March 03, (THEWILL)- With the remains of late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredola laid to rest two Fridays ago, governorship aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, increased the tempo of their aspirations to clinch the party’s ticket on the April 17 party primary as scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Tagging along, leaders of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, came together to decide on how to checkmate and match the governing APC ahead of the primary. Should they agree on a consensus candidate and stand by their choice or dissipate their strength by fighting separately for the party’s ticket?
For the APC, former Deputy Governor, then acting governor and now governor, Lucky Aiyedatowa is leaving nothing to chance, even though his current position as incumbent gives him enough clout to consolidate his position and parlay with every interest group on his terms.
At a meeting with his campaign organisation, Lucky Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organisation Foot Soldiers, LACO-FS in Akure, he said he was losing no sleep over his candidature of his party and eventual victory at the November governorship polls.
According to the Director of Information of LACO-FS, Mr Kayode Fasua, the governor urged his supporters to work as though he had won the election. The governor, he said, based his optimism on symbolism and incumbency power.
Aiyedatiwa, he said, is resting on the prediction late Governor Akeredolu made about him as the natural successor. According to the governor, “ a lot of people don’t know Akeredolu; they don’t know that he was a prophet.
“There was a time after he (Akeredolu) returned from a medical vacation that he told the cabinet members during an executive council meeting that ‘Look, Aiyedatiwa will emerge as the next governor.”
His invocation of such powerful symbolism has not deterred other aspirants from throwing their hats in the ring and taking the battle for governorship to Aiyedatiwa’s doorstep.
In the meantime, 25 persons are said to have indicated interest in the party’s ticket. They include former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Oladunni Odu; former member of the House of Representatives, Mayowa Akinfolarin; governing board member of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Olugbenga Oedema; retired Director of Finance at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Gen. Olumide Ohunyeye; and Senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District, Jimoh Ibrahim.
Foremost among them is Senator Jimoh Ibrahim who has been flooding newspapers with wrap-around advertisements of his aspirations, rallying support by posturing as apostle and propagator of President Tinubu’s Hope Agenda in the state.
Nonetheless, certain crucial political interests that are at play will make or mar the may aspirations at play. The first and perhaps majorly is the general interest of the governing party to retain the state both as an APC state and as a vehicle for the 2027 general election. With the two PDP governors in the South-West, namely Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun and stunning performance of PDP’s Ladi Adebutu in the 2023 poll in Ogun State, losing Ondo will be a political casualty too many for the APC.
Even so, removing a seating governor for another candidate is a road yet to be tread by current political parties in Nigeria, meaning that Governor Akeredolu’s death gave Aiyedatiwa a golden chance which he may mismanage to his peril. This is because it would be hard for a seating governor to swallow his defeat calmly and then go on to peacefully supervise the election of his rival under the current winner -takes -all political system.
He is also favoured by the prevailing sentiments to allow the south senatorial zone produce the candidate this time around. Ex -Governor Olusegun Mimiko from Ondo Central did eight years Late Akeredolu from the North held sway for almost eight years before his death. But then many aspirants, including Senator Ibrahim are from the South as Governor Aiyedatiwa.
PDP
For the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, victory of the party in the neighbouring Osun State last year may serve as a tonic in the face of public reaction against the prevailing hardship in the land. In the face of this circumstance, the party met with aspirants at its secretariat in Akure, the state capital and proposed a consensus arrangement to choose a candidate among the aspirants, namely Sola Ebisemi, former Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi, Bamidele Akingboye, Adeolu Akinwunmi, Bosun Arebuwa and John Ola Mafo.
Confirming this development, the Acting State Chairman, Basorun Tola Alabere, said the party aims to pick a candidate through a consensus arrangement or go for primary if that fails.
Publicity Secretary, Kennedy Peretel said, rhetorically, that “if the consensus plan fails to materialise, the party will be left with no option but to organise a free, fair and transparent primary.” He added that all the aspirants were confident of the party’s chances at the November Poll, “ in the face of hunger and anger in the land orchestrated by the APC.”
Speaking on this, one of the aspirants, Ebiseni disclosed that the aspirant who will fly the flag of the PDP at the polls will be determined by the party and will be accepted by party members as well as the people of the state.
Ebiseni said, “In realisation of that, all the aspirants, at least eight of us now, have been called together by the leaders of our party, the former Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, the State Working Committee, the Chairman of the Elders’ Committee, and all the aspirants, including our representatives at the Ondo State House of Assembly, to engender a rancour-free primary.
“The first step that the leaders are selling to us as aspirants is to see the possibility of a consensus.
“That is what is being sold to us. I’m happy to say that you will hear from the party itself what resolutions have been reached, but I want to assure you guys that in the fullness of time, the PDP is going to come out with a candidate that all of us will rally around.”
How this works out is yet to be seen because the South-West zone coordinator of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, John Ajayi is already canvassing support among his colleagues for the candidature of one of the aspirants, Akingboye, if the party must adopt a consensus in the choice of a candidate.
Alao said “That is why, as the coordinator of over 30 million Nigerian students in the southwest, we are ready to show our strength to support the man with vision, who is proactive, and that is why we are pitching our tent and ready to give the needed support to Oba Otunba Bamidele Akingboye in the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo State.
About the Author
Amos Esele is the Deputy Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.
