ONDO GUBER POLLS: AGBOOLA AJAYI CHANGES THE Tempo,,, By Hero magazine INTL
Ahead of the gubernatorial election scheduled to hold on the 10th October in Ondo State, the Deputy Governor of the state and candidate of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Barr. Agboola Alfred Ajayi is gradually changing the political tempo as his candidacy attracts daily thousands of defectors from the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
STORY BY PATRICIA ABRAHAM WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTS BY KUNLE IKUYINMINU
He is among the few Nigerians who rose from the bottom to the top politically. He was a Councillor, Supervisory Councillor, Local Government Chairman, Member of the House of Representatives and presently the Deputy Governor of the state. Of course, he is not just the Deputy Governor but indeed a Deputy Governor with a class. From the inception of the Rotimi Akeredolu Administration in the state, Ajayi’s influence on the politics and administration of the state has been felt. He is not one of those deputy governors that their governors would just pocket as they desire. As the number two citizen of the state, he has represented his Principal, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu at several for a, including the meeting of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF). This representations have afforded him the opportunity to meet with influential personalities, governors and members of the National Assembly, and such meetings enable him to showcase his leadership principles and administrative acumen to an extent a vast majority of these personalities admire him as one who the governorship cap of the sunshine state really fits.
And on the administration of the state, the former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was not a passive voice until some elements in the state, not comfortable with his rising profile and strong administrative acumen, decided to merge strengths with the governor and his immediate family to wrestle power out of his hands. Even at that, he could not be impeached in spite of the plot through the state House of Assembly to get him impeached.
Barely a month to the gubernatorial primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),Ajayi decided to defect from the All Progressive Party (APC) to join the race for who takes over the Alagbaka seat of power come 2023. That was when the plot to impeach him was made pronounced even as the machinery of the APC in the state used the Commissioner of Police to threaten him. But today,it is historic that we have a state where the governor and his deputy are not in the same party and nothing seems to happen to the deputy governor who chose to cross-carpet, except that his instruments of office are denied him.
Ajayi eventually came second in the PDP’s primaries having been defeated by Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) who was the standard bearer of the party in the last governorship election in the state. The election was keenly contested by no fewer than eight aspirants. They include Banji Okunomo who scored 90 votes, Bode Ayorinde (MHR) who scored 95 votes, Senator Boluwaji Kunlere (33 votes), and Sola Ebiseeni who scored 29 votes. Others are Godday Erewa who scored 14 votes while Eyitayo Jegede who won the race scored 888 votes to defeat Agboola Ajayi who came second with 657 votes.
Meanwhile, contrary to what pundits would make one believe that the embattled deputy governor’s desperation for power is the reason he had to leave the Peoples Democratic Party shortly after the party’s primaries to pitch his tent with the Zenith Labour Party of which he is today the standard bearer, our undercover political reporters have been able to gather that the treatment accorded the grassroot politician by the PDP candidate shortly after the primaries was the main reason he chose to part ways with the party. Accordingly, the leadership of the party as well as some stakeholders within the PDP had passed a vote of confidence on the deputy governor as one who would truly add value to the party in the effort to come victorious in the gubernatorial election. His very impressive performance considering the fact that he joined the party only a month ahead of its primaries to come second was the reason many stakeholders from different quarters had prevailed on Jegede to consider him as the running mate. But in his own wisdom, the former Arttoney General and Commissioner for Justice never considered him. His argument was that he would not love to have a deputy governor who would give him tough times in office. Many people were even surprised at Ajayi’s readiness (were he offered) to accept the offer only for Jegede to do otherwise. Sources very close to him say for a deputy governor who has gone high on the ladder of wealth, the only rational for his readiness to serve under Jegede as his deputy was to merge strengths with the latter to send Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and his immediately family back to Ibadan. He therefore felt embarrassed when the PDP’s standard bearer stood his ground as against the wishes of several stakeholders and the leadership of the party; hence the third force in the Zenith Labour Party.
Meanwhile, in a survey carried out by The Hero, the candidate of the Zenith Labour Party has 50 percent chance of winning the governorship election, leaving the remaining 50 percent to be shared among all other candidates, including the PDP and APC candidates. From our focus group discussion, constituted from reputable political analysts, Agboola Ajayi moved from 30 percent to 50 percent chance of becoming the next governor of the sunshine state with the backing of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, Former Governor of Ondo State and National Leader of the Zenith Labour Party and the decision of the ZLP to field the deputy governor as its gubernatorial candidate. The tested experts said as it is now, each of the senatorial districts has a candidate for the governor, automatically polarizing the votes. Akeredolu is from the North; Jegede is from the Central, while Ajayi is from the South. “But of the three, it is only Ajayi that can get something tangible from the other senatorial districts. He will clear the votes in the south, at least 70 percent. In the central, he will run neck-to-neck with Jegede with huge votes coming from Ondo East and Ondo West Local Governments. Jegede will win in the central but will not get anything much from the other two senatorial districts.
As for Akeredolu, he is a neophyte politically. The ADC candidate, Dapo Adelegan will spoil the votes for him in Owo and Ose. But Akokos are not happy that the preferred aspirant of their only Asiwaju never got the ticket of the party.” The analysts argue that the only way to stop Akeredolu is to stop him from getting block votes from the north, especially from Owo, his country-home. But then, he will use the stupendous money he now has access to to fight Ajayi and Jegede. The analysts said Agboola Ajayi is likely to be most favoured given the heavy support of Mimiko. They argue that Mimiko is a powerful strategist who works with numbers. According to them, “he knows the exact location the Zenith Labour Party would get the votes. “He knows the party cannot win the north, but the party will try to use money to spoil the votes there. And so, with block votes coming from the south, and Ondo East and West Local Governments, coupled with the little the party will gather through Gboye Adegbenro, the party’s deputy governorship candidate, victory is sure for Agboola Ajayi”.
As for Jegede, the experts opined that one key thing that would work against him is fund. “Jegede is a good man and he is very competent. Akures know that he cannot become governor and disappoint them. But who will fund him?”
Meanwhile, while I agree with them that the election is going to be very expensive, the increasing agitation for power shift to the south, by the reason of zoning, will place the deputy governor and candidate of the Zenith Labour Party , Barr. Agboola Alfread Ajayi in good stead as far as the battle for the soul of the Alagbaka seat of power in 2021is concern
