The conclusion of the governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) respectively has produced candidates who served as Deputy Governor to the late former Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.
Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the incumbent Governor of Ondo State and the candidate of the ruling party, was the Deputy Governor of Akeredolu until his death on December 27, 2023. Aiyedatiwa became Deputy Governor during the second term of the late former Governor.
Meanwhile, Hon. Agboola Ajayi, who emerged as the Governorship candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was also the Deputy Governor to the late Akeredolu during his first term in office.
Starnews NG reports that Aiyedatiwa and Agboola, who hail from the same Ondo South, suffered the same fate of impeachment while occupying the deputy governorship seat. There were impeachment attempts on the duo after things obviously fell apart, but the attempts were futile.
These two former deputies have emerged as candidates of their parties and will slug it out in the November 2024 election.
But the narrative hovering around the political atmosphere of the state concerns the issue of spending four years and eight years. Constitutionally, Aiyedatiwa cannot sit on the exalted seat for more than four years, as opposed to Agboola Ajayi who is privileged to enjoy the “Power” for eight years.
Political watchers believe that the four years of Aiyedatiwa would cause the Southern District not to stay in power for eight years. It is believed that if Aiyedatiwa should finish his tenure, people from the Central District would be eyeing the seat of the Governor.
Which way to go?
Starnews NG, as a credible and unbiased medium, believes that duration should be conspicuously sacrificed for competence. The duration doesn’t matter; who would develop the state should be the yardstick for voting for the next governor.
This medium also urges Aiyedatiwa and Agboola not to replicate their harrowing ordeal with whoever becomes their Deputy. They should not treat the next Deputy Governor harshly.
They should bear in mind that the last two political unrests in the state, caused by the divisiveness in the cabinet during the first term and the second term frosty relationship between Akeredolu and his Deputies, nearly plunged the entire state into turmoil. If the same thing should reverberate again, then one of them has not learnt the principle of ephemerality of power. Power is transient!
We also urge people from the Southern Senatorial District to eschew political animosity, acrimony, and violence because both contestants will later imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship at the end of the election. Only the followers would bear the brunt.
However, both Aiyedatiwa and Agboola should tread softly and ask their supporters to campaign with love. The district may be wiped out politically and christen the state a bad appellation if the candidates refuse to sensitize their hard-to-crack supporters.
The two candidates are from the southern part of the state, as said above. Whichever way the pendulum of victory swings on November 16, 2024, besides the interest of the PDP and APC who are the two major political parties, Starnews NG reports that the good people of Ondo South Senatorial District of the state have nothing to lose. So, we advise the election should be devoid of rancour and violence.
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