In spite of the flares up of violence among their supporters here and there, the 17 political parties on the ballot for Ondo governorship election are intensifying campaigns ahead of the poll scheduled for Saturday, 10 October. The parties are expected to end their bid for the 1,478,460 votes on offer across the 18 local government areas of the state, latest by Thursday, 48 hours to the election.
However, despite that 17 political parties will be on the ballot, the battle to produce the next occupant of Ondo’s governorship seat is expected to be a three-horse race between Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, the incumbent who is seeking reelection on the platform of All Progressives Congress, APC, Eyitayo Jegede of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and Agboola Ajayi of Zenith Labour Party, ZLP. It was, therefore, not a surprise that reports of incidents of violence that have dogged the process of the campaign for votes in the past few days have involved the supporters of the parties.
There are indications that the major candidates will commit themselves to peaceful electioneering process as their counterparts in Edo September 19 governorship election did when they sign a peace accord to be midwifed by General Abdulsalami-led National Peace Committee.
In spite of the incidents of violence, the three leading political parties are throwing in whatever they think will enhance their chances in the governorship poll.
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The Independent National Electoral Commission has also promised to ensure that the election is free and fair just like the September 19 Edo poll for which it is still receiving accolades.
Echoes of the 2023 Battle In 2019
Like the recently concluded Edo governorship election, the PDP and APC are also seeing Ondo polls as a prelude to the 2023 presidential election. PDP’s confidence of returning to power at the presidential level was boosted by its victory in the Edo gubernatorial poll. And chieftains of PDP are determined to plant their foot in as many states of the country as possible to solidify their chances of returning to power in 2023.
In addition, prospective presidential aspirants on the platform of the party, especially the trio of former governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Governor Aminu Tambuwal are also using the election to further enhance their support base within the PDP.
Jegede, it was learnt, emerged the candidate of PDP, upturning expectations of some leaders of the party who had expected the now candidate of ZLP will fly their party’s flag in the election.
Jegede was said to have been supported to clinch the ticket by Atiku and the belief was that the PDP candidate would support the former vice president’s bid for the PDP presidential ticket if he succeeds in his bid to displace Akeredolu from the Alagbaka Government House.
And over the weekend, there were speculations that PDP governors, especially Tambuwal who seem to have the support of the Uche Secondus-led leadership of PDP in his presidential ambition have been secretly supporting the ZLP candidate.
But Governor Tambuwal denied the claim in a statement on Sunday, declaring that the PDP governors were united, strong and primed to do its utmost to ensure Jegede wins the Ondo election. “As a matter of fact, the PDP governors just rose from a virtual meeting a few days ago with a firm resolve and commitment to make sure that all hands are on deck to support and deliver the PDP candidate”, Tambuwal said.
He added that PDP governors would storm Akure on October 7 for the grand finale of the PDP governorship campaign.
APC leaders, especially in the Southwest have also framed the election as a precursor to the 2023 battle. Speaking at a meeting with some traditional rulers in Akure, the capital of Ondo State during the kick-off of the campaign of Akeredolu, the National leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu said the party’s victory in the October 10 governorship poll would be an added advantage to the South-west’s quest for the 2023 presidency.
Tinubu, therefore, asked the traditional rulers not to allow the opposition to take over the state, saying Akeredolu has performed very well and deserves to be re-elected. “I want to implore all traditional rulers to endorse Akeredolu and work for his re-election. His re-election is in the interest of the people of Ondo State and Yoruba land at large. As the ruling party at the federal level, we should allow continuity in Ondo State,” Tinubu said.
Just like their PDP counterpart, the APC governors have also expressed their determination to ensure that their candidate prevails at the end of the poll as a way of rolling back recent reversals in the fortune of their party.
Unlike the situation in Edo, where it was believed that the APC governors supported the opposition candidate or were at best nonchalant to the campaign efforts of their party’s candidate, it was believed that the state chief executives have decided to support Akeredolu’s second term ambition.
It was gathered that the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who is the chairman of the 104-member national campaign council for Akerodolu’s re-election has been rallying his colleagues behind efforts to secure a second term for the governor.
Contrary to earlier expectations of many, APC is also going into the governorship battle a united entity. Nearly all those who contested the governorship ticket with Akeredolu, especially members of the Unity Forum have collapsed their structure in support of his second term ambition.
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Performance/ Promises
Ultimately, it is the people of Ondo State that will determine their next governor. As expected the three major candidates have also been boasting that the decision of the electorate will go their way after the count of the ballots of the October 10 election.
For one, the APC has insisted that its candidate’s performance will earn him a second term. Alex Kalejaye, the Ondo Publicity Secretary of APC in a recent statement said, “The major roads rehabilitated, or initiated are sources of delight to the people who view Akeredolu as a leader that is passionate about the development of the land and the wellbeing of the people. The parties are equally helpless about the genuine efforts to create employment for the youths through the building of infrastructure, industries and agriculture. These have kept many engaged and productive.
“The candidate of the APC presided over the affairs of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) without blemish but garnered more respect and accolades for being a prudent and productive president of the revered association. A unique character of Akeredolu, which is in the public domain, is that he doesn’t have regards for deception; the thriving business of the PDP and ZLP”.
Speaking during an interactive session with some students last Saturday, the governor himself said he had already created over 20,000 direct jobs through the various industries operating at the Ore industrial hub.
“We are earning less and doing much. There was a time we earned big but all the money went down the drain. My concern is to move ahead. We will need the best to manage the three universities.
“When I was sworn in in 2017, the first executive bill I sent to the Ondo State House of Assembly was the establishment of Ondo State Development and Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA) to see to the policy of investment promotion, business development and wealth creation in our state. Today, through ONDIPA, Ondo has moved from number 34 to number 16 in the ease of doing business in Nigeria. By the grace of Almighty God, the Ore Industrial Park is a creation of ONDIPA under the leadership of Boye Oyewumi”.
The governor added that his focus in his second term would be job creation through entrepreneurship, skill acquisition and agriculture.
However, the two other major governorship candidates are not convinced. The PDP candidate, who like his APC counterpart, is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and a former Commissioner for Justice in the state, for example, has been harping on the increase in tuition fees and charges and abolition of free health services especially for children and maternal care instituted by the Mimiko administration as evidence that the incumbent government is anti-people.
Jegede, who said the increase in tuition had led to significant reduction in number of students seeking admission to the state-owned tertiary institution promised to reverse it if he was elected. Also, during his campaign tours, the PDP candidate had promised residents of the state that he would initiate actions that would lead to creation of mass employment if elected. “If you elect us, we will give financial support for the establishment of industries across the state by interested investors.
However, we will set a condition that they must employ people living in Ondo State that are without jobs”, he said during a visit to the Olukare, Oba Akadiri Momoh, in Akoko North East local government area of the state. Jegede added that he had already laid-out plans to establish agro-allied industries, in cluster formations, to provide sustainable market for the rural farmers as well as infrastructural development of the state.
The Zenith Labour Party candidate has also been making similar promises. He enumerated what he would do if elected, during the flag-off of his campaign in Ore part of the state. Speaking to party supporters, Ajayi, whose campaign is being led by former governor Mimiko promised to reduce tuition fees being paid by students at the state owned tertiary institutions to N50,000 if elected.
Ajayi, who is also the state deputy governor also said he would end the over 10-year-old blackout in Ondo south senatorial district within 100 days in office as governor and re-introduce free health care for pregnant women and children. He also promised to introduce various social welfare packages including empowerment of workers, traders and artisans.
Also while addressing the supporters, Mimiko, who is also the National Leader of ZLP and former governor said Ajayi remains the best candidate to rescue the state from what he described as bad governance in the last three and half years.
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The Zoning Argument/Other issues
However, aside the promise to the electorate, another factor which the candidate of APC and ZLP and their supporters are arguing will work in their favour and against Jegede is zoning. Just like the expected scenario on the ballot on Saturday, Jegede was also the major contestant when Akeredolu was first elected as governor in November 2016.
The APC candidate had then polled 244,842 votes to beat Jegede who garnered 150,380 votes. Olusola Oke, who contested under the banner of Alliance for Democracy, scored 126,889 to come third in the 2016 election. Some analysts had attributed PDP’s loss to selection of a candidate from the wrong zone. The argument is that the PDP lost in 2016 and may also lose in next Saturday’s election because of its failure to adhere to zoning.
According to analysts and supporters of APC and ZLP, Jegede is from Ondo Central just like his former boss, Mimiko who was governor of the state from 2009 and 2017 and his ambition therefore was in contradiction of zoning arrangement that another part of the state should produce the governor.
Akeredolu and his supporters are claiming that the Southern part of the state produced the late Olusegun Agagu as governor between 2003 and 2009, while the last time Ondo North produced the chief executive of the state was between 1999 and 2003.
They, therefore, argued that Ondo North where Akeredolu hails from should be allowed to continue in office till 2024 in respect of the zoning arrangement while the Southern part of the state should produce the next governor.
Indeed, some traditional rulers across the state have declared support for Akeredolu because of the zoning policy and what they described as his strides in infrastructural development in their various areas. Some of the defections from the PDP and ZLP to APC and vice versa, it was believed was also being driven by the zoning argument.
But Ajayi, who is from the South is also insisting that it is now the turn of the South to produce the governor, arguing that the zoning arrangement need not be for two-term tenure. He noted for, instance, that the people of the state voted out Adefarati who was from the North and replaced him with Agagu after just one tenure in 2003.
On his part, the candidate of PDP had dismissed the zoning argument by noting that Akeredolu also contested when Mimiko was seeking a second term.
In addition, with 614,258 votes, Jegede’s Ondo Central has the highest number of registered voters in the election and the PDP candidate will expect that this will work in his favour.
Jegede is also from Akure, the state capital with the highest number of voters. Despite being the state capital, the people of Akure have not produced a governor for the state before and the sentiment is high that this may just be the right time.
But supporters of APC said Governor Akeredolu has done enough in terms of infrastructural development in Akure to earn substantial votes from the people of the area. In addition to this, the extensive structure of PDP across the three senatorial districts is also said to be an advantage for Jegede in the election.
The failure of the PDP candidate to get the support of his former principal, Mimiko in his governorship bid may also work against him. Apart from the support he is getting from Mimiko, the ZLP candidate is also considered a grassroots politician with support across the state, though it was expected that he would do well in the Southern part of the state. These are all the permutations ahead of Saturday’s election and it is now in the hands of Ondo voters to determine who will be their next governor.