WITH the Ondo State Governorship Election out of the way, political analysts have said that the implication of the victory of the All Progressives Congress’ Governor Rotimi Akeredolu goes beyond the confines of the state, as it has set the stage for the redefinition of power blocs in the ruling party.
Akeredolu was declared winner of the October 10, 2020 Governorship Election, with a total of 292,830 votes, against the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Eyitayo Jegede, who polled 195,791 votes in total.
The Deputy Governor of the state and candidate of the Zenith Labour Party, Agboola Ajayi, clinched the third position with 69,127 votes.
Analysts, who spoke in separate interviews with The Point in Akure, on Monday, said, unlike in the September 19 Edo State Governorship Election, all key stakeholders of the APC, including the Governors, treated Ondo State like a battlefield that required all hands on deck.
This, according to them, strengthened the Akeredolu camp in spite of what they described as negative narratives around his previous four years in office.
Moreover, they said the PDP’s Jegede was also well loved and had many people rooting for him to win the election.
“All the main strikers of the APC had been in town with key players of their individual teams, one week before the election, studying the ground and working on victory strategies. If the PDP governors put in that much effort, the election would definitely have been closer than what we saw,” Ade Adeyemo, a political analyst from Akure South Local Government Area of the state, told our correspondent.
He said, “I would tell you that the Ondo election has redefined who is who in the ruling party, and we should expect to see more changes in dynamics as their Congress approaches.
“It is clear that former Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Fayemi and other governors have proved a point with the Ondo election. Amosun was here with all his boys for a whole week. It was like he was the one contesting the election. Other governors also intimidated everyone here with their presence.”
For Francis Aderinokun, a public affairs analyst from Ekiti State, the National Leader of APC, Bola Tinubu, needs to do a lot of work to reclaim his hold on the South West.
Aderinokun, a resident of Ondo Town, in the state, said, “Did you listen to one of the victory speeches by Akeredolu, where he was thanking the governors. You could read between the lines. Though he appreciated everybody, he singled out the former Governor of Ogun State, Amosun. He even used his Oriki (praise poetry) to thank him.
“Governor Kayode Fayemi was an epitome of a good leader. He made sure the governors truly rallied round the candidate. Unlike in the PDP, they stood together till they won. That should send a signal that a new and daring power bloc has emerged in APC, and all this is targeted at 2023 presidential election, I tell you.”
While many have frowned at the incidence of vote buying at the polls, some others said all the main contenders, including Zenith Labour Party, which came distant third in the exercise, were guilty.
In a piece published in The Point on Sunday, titled, ‘On the Ondo election’, Segun Showunmi, spokesperson for the Presidential Candidate of the PDP in the 2019 election, Atiku Abubakar, said the high level of temporary loyalty purchase that had become a disturbing factor in Nigeria’s elections “must call us all to a sober reflection as to the overall cost of elections and the extreme monetisation of democracy.”
“No party can or should imagine it can win all the time. We were outmanoeuvred and outspent. I am sure great lessons must have been learnt and care would be taken in the future to improve on our election management techniques,” he told the National Working Committee of the PDP.
Akeredolu of the APC won in 15 out of the 18 Local Government Areas of Ondo State, while Jegede of the PDP won in three LGAs.
Jegede, however, proved his popularity in his base, Akure, defeating his main contender with 33,067 votes.
In Akure South, he got 47,627 votes to defeat Akeredolu, who had 17, 277 votes. Zenith Labour Party got 3,623 votes; while in Akure North, Akeredolu had 9,546 votes; Jegede, 12,263; and Agboola Ajayi, 1,046 votes.
The Point had reported that the election week was tension-soaked as the PDP candidate appeared to have been ahead in opinion polls, especially in Akure, the state capital. But supporters of the APC had been confident that the party and its candidate would emerge victorious in the poll on Saturday.
How the Ondo election would shape events in the ruling party would become clearer in the days ahead, observers said.
