Ondo guber: A contest among the districts?

The emergence of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, Eyitayo Jegede and Agboola Ajayi as the governorship candidates of the three leading political parties; All Progressives Congress, the Peoples Democratic Party and Zenith Labour Party respectively, confirms that the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo State is primarily a contest of the three senatorial districts, reports ‘DARE ODUFOWOKAN, Assistant Editor.

As the people of Ondo State prepare to go to the poll to elect a new governor for another four years, the competition for the highly exalted position is expectedly a tense one with political parties and candidates ready to give their all in the forthcoming election. Although 17 political parties have been cleared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to participate in the election, most pundits commenting on the election are insisting that the contest will be a fierce one between three leading political parties.

The parties are the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the relatively new Zenith Labour Party (ZLP). Interestingly, all these leading political parties have chosen their governorship candidates from different senatorial districts of the state as if in agreement with the various “senatorial agendas” across the state. Since 2016, there have been increasing agitations by the three senatorial districts of the state to produce the next governor of Ondo State.

In the past couple of weeks, the primaries of the various political parties to pick their flag bearers in the October, 2020 governorship election in Ondo State were held. Unlike previous primary elections of their nature in the state, political analysts said these ones were different. Goriola Ikujuyinu, South-West coordinator of the Centre for Free Speech (CfFS), said ethnicity and senatorial district considerations played more important roles than any other factor in the processes that threw up the candidates of the leading parties.

“This year’s gubernatorial elections, from the word go, turned out as a battle of the zones in Ondo State. Since 2016, the agitation by the three senatorial districts to produce the governor overshadowed all other considerations in the race for the next governor of the state. Little wonder that as we speak today, all the three zones have one of their own as a leading contender in the race. To make the matter more complex, any of the three front runners can win this election in a free, fair and peaceful election.

“The moment it became obvious Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who is from Ondo North Senatorial Zone, was going to get the ticket of the ruling APC, leaders of the other two senatorial zones moved swiftly to ensure that their leading aspirants also got the ticket of one of the leading parties. As a result of these deft political moves, Eyitayo Jegede from Ondo Central picked the PDP ticket ahead of other contenders while Agboola Ajayi from Ondo South, determined to be on the ballot, cornered the ZLP platform at the very last minute,” he explained.

There are 18 councils in the state, with the three senatorial districts, the north, central, and south, sharing them equally, that is six each. In the northern senatorial district, there are Akoko North-East, Akoko North- West, Akoko South-East, Akoko South-West, Owo and Ose local governments. Ondo Central senatorial district is made up of Akure South, Akure North, Ifedore, Idanre, Ondo East and Ondo West local governments while the six local government areas in the Ondo South Senatorial District are: Ile Oluji/Oke Igbo, Odigbo, Okitipupa, Irele, Ilaje and Ese Odo.

However, each of the three zones had already produced one of their own as governor of the state. Late Chief Adekunle Ajasin from Owo in the northern senatorial district ruled the state between 1979 and 1983 and late Chief Adebayo Adefarati from Akungba Akoko also in the north was governor of the state between 1999 and 2003. Late Dr. Olusegun Agagu from Iju Odo in Okitipupa in the Southern zone was the governor between 2003 and 2009 while Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, the immediate past governor, is from Ondo town (Central). Incumbent governor, Akeredolu, like the late Ajasin, is from Owo in the north.

The arguments

But each zone still strongly believes it is their turn to produce the governor now. For the people of Ondo north, it is compulsory for their son, Akeredolu to be allowed to do a second term in office just like Mimiko did. They cannot understand why the other zones will not wait for another four years before laying claim to the coveted seat. Chairman of the Governing Council, Ondo State Polytechnic Owo, Banji Alabi, said Akeredolu should be allowed to do a second term in office like the man before him.

But leaders in Ondo South Senatorial District recently insisted on producing the next governor. Rising from a meeting, the leaders, drawn from the six local councils of the district, insisted that it is the turn of the zone to produce the next governor. The leaders, including Chief Adekanmi Adegbola, Lisa of Idepe Okitipupa, former members of the State House of Assembly, former commissioners and political office holders, met to discuss the October 10 governorship election.

And in Ondo Central, indigenes of Akure, the state capital, and other supporters of Jegede, have expressed readiness and commitment to ensure that he wins the guber election this time. The agitation in the zone is built largely around the need for Akure as a political division, aside from being the state capital, to also produce a governor for the state. “All the other old divisions of Ondo have produced governors. Only Akure has been denied. This is the time to ensure we break that jinx,” a source told The Nation.

According to some Akure elders, there were six divisions in the old Ondo State- the Ondo Division, Okitipupa Division, Owo Division, Akoko Division and Akure Division. Among all the divisions, they explained that it was only the Akure Division that had not produced a governor since 1976 that the state was created. “The people of Akure strongly believe they are being cheated by the other divisions. This idea of three senatorial districts has remained unacceptable to them when it comes to sharing political positions,” Ikujuyinu said.

Speaking during the week, Jegede expressed readiness to accommodate all those having genuine interest in his candidature, regardless of their political parties.

The permutations

As things stand, all the three senatorial districts are having at least one visible candidate in the race. While Akeredolu is banking on the support of his kinsmen to rake in the votes from the six local government areas of Ondo North, he has made a political putsch to get sizeable votes in Ondo South by picking his running mate from the area. In 2016, Akeredolu picked Agboola Ajayi as his deputy. To many pundits, that was one of the tricks that won him the election back then as the people of the zone voted massively for him.

This time, the governor has picked Hon. Lucky Ayedatiwa, a former representative of the state on the Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as his running mate for the October 10 election. Speaking on his choice, Akeredolu said after consultation, party leaders concluded that Aiyedatiwa is the appropriate choice given the prevailing circumstances in the political arena of the state. “This person has been with us since the beginning of this political journey in 2012. In arriving at this choice, some important factors assisted the leaders of this great party. We have decided to sever ties with mediocrity and treachery.”

It was also gathered that Aiyedatiwa’s grassroots appeal played a key role in his emergence as the running mate to Akeredolu. “We wanted a politician with followership in the zone. We got one in Aiyedatiwa. He is a well-grounded politician,” a party source claimed. The APC is hoping to leverage on Akeredolu’s strength in the North, as well as his running mate’s appeal in the South to win the election. “If you now add the popularity of APC as a party in the Central senatorial district, then you will understand that Akeredolu’s re-election is a done deal,” a party chieftain from Owo said on Thursday.

Not to be beaten in the game, the ZLP candidate, Agboola, picked a former Commissioner for Works, Engr. Gboye Adegbenro, in the state as the deputy governorship candidate of the party. The choice of Adegbenro followed a series of meetings held by the leaders in and outside the state in the last one week. He hails from llara-Mokin in lfedore council area of the state. Party sources said his loyalty, popularity and dedication to the party’s philosophy earned him the ticket.

“Our deputy governorship candidate will earn us votes in the central senatorial district. This will affect the votes of the governorship candidate of the PDP who hails from Akure in the same zone. The popularity of Dr. Mimiko will do the remaining magic for us here and in the northern senatorial district. Contrary to what many of you think, ZLP is a very strong party across the state. This election will prove that to all of us come October,” a chieftain said.

Following the same pattern, the PDP candidate, Jegede, picked a member of the House of Representatives, Gboluga Ikengboju, as his running mate. Gboluga is from the southern senatorial district. Ikengboju is representing the Okitipupa/Irele Federal Constituency at the National Assembly. “I am pleased to announce that Hon. Gboluga Ikengboju will be working with me in seeking your mandate in the October 10, 2020, governorship election.

“We will also work with other notable leaders of our great party in different capacities. In this regard, we salute the commitment, conviction, support and understanding of all the aspirants and other leaders of our party,” Jegede said.

The rationale behind Gboluga’s choice is the need for Jegede and the PDP to garner sizeable votes in the southern senatorial district on October 10. “Gboluga is a highly respected and popular politician in the zone. His dedication to the PDP cannot be doubted and he is the right man to pair with Jegede for the task of moving Ondo forward,” a source told The Nation.