This is indeed an interesting time in Ondo State, widely regarded as the Sunshine State. In the last few days, the political landscape in the state has been characterised by intrigue and intense, high-wired politics. The electorate will troop out on November 16, 2024, to elect a new governor for the state. However, before that date, those eyeing the number one political office in the state must first scale through the hurdle of primaries, where elections will be conducted to determine who flies the flag of the various political parties.

The last governorship election was conducted on October 10, 2020. It was won by Rotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who was running for a second term in office. Sadly, Akeredolu died in a German hospital after a long battle with prostate cancer on December 27, 2023. Shortly after, his deputy, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, was sworn in to complete the remaining year of the administration.

Currently in the APC, 16 governorship aspirants who have secured clearance will, on Saturday, April 20, test their popularity among the party faithful. The 16 aspirants already cleared by the APC Screening Committee include the incumbent Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa; Chief Olusola Oke (SAN); Wale Akinterinwa; Isaacs Kekemeke; Funmilayo Waheed-Adekojo; Folakemi Omogoroye; Olusoji Ehinlanwo; John Odimayo; Senator Jimoh Ibrahim; Oladiran Iyanjan; Mayowa Akinfolarin; Olugbenga Edema; Prof. Adedayo Faduyile; Brigadier-General Felix Ohunyeye (rtd); Morayo Lebi; and Ifeoluwa Oyedele.

All card-carrying members of the APC in Ondo State will have a say in who becomes the standard bearer of the party given the fact that the direct primary method—a process whereby every party member votes for the candidate of their choice to represent the party in an election, has been approved. This, according to analysts, is preferable to the commonly used indirect primary, where delegates (who are mostly financially induced) elect who becomes the candidate of the party.

All the aspirants are qualified in their own rights. Some of them are technocrats who have excelled both in the private and public sectors. However, as a stakeholder in the politics of the state, I strongly believe that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa should be chosen by the faithful in the state to fly the party’s flag in the governorship election.

Examining Akeredolu’s prophecy
When asked why he picked Aiyedatiwa as his running mate for his second term in office, the late Akeredolu said he chose him because of his hard work, dedication, and loyalty. He also said Aiyedatiwa displayed unreserved commitment and support for his political aspirations from the beginning and has been consistent through thick and thin. Aiyedatiwa’s choice as deputy governor was hailed by many associates of the late Akeredolu who do not want a repeat of what happened between the governor and his deputy, Agboola Ajayi, during his first term. One of them even vouched that the governor could sleep with his two eyes closed and his mind at peace if Ayedatiwa was watching over him at night.

To all those who know the late Akeredolu, he was a man not given to making frivolous remarks. Also, he was a forthright leader who will always say things the way they ought to be, no matter whose ox is gored. While many of his governor-colleagues were trying to be in the good books of former president Muhammadu Buhari, Akeredolu bluntly told him he was condoning the activities of Fulani herdsmen who were killing innocent farmers in Ondo State and gave them a seven-day ultimatum to register with the government or leave the state.

Speaking during his inauguration for a second term at the International Culture and Event Centre (The Dome) on February 24, 2021, Akeredolu, while addressing Aiyedatiwa, said, “The name we give our children or the name we bear at times matters a lot. I want to congratulate this man. When they gave you ‘Lucky,’ they knew you would be lucky; now you are lucky. You’re also given ‘Orimisan; only the fortunate get chosen to be deputy governors. You’re fortunate. Even your parents’ names speak volumes: ‘Aiyedatiwa’ (Life is good for us). Your life is good now. You have been loyal; you have been consistent.”

Akeredolu then prophesied that Aiyedatiwa was eminently qualified to take over the administration of Ondo State after the expiration of his second term.

“You’re worthy of this position, and I want to thank you for being considered to complete this journey with us. I have a maximum of four years; maybe you can proceed from there. It is for me now to calm down and for you to grow. I must come down for you to grow; I have done my little bit. So, I congratulate you and your wife. I love you,” he stated.

These are very loaded words. As I have pointed out in some of my X (formerly Twitter posts), that heartfelt statement was the beginning of Aiyedatiwa’s problem in Ondo State, as some stakeholders in the state who have been nursing the ambition to succeed the governor saw it as a direct endorsement. Akeredolu loved and trusted Aiyedatiwa till the end, but those who felt their political ambition would be truncated by those kind words went to town screaming ‘betrayal’! It is worthy of mention here that the fearless Akeredolu never recanted his statement or made any negative remarks concerning Aiyedatiwa until he breathed his last.

Like the highly respected columnist Lasisi Olagunju pointed out in his article ‘Akeredolu, Death Desires, and 2024’ published on January 1, 2024, “Akeredolu, I gathered very reliably, confirmed he had prostate cancer sometime in 2016. He had surgery in Germany in 2019. He was to go for a mandatory follow-up procedure in 2020. But he couldn’t go for that; COVID blocked him as it blocked all of the world for a whole year. That gap in treatment was the twist at the hand of fate. He lost the battle to cancer long before his final breath last week. Could he have helped it? No. That was why he was born; it was his exit path.”.

Akeredolu knew he had a terminal ailment (prostate cancer), which he may not survive. Like the former England football manager, Sven Goran Eriksson, who revealed that he had cancer and has been told he has about a year to live, maybe the doctors treating Akeredolu may have told him he has a few more years to live, and that was why he started making his exit plans—picking a trusted deputy who can continue from where he stopped. I have a feeling his widow, Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, knew about it and was also planning for her political future in case the inevitable happened. That was why, even as the first lady of Ondo State, she went to Imo State in 2022 to contest a senatorial election in Imo East. She accused the Imo state governor, Hope Uzodimma, of imposition and withdrew from the primary. If she had won, she would be in the hallowed chambers of the Senate now.

In September 2022, when the media reported that Akeredolu, upon his return from Germany, sacked all the media aides of Aiyedatiwa, many Nigerians thought the actions were indeed taken by the governor. However, it has been revealed that some powerbrokers in the state who surrounded the late governor were behind all the schisms. They took advantage of the man’s incapacitation and carried out many atrocities in his name, including attempts to remove his loyal and dependable deputy from office, but God frustrated their plans. Some of them, having realised he may not survive the illness, even allegedly forged his signatures to sign many vital documents.

Those plotting Aiyedatiwa’s removal believed that if he succeeds Akeredolu, he will have more influence, resources, and power in the race to get the governorship ticket of the APC. Even many of the lawmakers who were spearheading his impeachment then, have now turned around to endorse him for the governorship election. God’s ways are different from man’s ways.

My message to the Ondo APC faithful is clear: if you really loved the late Akeredolu and you respect his wish for the continuity of the programs he has started, give your vote to Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa. That was the wish of the late governor, and he publicly attested to that while alive. He never said the same about the other aspirants who were making claims that he wanted them as successors.

From the primaries to the main election, may God give the good people of my state, Ondo, the wisdom to choose right, and may the best man win.

Akinsuyi, former Group Politics Editor of the Daily Independent, writes from Akure.
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/04/ondo-2024-why-apc-faithful-should-honour-akeredolus-wish/#:~:text=To%20all%20those%20who%20know,matter%20whose%20ox%20is%20gored.

To defeat a sitting governor in Nigeria is impossible except there are higher godfathers involved. Sanwo vs Ambode

bennybuhari:
To defeat a sitting governor in Nigeria is impossible except there are higher godfathers involved. Sanwo vs Ambode

This Ondo case is different, he had barely consolidated power before the primaries. It's not a good place to be as the incumbent but he may likely win.

Agreed with you. But many of those against him earlier have been endorsing him

FreeStuffsNG:
This Ondo case is different, he had barely consolidated power before the primaries. It's not a good place to be as the incumbent but he may likely win.

Yes, may the best person win. Votes must count

From what I'm seeing, no serious opposition against the governor. Most supporters of Akeredolu have since moved to his side. Power of money

bennybuhari:
To defeat a sitting governor in Nigeria is impossible except there are higher godfathers involved. Sanwo vs Ambode