Although 17 candidates would be contesting this the election, one of the three major candidates will win the election.
He hails from Owo in Owo Local Government Area in the Ondo North senatorial district.
He debuted his gubernatorial ambition in 2012 on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria. He only won in three of the 18 local council areas in the state, losing the election to the then incumbent governor, Olusegun Mimiko, who is the first person to have completed two terms of eight years as a democratically elected governor of the state.Since the country returned to civil rule in 1999, only few incumbent governors have lost re-election.
Almost all the major political parties in the country are guilty of this cardinal sin, most especially since 2015, when other means of rigging elections, such as arbitrarily stuffing ballot boxes with votes, bizarre allocation of votes to a particular candidate, and ballot snatching seem to have receded.Another major factor that may tilt the election in favour of Governor Akeredolu is that his party, the APC, appears to be united, going into the election.
The Ore Industrial Hub, Ondo Liyin Hub, the Chocolate Factory in Idanre, though run through private public partnerships, are all meant to improve the economic profile of the state beyond its civil service status. He once reportedly told his supporters to pour red oil on the white linen of his erstwhile antagonist, Ajayi Boroffice, a senator representing Ondo North, because of perceived political differences, in spite of belonging to the same political party.
Because of the dispute over the land and the perceived bias of the governor towards the Araromi Obu people, he was also caught on tape saying he would not need the votes of Ikale people to win a second term in office during a visit to Mr Faduyile’s palace. Mr Akeredolu denied the allegation on October 4, during a live debate organised by Ondo State Radiovision Corporation for four gubernatorial candidates ahead of the October 10 polls. He called on anyone who has any evidence of such an allegation to bring it forward.
The people are saying that without electricity in their area, they won’t vote him for a second term in office. He, however, said the governor may lose in Idanre because of the soaring popularity of the ZLP in the area.He is the candidate of the PDP. He was the candidate of the same party in 2016 but lost to the incumbent governor.
Mr Akeredolu described him as a worthy opponent, saying ”Eyitayo Jegede is my colleague; he is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria; he is worthy of the office. I cannot see anything wrong with him. He is somebody I have a lot of respect for. He is eminently qualified to be a governor, unlike some people, who are not qualified to be a governor of this state.
Initially believed not to be supporting him because of the silent war of attrition going on in the PDP leading up to the 2023 presidential elections, Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwwal, has now come to publicly to say all PDP governors are rooting for Mr Jegede to win the election.Ordinarily, being in the PDP should give Mr Jegede some leverage as it is a household platform with tentacles in all the nooks and crannies of the state.
Mr Mimiko and Mr Jegede have since parted ways, though the latter tried to reach out to the former recently to see if he could court his support for his latest ambition. Some of those who stayed back and have been drumming support for him are Sola Ebiseni, a former commissioner in the state and Bode Ayorinde, a former federal lawmaker. The latter is from the same town, Owo, as the incumbent governor.
All attempts to make Mr Jegede change Mr Ikengboju as his running mate fell on deaf ears as he insisted on keeping him. Some supporters of the former governor popularly called ‘Iroko’ said they would never support Mr Jegede in the October 10 electionMr Jegede is projected to win Akure North and Akure South, the local councils with the highest voting strength in the state, other things being equal.
Meanwhile, all attempts to impeach him by the State House of Assembly have so far proved abortive, just as the governor and his supporters continue to bash him over what they call an act of betrayal on the part of Mr Ajayi.It should be noted that Mr Ajayi is the only deputy governor in the state who could not be impeached by the state house of assembly on the prompting of the governor.
He was later elected a member of the House of Representatives in 2007 on the platform of the PDP representing Ese-Odo/Ilaje federal constituency and served as the chairperson of the committee on NDDC, one of the so-called ‘juicy’ committees. The allegation against Governor Akeredolu that he has not been fair to the zone in terms of developmental projects also seems to be working in favour of the deputy governor.
A former commissioner for education in the state, Oladunni Odu, reputed to be a grassroots person, is also from the zone, ditto for the current commissioner for education, Femi Agagu, who is believed to have inherited his late elder brother’s vast political dynasty, Olusegun Agagu. There is no doubt, however, that the factor of Mimiko has been adding value to the candidacy of Mr Ajayi.
Apparently coming in defence of Mr Ajayi, Mr Mimiko said recently that all a leader needs to have is a good heart in order to perform. He said a leader must have compassion for his people. He described Mr Ajayi as a compassionate leader.
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