AKURE (Sundiata Post) – Following his landslide victory in the Ondo State governorship election held on Saturday in which he won in all the 18 local government areas of the state, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa says he knew that would be the outcome.
Aiyedatiwa, who was a guest on hours after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him the winner of the election, said he did his due diligence ahead of the polls and was convinced of his eventual victory.
“During the campaign I saw it coming because of the way the people received us, our programme, our campaign, our interaction with the people and the other political parties, their own campaign and what people say about them,” Aiyedatiwa said on the programme.
“So, we weighed both sides to know the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat, we applied that into that political game if I am allowed to use that word.
“We looked at all that and we saw our areas of strength, areas of weakness and buckled up. The other political parties did not cover the entire 18 local governments like we did.”
‘Akeredolu knew I would succeed him’
Aiyedatiwa was deputy to the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who he succeeded following his death in December 2023. The incumbent governor said that it was always the wish of Akerodolu that he succeeded him as the governor of Ondo State.
He said it is so painful and said that his principal did not live to see the manifestation of what he himself spoke about.
“It is so painful and sad that he didn’t live to see the manifestation of what he himself spoke about. I do refer to him sometimes as the man who saw tomorrow, he knew that I was going to succeed him because he wanted me to and was ready to give me the full backing. He made several statement at different times relating to this,” Aiyedatiwa said.
The governor maintained that his electoral victory is for the citizens of Ondo State who made the choice of choosing him to lead them for the next four years.
The Returning Officer for the election, Olayemi Akinwumi, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State declared Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the election on Sunday, extending the governor’s stay at the Government House in Alagbaka, Akure.
Aiyedatiwa polled 366,781 votes to defeat his closest rival and a former deputy governor of the state Ajayi Agboola who flew the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag. He scored 117,845 votes, more than twice lower than the APC candidate.
