By Segun Giwa
The governorship election held in Ondo State on Nov. 16 has, no doubt, left an indellible mark in the life of Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the winner of that election and incumbent governor of the state.
Indeed, that Aiyedatiwa braved all odds to emerge victorious in the governorship election, which was a two-horse trade between him and Agboola Ajayi of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is believed to be the reward of his resilience and audacity, and an attestation to his wide acceptance by the people of the state.
His victory did not, however, come easy as he faced so many hurdles in his attempt to seek the mandate of the people of Ondo State for the exalted office of the governor. The hurdles ranged from attempted impeachment to undermining his office as the acting governor, among several attempts to smear his name, ahead of the governorship polls due to the health challenges faced by his then boss, Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu.
For Aiyedatiwa, who was appointed deputy governor after the removal of Agboola Ajayi, the erstwhile occupant of the office, his road to the Alagbaka Government House did not just come on a platter. He battled 15 other contestants to secure the ticket of his party, All Progressives Congress (APC).
He clinched the ticket with a resounding victory, amassing a total of 48,569 votes in the governorship primaries, with his closest contender, Mayowa Akinfolarin, trailing behind him with 15,343 votes, while Chief Olusola Oke placed third with 14,865 votes.
Chairman of the Governorship Primary Election Committee, Gov. Ahmed Ododo of Kogi, while announcing the results of the April 20 primary election, said the competitive nature of the exercise affirmed the fierce nature of the contest.
However, the primaries were not without its own challenges, as the Chairman of the five-member appeal committee for the governorship primary in the state, Mohammed Abubakar, said three petitions were received against Aiyedatiwa.
Abubakar, a former governor of Bauchi State, said the petitions were received from three of the governorship aspirants, namely: Olugbenga Edema, Jimi Odimayo and Adewale Akinterinwa, while Sen. Jimoh Ibrahim opted for legal redress.
Reason, however, appeared to have prevailed and the party was able to manage the internal squabbles, with only Gbenga Edema opting out of APC to pick the governorship ticket of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), while other aspirants resolved to rally round Aiyedatiwa to face the candidates of other political parties and win the election.
Interestingly, Jimoh Ibrahim, a serving senator and one of the contestants who had hitherto headed to the court equally withdrew his case, thus further paving the way for Aiyedatiwa’s victory.
Also, Agboola Ajayi, the erstwhile deputy governor to Akeredolu, had, on April 25, emerged the candidate of his own party, PDP, after defeating six other contenders. His emergence was said to have been occasioned by his gaining the trusts of the party’s delegates, ahead of the primaries.
Ajayi polled 264 out of the 621 votes to become the PDP standard bearer, with Kolade Akinjo coming a distant second by polling 157 votes. Other contestants in the race included: John Ola Mafo, Bosun Arebuwa, Adeolu Akinwumi, Sola Ebiseni and Akinjo Kolade.
However, shortly after the primaries, Akinjo defected to APC, while Ebiseni was handed over the Labour Party ticket, which the Appeal Court eventually nullified, leading to his replacement by Olorunfemi Festus by INEC.
Kicking off his campaign in Akure South Local Government Area of the state with fanfare, Aiyedatiwa had assured the people of Akure and environs of projects that would further aid the growth and development of the state.
Addressing the traditional rulers and residents of the council area, the governor promised that he would initiate more development projects, especially road construction across the area, if re-elected. He stated that Akure had been a peaceful city and that his government would ensure that the peaceful atmosphere was sustained.
“Akure remains one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria. If any development wants to happen in the state for good, it must start from Akure,” he had said.
Also at a well-attended rally, the PDP flag was presented to Ajayi by the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Umar Damagun, thus kicking off the party’s campaign which was to take the candidate, party leaders, members and supporters to all the nooks and crannies of the state.
Damagum had said at the rally that the party was united to go to the election and take back the state, saying that APC had brought hardship to the people.
“It is a known fact that APC has brought hunger to this nation. This is the time to pay them back. This is the opportunity for you to change the narratives,” Damagum had told a mammoth crowd of party faithful at the rally.
However, the defection of no fewer than 5,000 associates of former Gov. Olusegun Mimiko and other PDP leaders to APC appeared to have dealt a big blow to Agboola’s chances of winning the election while, conversely, it paved the way for Aiyedatiwa’s victory at the poll.
The defectors were led by a two-term member of House of Representatives and former labour leader, Hon. Joseph Akinlaja, another former House of Representatives member, Hon. Lad Ojomo and a former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Jumoke Akindele, among others.
The gale of defection to the ruling APC few hours to the election appeared to have also contributed significantly to the poor showing of PDP in the election, with Aiyedatiwa still not relenting in urging his supporters to intensify the mobilisation and drive toward delivering victory to him and his party.
Perhaps the last straw that broke the camel’s back was the eight governorship candidates from other political parties who declared support for Aiyedatiwa and APC ahead of the election, thus further cementing his impending victory.
Meanwhile, one issue which festered during the electioneering was that of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, who was accused of compromise by the opposition PDP.
Indeed, Ajayi, in an interview, had expressed worries about the REC, alleging that she had been holding series of meetings with the APC-led government in the state, especially the governor and the party chairman.
Of course, the opposition and their supporters as well as various organisations and political groups did not take the demand for Babalola’s replacement easy, as they engaged in series of public protests to impress it on INEC that unless she was removed, the election might be marred by credibility crisis.
One of the groups was Ondo Youth League which took its protest to the INEC headquarters, expressing concerns over the REC’s alleged affiliation and connection with Ondo State and the possibility of her being partial and biased during the election.
However, the governorship candidate of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Dr Abbas Mimiko, expressed confidence in the REC, commending her dedication to the electoral process with transparency, with a coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) in the state saying that those demanding for her removal were trying to intimidate her because she’s a woman.
Two leaders of the coalition, Mr Franklin Oloniju and Mrs Ajih Florence, claimed that some politicians were hell bent on getting the REC removed so as to pave the way for them to instigate violence during the election and disrupt the process.
Meanwhile, after all the intrigues that pervaded the build-up to the election, the exercise, held under a relatively peaceful atmosphere, saw Aiyedatiwa clinging victory after polling 366,781 votes, while Ajayi scored 117,835 votes to place second.
The victorious Aiyedatiwa, shortly after being declared winner of the election, urged opposition parties to join hands with him to develop the state.
In his acceptance speech, Aiyedatiwa, while promising to run an inclusive government, commended INEC, security agencies and all the stakeholders involved in the election for a job diligently done to ensure the smooth conduct of the election.
As probably expected, PDP was vehement in condemning the election, saying it “runs short of all expectations and requirements of a free, fair and credible election.”
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, in a statement, described the exercise as the worst election conducted by INEC, saying it was the height of electoral swindle, deceit and manipulation allegedly perpetrated by APC.
“The poll witnessed widespread election merchandising, monetisation and barefaced vote buying and voter suppression,” Ologunagba had said.
Ologunagba’s claim was, however, faulted by the APC National Publicity Director, Bala Ibrahim, faulted the PDP’s claim, insisting that the election passed the credibility test.
Ibrahim said that the ruling party wasn’t surprised that the allegation was coming from the PDP that Nigerians had allegedly vowed not to have anything to do with again.
“So, if there is going to be any election, no matter where and time, the PDP will emerge a loser because Nigerians have lost confidence in them. Why is that it is only in states they lose that they always lose confidence in INEC but in states where they win, they will come out with ovation and applause for the commission?” he queried.
How can you say an election the governor won by over 200,000 votes was skewed in APC’s favour? PDP had better wake up and smell the coffee,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that since the conduct of the election and in spite of the refusal to accept the outcome of the exercise, neither PDP nor any other political party has so far approached the court to seek redress. (NANFeatures)
