- Others await presidential endorsement
- APC leaders offer Aiyedatiwa right of first refusal
- Party rakes in millions of naira from contenders
- Exercise ‘ll be credible, says APC chairman
As the All Progressives Congress prepares for its April 20, 2024 governorship primary election in Ondo State, some aspirants who seem not to have strong connections are already falling by the wayside.
Many aspirants are jostling for the ticket of the party in the forthcoming primary.
According to investigations by The Point, some of the weak aspirants have dropped their ambitions leaving the race for the more serious ones.
It was gathered that some of the fragile aspirants have reduced their door-to-door and ward-to-ward campaigns across the state.
Despite the millions of naira they have spent on the collection of forms, sources said they are planning to relinquish their ambitions and join their structures with the aspirants considered as the front liners.
Others are also said to be intensifying visits to Abuja for a presidential endorsement that may not come before the primary.
Sources claimed that since the President’s body language is unclear to everyone, many of the aspirants are frequenting Abuja to lobby and get the endorsement of the party’s national leadership.
A source in the state Working Committee of the Ondo APC said that some of the aspirants had tactically withdrawn from the race and merged with the ‘serious aspirants’ ahead of the upcoming primary in order not to waste their time and resources on the uncertainty.
He said, “The road is getting clearer to know who is going to be the candidate of the party for the election. I know for sure that many aspirants are out today but very few would take the nomination form to contest the primary.
“Many of the aspirants are weak while the strong ones have slowed down their campaign for they are yet to get the signal from the Presidency on whom the anointed candidate would be. Many of them are waiting for cheap endorsement from the ‘power that is’.
“Some who have no strong links with the Presidency are in discussion to join and support the frontline aspirants for the primary.”
At present, there are many support groups coming up on a daily basis and working for some of the aspirants across the state, particularly, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Wale Akinterinwa and Olusola Oke.
The groups are doing their best to mobilise support for their principals, regardless of whom the presidential endorsement would favour.
Group boosts Faduyile’s ambition with N50m nomination form
Consequently, friends, family and associates of one of the aspirants, Adedayo Faduyile, have pledged to obtain the nomination form for him to contest in the forthcoming primary election.
The leader of the group, Kenneth Benjamin, in a statement made available to journalists in Akure, said it was imperative for Nigerians in diaspora to be actively involved in the growth and progress of the country.
According to them, the gesture is to support his political aspirations and make frantic moves to contribute their quota for the development of the state and nation at large.
He also said that the N50m nomination form came as a surprise birthday gift to celebrate the erudite scholar and former Nigeria Medical Association President, Faduyile, who would be 52 years on April 7, 2024.
To ensure the best candidate becomes the next governor of the state, he noted that they would be paying the APC’s N10m Expression of Interest and N40m Nomination Form as their own sacrifice to ensure that Ondo State shines again.
Benjamin noted that the group in question comprises Ondo State indigenes and non-indigenes in the U.S, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, South Africa, Nigeria and other parts of Africa that are passionate about the growth of the nation.
He noted that the primary objective of the group is to identify people who have intellectual capacity, honesty, prudence and proven character to support them to leadership positions.
“It is high time Nigerians in diaspora started participating actively in the day-to-day activities of our dear nation back home, not leaving politics out of it. In fact, it is very critical to development and we must be actively involved.
“We cannot continue to fold our hands to watch opportunists, political buccaneers and layabouts grab the rudders of leadership at the expense of competence, intellect and capacity. This has been our sad story for years,” he said.
Benjamin added that “this explains why we all gathered and agreed to raise the nomination form money for one of our own, Prof. Dayo Faduyile, to be the next Governor of Ondo State and set the pace for other states to emplace cognate leadership and development.
“We cannot continue to watch as helpless and hapless Nigerians as our dear country is getting plundered by unqualified and people with dubious characters. The world, it is said, is not ruined by the wickedness of the wicked but the weakness of the good that do nothing.”
He expressed confidence in the abilities and capacity of Faduyile, making references to his indelible achievements as NMA scribe and immediate past Special Adviser on health to the late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.
Similarly, Ondo state indigenes in the USA, under the aegis of Adedayo Faduyile Foundation, through its coordinator, Eniafe Ogunbameru, passed a vote of confidence on Faduyile as the best and most qualified amongst the aspirants.
Tinubu silent on Ondo governorship election
Nonetheless, a source close to the Presidency said that President Tinubu had been silent on the Ondo governorship election.
He claimed that all the aspirants claiming to have the Presidency’s endorsement were economical with the truth, saying that Tinubu had not declared support for any aspirant.
The source said, “Tinubu cannot openly declare support for any aspirant, he is the leader of the party nationally and father of all. He can’t do that openly. He may have a preference among them but he would have a way to do it not by supporting the person openly.
“All those dropping his name, saying he (Tinubu) would support them are deceiving themselves, many of them have not met with the President in the last four years and yet they are claiming to be closer to the President. Many are waiting for Tinubu to say this is the candidate the party should pick but he would not do that. Tinubu some years ago is different from Tinubu as a President now. The party has set up a committee for the primary, let everyone go for the primary and if the party leadership has a preferred candidate among them, they would know how to go about it. But to say President Tinubu has endorsed anyone, I think it’s not true.”
APC leaders offer Aiyedatiwa right of first refusal
In the same vein, leaders of the APC in Ondo State, under the auspices of “Aborigine, have endorsed governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as their preferred aspirant in the April 20 governorship primary election in the state.
Addressing newsmen in Akure on Tuesday, their leader, Ambassador Sola lji, said that all the aspirants were screened by a committee headed by Mrs. Christy Olufowose.
Iji said that governor Aiyedatiwa scored 777 points, Wale Akinterinwa polled 587 while the late Dr. Paul Akintelure scored 612 points.
“We unanimously agreed to set up a 9-man committee headed by Hon (Mrs) Christy Olufowose to identify the various aspirants jostling for the ticket of our party; assess them using some well-thought out criteria and present three of them for further consideration by the leadership of the group.
“In our last meeting, the committee submitted its report wherein Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Wale Akinterinwa and Dr Paul Akintelure were recommended.
“The group mandated its leadership to have further consultation and deliberations in arriving at the choice of our preferred aspirant.
“Consequently, the leadership of the group met, reviewed the report of the committee and considered the three recommended aspirants qualified and worthy.
“However, in contriving the choice of our preferred aspirant, the leaders believed that it is normal and conventional to offer right of first refusal to His Excellency, Lucky Aiyedatiwa as a sitting Governor.
“Additionally, his achievements since assuming office as Governor such as, (1) his commitment to infrastructural development, (2)payment of backlog of salaries of workers in Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, (3) release of N1 billion to University of Medical Sciences and N1.2 billion to Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology respectively, (4) payment of wage awards and January, 2017 outstanding salary to civil servants in the state, (5) return of free shuttle buses for the convenience of students in the state were considered as remarkable score points.
“On the whole, having been satisfied with the conduct and performance of his Excellency, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, we are pleased to inform the general public that he is our preferred aspirant in the forthcoming governorship primary of APC in Ondo State.
“By this decision, we are determined to deploy our numerical strength and resources to ensure the victory of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa at the primary.
“It is our fervent belief that Governor Aiyedatiwa’s candidature will position our party for a resounding victory at the general election and engender good governance in the state.”
Iji lamented that members of the group which comprised leaders of the defunct ANPP, ACN AND CPC- the political parties that metamorphosed into the All Progressive Congress, were abandoned.
According to him, “In spite of our numerical strength, significant contributions and notable sacrifices for the continued survival and advancement of APC in Ondo State, we have not been accorded our pride of place over the years. We have been sidelined, abandoned and consigned into the cesspit of neglect.”
Also, the Director of Publicity of Lucky Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organisations Foot Soldiers, Kayode Fasua, said, “The governor’s profile of achievements should intimidate the intimidatable and has been fascinating, and many and many are willing to join the winning train but we keep focused.
“In the long run, we are all brothers and sisters; we are in the same political family of the APC.”
Fasua said Aiyedatiwa is not stepping down for any other aspirant.
“Naturally, last-minute talks will take place among the aspirants. The governor is the best candidate for the party considering his sterling performance in just 74 days in office. Other contenders are likely to step down for him. However, the coming primary election is the benchmark and Governor Aiyedatiwa looks good to win,” Fasua told The Point on Tuesday
Also, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Ebenezer Adeniyan confirmed the development, saying they had been discussing with those concerned.
“Discussions are still ongoing but no decision yet,” the CPS stated.
In his comments, the spokesperson for the Wale Akinterinwa Campaign Organisations, Segun Ajiboye, confirmed the alignment, saying many aspirants were willing to join their camp.
Ajiboye said, “We are having many aspirants with us. This is because our principal (Akinterinwa) is busy building bridges. He is the most experienced among the aspirants in terms of public service. We have some who are professional contestants; they have experience in contesting but no experience in public service. That is the fact.”
Similarly, the Olusola Oke Campaign Organisation confirmed that its camp was gathering momentum already as one of the aspirants had already stepped down for Oke, anticipating that more aspirants would still join their camp.
The spokesperson of the campaign organisation, Ojo Oyewamide said, “For now, it is only Ayodeji Oritedi among the aspirants that has openly stepped down for Chief Olusola Oke. He announced his decision to step down as the leading aspirant about a week ago.
“We are still expecting some other aspirants to follow the same path because that’s the way to go for every Ondo State indigene who desires the best for the state. Also, very soon, some critical stakeholders in the party will make their minds known.”
Exercise ‘ll be credible, says APC chairman
For now, the Ondo State APC chairman, Ade Adetimehin has expressed optimism that the primary would be credible, free and fair saying the party was fully prepared.
He however urged the aspirants to play the game according to the rules and should abide by the results of the primary in good faith.
“As a father of all, I think Ondo State is lucky to have all the sound people coming out. At the end of the primary, APC would present the best candidate that would win the governorship election for us. I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the aspirants to support whoever emerges as the candidate of the APC. All of us are members of the same family. We should all work towards ensuring the party retains the governorship seat.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission had fixed this month (April) for all political parties in Ondo State to conduct their primaries.
The commission also scheduled November 16, this year for the governorship poll, hence the rigorous preparation by politicians and parties towards winning the election.
Recently, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola, disclosed that 19 political parties notified the commission about their interest in participating in the November governorship poll.
According to her, some of the parties include the All Progressives Congress, the People’s Democratic Party, the Accord Party, the Action Alliance, the African Action Congress, the African Democratic Congress, the African Democratic Party, and the All Progressives Grand Alliance.
Others are the Allied Peoples Movement, the Action Peoples Party, the Boot Party, the Labour Party, the New Nigeria Peoples Party, the National Rescue Movement, the Peoples Redemption Party, the Social Democratic Party, the Youth Party, the Young Progressives Party and the Zenith Labour Party.
As the race is ongoing it is on record that the APC has the highest number of governorship aspirants.
Some of the frontline aspirants are Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa; a former Commissioner for Finance, Wale Akinterinwa; a former member of the House of Representatives, Mayowa Akinfolarin, a former Special Adviser to Governor Akeredolu on Health, Prof Francis Faduyile and the National Vice Chairman of the APC (South West), Isaacs Kekemeke.
Among them are also a former governorship aspirant of the APC, Olusola Oke, former Chairman of the Ondo State Oil-producing Areas Development Commission, Gbenga Edema, the senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District, Jimoh Ibrahim and a retired army officer, Brig. Gen. Olamide Ohunyeye (retd.)
The APC National Secretariat in Abuja, which has raked in millions of naira from the sales of nomination forms and the expression of interest forms to the aspirants, has shown its readiness for the primary, having set up a nine-man committee to conduct the exercise.
