August 19, (THEWILL) – With the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria nation protest out of the way, political parties have resumed their campaigns, which were suspended during the protest, with three major parties standing out among the pack in Edo and Ondo States where upcoming governorship polls hold on September 16 and November 16, 2024, respectively.
These parties are the All Progressives Congress, APC; the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; and the Labour Party, LP.
Meanwhile, there are 17 political parties fielding 34 governorship candidates and their running mates in the two states. The current cumulative figure of voters in the two states is 4,682,086.
As the polls approach, fears of violence over personnel, election materials and voting activities are also growing
The Chairman of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu who is also Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, at a meeting of the committee in Abuja on Wednesday, said, “Concerns have been expressed about the possibility of armed state and non-state actors disrupting the processes.” He called on security agencies to be vigilant.
Deputy-Chairman of ICCES, Nuhu Ribadu, NSA, also spoke in the same tone. Ribadu represented by the Director of Internal Security in the Office of the NSA, Hassan Abdullahi, stressed that any interference with the election would be treated as an assault on the nation’s democratic values.
“President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to peaceful elections is unwavering,” the NSA said, adding, “Anyone attempting to undermine the peaceful conduct of the election will face the full force of the law.”
That same Wednesday in Ondo, the PDP inaugurated a 500-man campaign council to secure victory for its candidate, Agboola Ajayi.
At the inauguration in Akure, the state capital, the Chairman of the National Campaign Council, Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, assured stakeholders that the PDP and Agboola would unseat Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the APC in the same manner that he did in Osun State. A National Vice Chairman of the party (South West), Eddy Olafeso, and a former state chairman of the party, Mr Clement Faboyede, were appointed as Chairman and Director-General, respectively, of the state campaign council.
Adeleke said, “As God did it in Osun State, so He will do it in Ondo. The PDP is a peaceful party; we will engage the opposition in an issue-based campaign.
“The people know what is going on, but it depends on our faith and work. Go back to your place and work for the victory of our party on November 16,” he said.
Reacting, the governorship candidate of the party and former deputy governor of the state, Mr Agboola Ajayi, thanked Adeleke and his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde, for their support for the party, which, he noted, has ensured that, “we claim our mandate here in Ondo State.”
Incumbent Governor Aiyedatiwa is leaving no stone unturned in readiness to claim his mandate. As though to pour cold water on the PDP’s optimism, associates of former Governor Olusegun Mimiko on Thursday defected to the APC and met with Aiyedatiwa.
The defectors include former Chairman of PDP, Hon Ebenezer Alabi, former commissioners, Jide Adejuyigbe, Gboye Adegbenro, Tunde Atere, Ajani Oladipupo, Chief Yele Ogundipe and former members of the House of Representatives, Joseph Akinlaja, Alaba-Lad Ojomo, Kolade Akinjo, Gboluga Ikengboju and a former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Jumoke Akindele.
Other appointees include Eni Akinsola, Funmilola Oluwadare, Solomon Adelegan and Femi Bosede. The defectors told Governor Aiyedatiwa that they had resolved to join the ruling party to help galvanise support for the governor ahead of the November 16 governorship election.
“We the undersigned citizens of Ondo State, associates of the former Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, and political leaders in our own rights, after a series of consultations and discussions, resolved to join and have joined the APC, most of us have resigned from the PDP, they said.
The Labour Party in the state is currently in crisis over the choice of candidate. General Secretary of Afenifere, Chief Olusola Ebisemi and Dr Ayo Olorunfemi are each claiming to be the party’s flag bearer.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, insists that Olorunfemi remains the party’s flagbearer in the November 16 governorship election in the state.
According to Ifoh, “Dr Ayo Olorunfemi, who emerged as the party’s flag bearer in the Ondo state governorship election after its primaries held in Akure in June, remains the authentic candidate of the party in the forthcoming poll. But in his reaction, Ebiseni displayed Olorunfemi’s letter of withdrawal dated July 9, which he claimed was signed by the party’s National Chairman Julius Abure and Secretary, Alhaji Umar Farouk Abraham was addressed to the INEC National Chairman.
EDO STATE
At a town hall meeting organised last weekend in Lagos by a socio-economic group of professionals from Edo State, Unuedo Renaissance, candidates presented their vision and focus on issues that would drive development and improve the lives of the people of Edo State.
The town hall meeting, which the group’s President, Nuhu Yakubu, said was organised to draw attention of the candidates to critical issues and challenges confronting the state and chart a common path for prosperity, had only three candidates in attendance, namely Asue Ighodalo of the PDP, Olumide Akpata of the LP and Osarenren Derek Izedonmwen of the African Democratic Congress, ADC. The meeting, which took place at the Black Diamond Hotel in Lagos, was moderated by the Director of Public Sector, Lagos Business School, Prof. Franklin Ngwu.
For Ighodalo, improving school enrolment and strengthen security, if given the mandate on September 21, was a key mandate to drive the economy of the state
He said the current administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki has a solid foundation, he would build on and restate that his mastery of policymaking in Edo State since 2008 and at the federal level since 2005 were about to be put to use.
On his economic plan and the avenues he would explore to increase the state’s revenue, he said if elected, his administration would attract more investors into the different sectors of the state’s economy, with a focus on agriculture. Other areas he talked on were education, security and governance.
On education, he promised to return schools back to their original owners who have the capacity to provide quality education and provide enough funding at the higher institutions to enable the lecturers to work on solutions to the common problems through research.
Promising to run a government of due process and accountability, Ighodalo added that he would collaborate with the Federal Government to secure the state in addition to training local vigilante groups to protect the people. On his part, the Labour Party’s candidate, Akpata, said: “The people of Edo State have been taken out of the equation. So, the motivation is to return the people to the centre of governance.
“My mission as governor of Edo State is to take our people out of poverty, to take them into prosperity and to create a world-class state. To create an environment where there is truth, trust, fairness, equity and prosperity.” On his part, the governorship candidate of the ADC, Izedonmwen, expressed his commitment to turn things around by implementing ambitious programmes on agriculture, industrialisation and infrastructure.
He said, “There is no reason for any person in Edo to go to bed without eating three-square meals. But today, we see it happening. So, when we come into office by God’s grace, we are going to turn things around and use technology and fresh thinking to cultivate our land primarily for feeding our people and then for export.”
Amos Esele is the Acting Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.
