The die is cast as the people of Ondo brace for the October 10, 2020 governorship election. And the electorate have a clear choice in spite of the number of candidates jostling for the governorship seat. The man they would overwhelmingly cast their votes for is none other than the incumbent governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who has been piloting the affairs of the state with tremendous success since February 24, 2017, having won the primary election of the All Progressives Congress on September 2, 2016 and the governorship election on November 26, 2016 respectively. Just like the keenly contested elections in 2016, he is the standard bearer of the APC for the election on October 10.
He fought a battle that saw him clinch the governorship ticket of his party, defeating his opponents by a wide margin in the primary election of July 20 which was widely adjudged as free and fair. The majority of delegates from the 18 local government areas of the state pitched their tents with Akeredolu, thus giving him victory.
Before the party primary, there were all sorts of distractions designed to undermine the re-election bid of Akeredolu. The major distractions were the defection of his deputy, Agboola Ajayi, from the ruling APC to the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party, and the resignation of the former Secretary to the State Government, Ifedayo Abegunde. Ajayi’s desire was ostensibly to actualise his ambition of becoming the governor of the state. But the ambition crashed like a pack of cards when he ran for the PDP ticket and was defeated by Eyitayo Jegede.
Despite his defeat, Ajayi is still running from pillar to post seeking where to actualise his ambition. At the beginning, the rumour was thick that he was going to the SDP. As of the time of writing, there was speculation that he had concluded plans to join the Zenith Labour Party, having visited the arrow head of the party and the former governor of the state, Dr Rahman Olusegun Mimiko, in his home town, Ondo and as well met with Alhaji Alli Olanusi.
However, Akeredolu has brushed aside these distractions by appointing another formidable Akure-born Temitayo Oluwatuyi as the new SSG and settled for a homegrown politician, Mr Lucky Orimisan Ayedatiwa, as his running mate. Ayedatiwa was commissioner and representative of the state on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission.
A pointer to how the October 10 election will look like are the deft moves by Akeredolu for reconciliation with aggrieved co-aspirants, party leaders and members immediately after the primary election. Aketi, as the governor is popularly called, has been extending the olive branch to everyone in the APC. He is visiting, receiving and meeting all the party stakeholders in his genuine desire to work and win together to continue to develop the state. Without mincing words, Akeredolu is determined for real and truthful reconciliation!
As the campaign gathers steam, candidates of the 17 political parties participating in the election have been talking tough even though most of them know they are no match for the incumbent who had defeated all the candidates that contested against him in 2016. Among them is Jegede who is contesting again as the standard bearer of the PDP. Just as they proved to be no match for him in 2016, because most of them are just pretenders masquerading as contenders, history will certainly repeat itself on October 10 when they shall taste the bitterness of defeat once again.
Indeed, what the electorate in Ondo need to do is adhere to the principle of not changing a winning team. They have to re-elect Akeredolu, the head of the team, for sustainable development and continuity in 2021. The governor’s impeccable records of governance speak for him ahead of the election. The 4+4 programme with AKETI as an acronym anchored on Agriculture, Knowledge, Entrepreneurship, Technology, and Infrastructure, is a road map for the sustained existing developmental stride in Ondo State. By the time the Ondo Deep Seaport in Ilaje is inaugurated, a new vista of economic prosperity will be unleashed in the state. With the largest coastline, the port will facilitate the quick evacuation of goods to the eastern corridor of Onitsha in Anambra State since it is less than two hours drive from Ilaje to one of the largest commercial hubs in the South-East. The presence of the port will lead to massive industrialisation and agricultural revolution with the attendant value chain.
Ondo has one of the largest bitumen deposits in the world and the largest in Africa, and its full exploitation and production will bring about unprecedented internally generated revenue to the state. The arrival of the equipment at the instance of the Federal Government for the production of bitumen is commendable. An indigenous company, the South West Bitumen Exploration Limited, is to commence the modular exploitation of the bitumen deposits and is targeting an output of 50,000 tonnes monthly at its facility at Lamidifa in Irele LGA. Though some think bitumen exploration in Ondo State is a political gimmick because of election, the timeline for the execution of the project shows the seriousness attached to the project and a practical demonstration that the project has come to stay.
The timeline also includes: July 19, 2017 – FG announces it will be issuing Exploration licence at Presidential Economic Diversification Initiative conference in Akure; October 23, 2017 – Exploration licence awarded. This licence is different from the ones owned by state owned firm, BEECON; November 7, 2017: President Buhari shows full commitment to bitumen exploration project in the budget speech; May 18, 2018: First ever mining lease granted to mine bitumen in Nigeria granted to SWB; September 2018, South West Bitumen engages state to facilitate MoU with host community, Petu, in Irele. SWB pays millions in compensation to host communities.
Also included are September 2018: South West Bitumen commences development of Centre for Bitumen Research & development at the Federal University of Technology Akure; January 24, 2019: State government facilitates the issuance of C of O to South West Bitumen for designated mining areas; June 14, 2019: South West Bitumen presents project update to the governor on activities to date; November 2019: SWB begins the preparation of company yard for equipment and production; and August 2020: SWB invites state to inspect facility and equipment to commence production.
Oladimeji is a Senior Special Assistant on Publications to the Governor of Ondo State
