Ondo 2024: Political activities gather momentum

..as over 40 aspirants jostle to succeed Akeredolu

With the burial of the late governor of Ondo State Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, now out of the way, which had subdued political activities before it was held, all the political parties in the state have started fashioning out modalities to be adopted for their primaries to determine who gets the tickets of the parties for the November 16 2024 governorship election.

Already the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has set a guideline for the election, which would be adhered to by the political parties and aspirants. The INEC has stipulated that the primaries of all the political parties should take place between April 6 to 7 2024.

The submission of names of nominated candidates, according to the INEC’S guidelines, would start on April 29, 2024 and it would close on May 20, 2024 while the final list of candidates would be published on June 18. With these guidelines, and all requirements fulfilled, the political parties are expected to kick off their campaigns on June 19 to end on November 13, a day before the election on November 14 2024.

Since the INEC time table for the governorship has been released, those interested in the contest have signified their intentions and from the latest count, the number of aspirants from the political parties are swelling on daily basis with the two major political parties, the All Progressive Congress (APC), presently ruling the state and the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), which is the leading opposition, dominating the lists of aspirants.

From the information available at the APC Party secretariat in Akure, over 25 aspirants have indicated their interests to govern the State in the coming election while the PDP has not less than 15 at the moment, who have signified interest to replace Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who is presently completing the tenure of his his late boss, Akeredolu, which would end in 2025.

In accordance with the INEC guidelines for the gubernatorial election, the Peoples Democratic party has come out with its own times table, released by the party’s National Chairman, Umar Bature, which shows that the screening of aspirants would take place on March 27, screening report submitted March 29, while the appeal of screening would be on April 2, 2024. Ward Congress to elect 3-man-Ad-hoc ward delegates, will take place between April 6 and May 7, 2024.

While the PDP, from all indications, has moved ahead with its plan at both the National Headquarters and the State secretariat, the APC is yet to give any directives from either Abuja or Akure. Sources hinted to the Business Hallmark that the party in the state has not yet recovered from the cold war among members and the gladiators caused by the illness and subsequent death of late Arakunrin Akeredolu.

Although the party welcomed INEC’S guidelines as a good development, there were indications that the party has signified there would not be an automatic ticket for any body contesting. This was attested to by the Publicity Secretary of the party in the State, Mr. Steve Otaloro, who said the “the INEC’S guideline is a positive development but it is glaring that there would be no automatic ticket, as it is being rumoured in some quarters.

It was argued that the influence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu counts on who will pick the ticket of the party and there were indications that Aiyedatiwa is not likely to be favoured, although he continued to drum that he has been anointed by his late boss, that he would automatically take over from him. However, events prior to Akeredolu’s illness and eventual death may have changed the narratives.

Though the PDP is working seriously with the determination to wrestle power from the APC, it is having its internal crisis too, which the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, had mandated the two governors in the South West, Seyi Makinde of Oyo and Ademola Adeleke of Osun State to sort out and bring amicable settlements, among the warring members and leaders of the party in Ondo State.

The intervention of Governors Makinde and Adeleke, it was gathered has doused the tensions among the leaders, as they were made to understand that the only way for the party to overcome and overrun the APC in the November election, is for them to close ranks and present a formidable person that would be acceptable to the entire people of Ondo State, irrespective of the candidate which the APC, the governing party, would present.

One major issue, that the two leading political parties are contending with, is where their governorship candidate should come from.

Although it was the stand of the aspirants from both parties, that the governorship should go to the Ondo South Senatorial District, the National bodies of the parties seem to have determined to follow their constitutions and that of the country along with the electoral Act of giving all aspirants a level playing ground.

The situation on the ground now appears to be in favour of the Ondo South Senatorial zone because virtually all the aspirants, who have shown interest so far, are from the zone.

It was learned that, at the meeting of all stakeholders in Ondo South, which included politicians and even the aspirants, from all the parties, traditional rulers and opinion moulders, it was unanimously agreed that nobody from the area should work against the governorship coming to the zone.

It was agreed that people from the zone, in their various political parties, should ensure that their tickets should not elude the zone, especially in the PDP and the APC while they were asked to strive to present sellable candidates and strong running mates from other zones that are sympathetic to their cause.

The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP Debo Ologunagba, while talking on the development and the commitment of the party to win back Ondo State, which it had lost after the Late Dr. Olusegun Agagu, said that the party leaders commended the efforts of the stakeholders from Ondo over their commitment to the success of the party and their openness in all the meetings held at the headquarters of the party in Abuja and Akure.

He said all they have done would go a long way to give the party victory in the governorship election, saying, that Nigerians are fed up with the APC and their dislike for the party would start manifesting right from the Edo State election and that of the Ondo State, as well.

Also, the State Publicity Secretary of the PDP Kennedy Peretei said the party in Ondo has decided that its governorship candidate for the forthcoming election, will emerge from the South Senatorial zone of the state. According to him, the sentiment has been on for a long time and the party would like to go in that direction, following the emergence of Lucky Aiyedatiwa as the governor on the platform of APC.

He argued that Aiyedatiwa is from the South and virtually all the APC aspirants contesting with him too in the same party are from the South. He pointed out that the south is the current political trend in Ondo State and it would be unwise to rise against the tide.

The Publicity Secretary of the APC, Otaloro pointed out that apart from those mentioned presently, there were others, who have not come out but are nursing the intention to contest the primary. He argued that the activities of the aspirants for the contest would gain momentum now that the funeral of “our dear late governor Akeredolu is over.”