The election in Ondo State has come and gone. Painful as it is, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu of the APC has been declared as winner of the October 10 election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to the electoral umpire, the APC candidate and incumbent Governor of Ondo State polled 292,830 to defeat Eyitayo Jegede, candidate of our Party, the PDP, who polled 195,791 and Agboola Ajayi of ZLP who garnered a measly 69,130 votes.
For most observers of events in the Sunshine State in the last four years and Akeredolu’s constant flip-flops, the outcome of the election in Ondo State sure leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.
As genuine democrats nonetheless, we must accept the unimpeachable fact that in the contest for political office there will always be a winner and a loser. While the jury is still out on what could have gone wrong for the PDP, we can in the interim interrogate one major fallout from the Ondo election.
It is no longer news that the former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose and His Excellency, Engr. Seyi Makinde, incumbent Governor of Oyo State are locked in a battle of wits over the composition of the Party Executives in Ekiti State.
Since Makinde took a contrary but nonetheless ennobling position on the Congress in Ekiti which produced two parallel Executives, Fayose has made a habit of attacking the Governor at every turn of opportunity.
Thus it came as no surprise when Fayose’s cap was removed by an unidentified hoodlum during the grand finale of the PDP rally in Akure few days to the election, the former governor, without a scintilla of evidence, pointedly accused Governor Seyi Makinde and Chief Olabode George as the masterminds.
While the Governor has since responded to Fayose’s unwarranted and baseless accusation through his Media Adviser, my appeal is to all PDP members and the general public to focus more on the character and antecedents of both men to better appreciate the current faceoff.
Recall how former governor Ayo Fayose in the twilight of his administration in Ekiti State nearly decimated the PDP in his self-serving attempt to impose Olushola Eleka, his erstwhile deputy as his successor despite virulent opposition by the majority of Party members in the State.
Prominent Stakeholders like Senator Dayo Adeyeye who could neither stand Fayose’s excesses nor pander to his whims and caprices simply jumped ship. Others like the fearless Amazon, Senator Abiodun Olujimi stayed put but lifted no finger in support of Eleka at the polls.
Needless to say that the PDP lost the 2018 governorship election in Ekiti State to the APC as a result of the former governor’s overbearing attitude and authoritarian style of politics. Indeed if democracy, as handed down through the years, is truly about consultation and consensus building, to what then can we attribute Fayose’s present disposition.
Since assuming office as Governor of Oyo State on May 29, 2019, Engr. Seyi Makinde has without any iota of doubt emerged as the poster boy of the PDP in the Southwest, thanks to his outstanding performance and carriage in public office.
As the only Governor from the Southwest elected on the platform of the PDP, fate bestowed the leadership of the Party in the Zone on his youthful but broad shoulders at a most difficult time. An assignment in which His Excellency, Engr Seyi Makinde has so far shown remarkable courage and determination for which every right thinking member of the PDP ought to be grateful.
I do not intend to dwell too much on rumours making the rounds that former governor Ayodele Fayose might be working in cahoots with a prominent National Leader of the APC from the Southwest to destabilize and subsequently weaken the PDP as part of permutations for 2023.
Frankly speaking though, one cannot put anything beyond the former Ekiti governor whose penchant for mischief is legendary. This precisely is why the leadership of the PDP at the National level must be wary of Fayose in his current faceoff with Governor Seyi Makinde who many acknowledge is doing a great job of uniting the Party and promoting the ideals of democracy and good governance in Oyo State and the Southwest.
Eternal vigilance as they say, is the price of liberty!
