Ondo Election: 5 Grave Losers in APC's Victory

7 years ago

Ondo Election: 5 Grave Losers in APC's Victory

Last weekend's Governorship elections has come and gone. Barrister Olurotimi Akeredolu, SAN of the All Progressives Congress carried he day. He is the new Governor-elect to take the mantle of leadership from Dr. Olusegun Mimiko of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The election is not without controversies, and the outcome unkind for some bigwigs and political warlords. Here is a list of some of those that can be said to have lost in the elections.

1. Governor Olusegun Mimiko

No doubt, the incumbent and outgoing governor of Ondo state is the biggest loser in the poll. The Medical doctor cum politician became governor of the Sunshine State in 2009 after defeating then Governor Olusegun Agagu (PDP) following an Appeal Court ruling, which cited irregularities in the 2007 Ondo State governorship election.

He contested the poll on the platform of the Labour Party (LP). He was re-elected in 2012 also on the platform of LP, making him the first governor in the history of the state to win a second term election.

But, he dumped the party for the PDP in 2014. Mimiko’s intention was to anoint his successor and this explained the choice of his former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice despite opposition to his preference by some party chieftains on the ground that he and Jegede hail from the same senatorial district – Ondo South.

Now that his succession plan has hit the rocks with the defeat of his anointed candidate, the question is: Has the Iroko, whose intention is to step into the big political stage by the time he leaves Alagbaka Government House in February next year, been retired prematurely from politics.

2. Eyitayo Jegede:

Eyitayo Jegede, the PDP Guber candidate also lost out at the polls. The candidate entered the race with the belief that he has what it takes to consolidate on the achievements of the Mimiko administration. The conviction made him resign his appointment as Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.

3. Olusola Oke:

Olusola Oke, the Ilaje-born politician and AD Guber Candidate has been actively involved in the state’s politics in past three decades and has held several positions, but his ultimate target is the governorship. He has in the course of this ambition danced from the PDP to APC and AD. He was the governorship candidate of the PDP in the 2012 gubernatorial election but lost to Mimiko.

Oke was a top contender for the APC ticket for the November 26 election but defected to the AD after losing the primaries to Akeredolu. Now that his hope of governing Ondo State has been dashed for the second time, it is uncertain what Oke’s next political move would be.

4. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu:

There is no doubt that former Lagos State governor is one of the biggest losers in the Ondo governorship poll. The APC national leader had rooted for Segun Abraham to fly the party’s flag but was stopped by some power brokers allegedly backed by the Presidency and national leadership of the party. Ondo people also felt Jagaban cannot be the chief installer.

Even an outburst against the national chairman, Chief John Odigie- Oyegun could not turn the table. Tinubu had to recoil when all efforts to push his man were rebuffed.

He and his loyalists, not only showed indifference to the Akeredolu governorship project, but shunned the party’s campaign rallies. He was fingered for being behind the sudden rejuvenation of AD and the good showing the party and its candidate made during the campaigns.

Though, Tinubu never made any public statement on where he stood, some people insisted that he mobilised funds for Oke. With AD’s loss, there is no doubt that the APC national leader’s political rating had further dropped, losing relevance in the South West.

5. Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola

The Osun State governor was the arrowhead of aggrieved APC members, who worked for the AD candidate in the election. A core loyalist of Tinubu, Aregbesola mobilised both men and resources for Oke’s project.

This pitted him against some groups in his state, which felt that his involvement in the Ondo election was a misadventure given that his administration is owing civil servants in Osun State backlog of salaries.