A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State, Olaniran Olanusi, has described the state governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as the best among the governorship aspirants of the Ondo APC.
According to Olanusi, Aiyedatiwa would have no difficulty picking the APC governorship ticket at the party’s primary election coming up in April.
However, in a swift response, the campaign team of a former Commissioner for Finance, Wale Akinterinwa, who is also an aspirant, dismissed Olanusi’s claim, insisting that Akinterinwa was the man to beat at the APC primary.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed April 16, 2024, for the governorship primary while the main election is coming up in November this year.
Speaking with journalists in Supare Akoko, Akoko South West Local Government Area of the state on Sunday, Olanusi said none of the aspirants could stop Aiyedatiwa from being the next governor of the state.
He said, “It is Lucky Aiyedatiwa against the rest; they only ganged up against the best candidate, against the best hand and let the fact be stated, I don’t see them (aspirants ) emerging. I don’t see any one of them as a threat or posing a threat to Aiyedatiwa’s aspiration. I feel no aspirant is a threat.
“Aiyedatiwa is a moving train; you can see the rate at which people are joining his camp. In the little time he has spent in office, he has been able to endear himself to the people through his promises and his pragmatic approach to issues.
“These things are evidence and we can all see it. It’s obvious, we can attest to it that the governor is at work, Aiyedatiwa is working and people are getting happier.”
Olanusi, who is the son of a former deputy governor of the state, Ali Olanusi, expressed optimism that the national leadership of the APC would conduct a free and fair governorship primary in April.
“The APC is a party of true democrats. I don’t see myself advising the national chairman because everywhere we have primaries, it has always been a level plain field; there have always been fairness, justice and equity in our party. So that is what I believe will play out in Ondo State while electing the candidate of the party,” Olanusi stated.
But reacting, the spokesperson for the Wale Akinterinwa Campaign Organisation, Segun Ajiboye, said, “Anybody saying that Aiyedatiwa is the best of all the aspirants is either a sycophant or desperate political jobbers seeking undue attention from Governor Aiyedatiwa.
“I will say he (Aiyedatiwa) is the least of the aspirants because in the history of the state, this is the first time a governor will be having controversy over an academic certificate since 1979 that we have been having executive governors. From Chief Adekunle Ajasin to Arakunrin Akeredolu, we haven’t heard that before. How could such a person be the best aspirant? So anybody saying he is the best of all the aspirants is a sycophant probably seeking certain benefits from Aiyedatiwa.”
Apart from Aiyedatiwa and Akinterinwa, other APC governorship aspirants include a former member of the House of Representatives, Mayowa Akinfolarin; a former Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Oladunni Odu; a former Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Prof Francis Faduyile; a former governorship aspirant of the APC, Olusola Oke.
Others include Gbenga Edema, Jimoh Ibrahim, Jimi Odimayo, Paul Akintelure, Brig. Gen. Olamide Ohunyeye.
