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Mimiko, deputy gov alliance tightens race – Punch Newspapers

The defection of the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi, from the Peoples Democratic Party to the Zenith Labour Party which has a former governor of the state, Olusegun Mimiko, as its leader, has thrown up more intrigues ahead of the October 2019 governorship election. PETER DADA writes

As the governorship election to choose who will steer the ship of the government in Ondo State for the next four years draws nearer, the political game is getting more interesting, particularly with the emergence of Zenith Labour Party, which many believe could be a third force in the election.

The ZLP was founded shortly before the 2019 general elections by some former members of the Peoples Democratic Party, the Labour Party and some others in the country. It has a former National Chairman of the LP, Dan Inwuayanwu, as its national chairman and a former governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, as one of its national leaders.

The party participated in the last general elections but could only win a seat in the Ondo State House of Assembly, that is, the Ondo West 1 State Constituency. It is believed that the singular victory saved the party from being deregistered by the Independent National Electoral Commission. But the Court of Appeal has upturned the deregistration of the affected political parties. However, the ZLP’s plan to adopt the Ondo State Deputy Governor, Mr Agboola Ajayi, as its candidate for the October 10 governorship election, has given the party some attention from the public.

Ajayi, one of the foundation members of the PDP in the state, announced his defection to the ZLP on Friday and is expected begin his campaign immediately after that. He resigned from the ruling All Progressives Congress, where he had differences with his estranged boss and governor of the state, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), who would now become his opponent in the forthcoming election. He returned to the PDP in June this year amidst controversies while futile attempts were being made to remove him from office by the state House of Assembly.

But his honeymoon in the PDP ended after he lost in the party’s governorship primary to a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Mr Eyitayo Jegede (SAN). That led Ajayi to the ZLP. Ajayi’s planned defection to the ZLP has put the party in the limelight and raised questions about its capability to be a third force in the race. Some people are of the opinion that it could give the ruling APC and the PDP, which is looking to return to power, some fight.

It should however be noted that the deputy governor’s move is similar to the step taken by a former governor, Mimiko, in the 2007 governorship election. Mimiko went against the ruling PDP in the state led by the late Dr Olusegun Agagu, using the Labour Party platform. With the support of many stakeholders in the state and across the country, Mimiko won and governed the state for eight years. With that precedent, fingers are crossed to see if there will be a repeat of that.

It has been learnt that the APC and PDP camps have been giving to thought the move made by the deputy governor, particularly as he is teaming up with former Governor Mimiko.

On the other hand, another school of thought is of the view that Ajayi’s recent defections show desperation and that the ZLP has little or no structure across the 18 local government areas of the state. Some political analysts in the state have however countered that argument and reminded people that in 2007, Mimiko contested under a relatively unknown party and he was successful. And that one of the things that could work for Ajayi is that he still has supporters and associates in the two strongest parties in the state – the APC and the PDP – having being a key member in both.

A chieftain of the APC told our correspondent on condition of anonymity that Ajayi should not be underrated in the contest because of his support base in the APC across the state, adding that there were reasons to believe some of Akeredolu’s aides were secretly working for him. According to him, the deputy governor might ruin the block votes expected from some local governments believed to be the strongholds of the APC and the PDP.

“His departure from the APC has put some pressure on the party because many people will stay in the APC and be working for him,” the source said. “Many aggrieved members of the party who have been abandoned by the governor for the past three and half years are still not happy with him (governor) despite of the ongoing reconciliation.

“When the governor neglected some of the aggrieved members, it was Agbo (deputy governor) that took care of them. Do you think they would now abandon him at this critical period? I am not sure. So those thinking he will not be a force in the election don’t know what is currently going on politically in Ondo State.”

Also, since the race began, the people of the Ondo South Senatorial District have been clamouring for power to shift to the district, as both people from Ondo North and Ondo Central Senatorial Districts have spent more time in power. As noted by those agitating for power to shift to Ondo South, the late Governor Adebayo Adefarati was in office between 1999 and 2003 and the incumbent governor, Akeredolu, would have spent four years in office by 2021 when his tenure will expire. Since both of them are from the northern senatorial district, the zone would have spent eight years in office by 2021. Similarly, Mimiko, who is from the central senatorial district, spent eight years in office while Agagu, who was from the southern senatorial district, only spent six years in office (2003 to 2009) as his administration was abruptly terminated through a court process. Some of those expressing this view have been going around with the slogan: It’s our turn. This, some analysts have said, favours Ajayi.

“This is not a matter of political parties or political affiliations of everybody; it is the project of the entire Ondo South people. We are being marginalised by this government and we need development. That is why we will all support Agbo (deputy governor); we are for him. He will have our votes,” a politician in government, who is from Ondo South, said.

It was also learnt that former Governor Mimiko, one of the national leaders of the ZLP, had been pushing hard to have his party win the election as that would launch him back to political relevance in the state.

A political analyst, Dr. Kehinde Akano, said it would be wrong for any party to underrate another in the election. He, however, added that the electorate should be more concerned about the candidate that could deliver the dividends of democracy to them rather than considering ethnic sentiments when voting for the candidate of their choice.

He said, “I can’t say if the ZLP would win the election or not; I will say anybody can win the election. Nobody should be regarded as an underdog among them. It has happened before in this state. Nobody thought Mimiko could defeat Agagu despite all the federal and state governments’ support behind Agagu then. Look at what happened in Imo and Bayelsa states recently; all these point to the fact that any of the gladiators can be the next governor.

“Another factor is that it is not only through the declaration of election by the Independent National Electoral Commission that makes a person the winner of an election in Nigeria nowadays, courts now make declaration. However, the most important thing is that the people of the state should examine all the candidates and cast their vote for the person they believe can offer them good governance. They must not sell their votes.”

Meanwhile, the state chapter of the PDP, through its Publicity Secretary, Mr Kennedy Peretei, in a statement has declared that the ZLP will not become a third force that could prevent his party from winning the governorship election.

According to him, the PDP is solid, strong and more determined than ever before to win the forthcoming governorship election.

“The action of the deputy governor (defection from the PDP) shows that he is a desperate politician. Agboola Ajayi has abused the welcome and privilege accorded him by our party supporters during his brief stay in the party,” he said.

“He also proved that he is desperate to become the governor of Ondo State. In the days to come, it will dawn on him that he has squandered whatever was left of his goodwill with this decision. However, his exit from the PDP will not affect our prospects of winning the October governorship election this year, Peretei added.”

Similarly, the Chairman of the APC in the state, Mr Ade Adetimehin, said the party was ready to retain the state and that a reconciliation process was ongoing to unite the members of the party ahead of the election. He added that they were not scared of a third force.

“We are unaware of the emergence of any third force as far as the forthcoming election is concerned and nobody can stop the APC from being victorious in the October election. We have performed creditably well in the last three and a half years. So we fear nobody and no party,” Adetimehin said.

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