4 months ago
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A former deputy governor of Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi, has emerged as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the November 16 gubernatorial election in Ondo State.
Ajayi, who served as deputy to late governor Rotimi Akeredolu (2017–2021) before falling out and was replaced with Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the state’s incumbent governor and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the November 16 poll, defeated six other aspirants of the opposition party after scoring 264 votes to emerge as the winner of the exercise, which was conducted under strict security measures for both the members of the party and journalists.
The results of other aspirants include Adeolu Akinwumi (64 votes), Olusola Ebiseni (99 votes), Bamidele Akingboye (24 votes), Kolade Akinjo (157), Bosun Arebuwa (02), and John Mafo (09 votes).
In his acceptance speech, Ajayi appreciated the leadership of the party for conducting a free and fair exercise to elect him as the flag bearer. He promised to embark on a reconciliation process with his party’s contestants, noting that there is no winner or loser in the exercise.
“So, come November, the PDP will emerge victorious in the governorship election by the grace of God,” Ajayi said.
Earlier, the Chairman of the PDP’s Primary Election Committee and Chief Returning Officer, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, revealed that out of the total of 627 delegates, only 621 voted in the primary to elect Ajayi.
Ewhrudjakpo, who is also the Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, said that the committee has been able to conduct a transparent and credible primary that was accepted by the seven aspirants.
With the conduct of the exercise, he noted that the opposition PDP would be coasting to victory and remained the party to beat in the November 16 governorship election.
“The problem of our party is how to get the power back from the APC that had taken power from us for the past eight years.
“You may be aware of my record that I was the one who conducted the primaries in Osun State, and we won in Osun, and I’m here again to conduct the primaries in Ondo State,” he added.
Daily Trust reports that Ajayi, a legal practitioner and a former member of the House of Representatives from Ilaje/Ese Odo Federal Constituency, was the former deputy governor to the late Akeredolu and served in the administration between 2017 and 2021 under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The relationship between the duo, however, went sour because of the ambition of Ajayi, who resigned his membership in the APC and joined the PDP in a dramatic move. A few weeks after joining the PDP, Ajayi contested in the primary but lost the ticket to Eyitayo Jegede, a major challenger of Akeredolu in the then governorship election.
Relentless in the pursuit of his governorship ambition, he defected to the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), which is led by the erstwhile governor Olusegun Mimiko, to participate in the October 2020 governorship election. He, however, lost the governorship election to the late Akeredolu.
As it stands, Ajayi, who hails from Kiribo town in Ese Odo LGA of the state, will now face his successor as deputy governor and incumbent governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the APC, in the main governorship election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared that no fewer than sixteen political parties would participate in the November 16 governorship election.
Meanwhile, Abass Mimiko, a younger brother of former Governor Olusegun Mimiko, has been announced as the governorship candidate of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for the election.
Mimiko, a former vice chancellor of the state-owned Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko (AAUA), was announced after he emerged through an affirmation in the shadow election of the party held at its secretariat in Akure late Wednesday.
In his speech, Mimiko revealed that the ZLP will be a force to be reckoned with in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
