Federal Consistency in the House of Representatives, Adedayo Omolafe, as his running mate.

However, although the two politicians denied the allegations, while Ajayi restated his loyalty and unflinching support for Akeredolu, some APC insiders insisted on a looming political crisis over his 2020 reelection bid.

Sources also alluded to a top reshuffling game to replace Ajayi with another politician from Okitipupa, which they said would inevitably trigger an implosion within the ruling party.

Jegede, who is a close ally of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, told the party leadership in Akure South and Idanre councils, of his intention to seek another support to contest the governorship, saying it is divine.

He said: “I am here to thank you for the support you gave me during the 2016 governorship election. I see myself as somebody who is ready to serve. I contested the last gubernatorial election and we knew the result, the following day we went to church to thank God for how far He had helped us.

“Now, I consulted God Almighty again, I asked if I should go forward on this project, He answered me that I should go ahead. I am asking you whether to go ahead or not? This is not the time for the campaign.

“We will surely come back when the time comes. I seek your support for our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and appreciate you for all your efforts both during the 2016 governorship election and the last general elections.”

 

Fadahunsi

Another aspirant, Fadahunsi, who hails from the same council in the North District as the incumbent governor is also said to be weighing options to slug it out with APC and square up with a deputy from the South.

It was gathered that although popular considerations within Mimiko’s camp favoured him in 2016, the former governor chose to do otherwise, which led to PDP’s woeful defeat.

PDP could bank on its strongest base in the South District to pick its candidate in the next election. Many aspirants are springing from there. Sources within the party. However, revealed that they are working closely with Jegede to become his running mate.

Moreover, the prolonged absence of the governor from the state since he applied for two weeks vacation in September and reports filtering in that he is critically ill, if not well managed may whittle down the chances of the APC if he eventually gets a second term ticket.

The PDP spokesperson, Mr. Zadock Akintoye, doubted several arguments put up by the governor’s aides claiming that Akeredolu remains hale and hearty and has been attending to official duties in Abuja.

Speaking on the chances of the ruling party with Akeredolu, the former Deputy Governor and Member of APC Board of Trustee (BoT), Alhaji Ali Olanusi, said the party is too weak to win next year’s election.

His words: “For the first time in my political life, I am seeing what I have never seen. It was when Akeredolu became governor that the political party, which brought him into power, went comatose.

“Till now, the party is not holding any ward meeting in all the 203 wards of Ondo State. If you don’t meet at the ward level, the local government level and at the state level, where else does the party meet to talk about issues?”

Olanusi, who is a leader of the APC Elders Forum and Ondo APC Unity Forum, disclosed that the governor stifled the peace parley on the behest of the National Leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

“He has killed APC in the state. There is no party. When we were asked to conduct an election to pick officers to run the affairs of the party, he and his cabinet at the Government House sat in their offices and wrote names by themselves without any party input or election. That is where the problem started.”

Consequent upon these, Olanusi alongside several other chieftains of the party has been clamouring for the expulsion of the governor by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party; and often times knocks him for alleged lackluster performance in the state.

“The situation is terrible. I told the leaders that came that if an election is conducted today in Ondo State, I don’t know which party will win but not the APC. If things do not change, I can assure you that the APC cannot win the election.

“I just told you that there is no meeting going on; no caucus meeting. I was the state chairman of the PDP for six years. Every month, we hold caucus meetings where we have the cabinet, including the governor, deputy governor and leaders of the party. But there is no caucus now in Ondo APC, even wards are not meeting.”

Speaking on the possibility of the governor ditching APC to seek reelection in another party, Olanusi disclosed, “I am a man of peace. We in the Ondo APC Unity Forum are just trying to patch things for him to finish his term since he was elected.

“But surprisingly, we now discovered he is now erecting billboards in some areas. The boards initially carried no logo but later when people started murmuring, he put a small symbol of broom on the erected billboards.”