Ondo election 2016: The battle of SANs

Editor’s note: Both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have produced two Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) as flag bearers in the Ondo state November governorship election.

Naij.com’s content editor, Oluwatobi Bolashodun writes about the emergence of both SANs and examines the struggle for power in Ondo state.

On November 26, the two legal luminaries will battle to become the next governor of  Ondo state, as the electorate will decide the fate of Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) of the PDP and Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) of the APC.

Who wins between the two legal giants? Only time will tell.

Jegede and Akeredolu have a few things in common. They are both senior colleagues who have paid their dues in the legal profession. The two lawyers are Senior Advocates of Nigeria. At different times, they both served as Ondo state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.

After weeks of postponements, the Ondo state chapter of the APC over the weekend held their governorship primaries which lead to the emergence of Rotimi Akeredolu, as its candidate.

READ ALSO: Edo election: PDP accuses INEC of favouring APC

Akeredolu’s emergence is coming less than two weeks after the victory of Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) as the candidate of the PDP for the November gubrnatorial poll.

Akeredolu, a former Chairman of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), pulled a total of 669 votes to defeat Segun Abraham who got 635 votes. Jigawa state governor,  Badaru Abubakar , supervised the election primaries.

Twenty-four candidates jostled for the APC governorship ticket in Akure. They are Olusola Oke – 576 votes, Ajayi Borrofice- 471 votes, Tayo Alasoadura- 206 votes, Bode Ayorinde- 67 votes, Jumoke- Ajasin Anifowose- one vote, Tunji Ariyomo- two votes, Tunji Abayomi- five votes, Afemi Mayowa- 13 votes, Adegbomire Adebiyi- 8 votes, Adekunle Adekunle- eight votes, Ayo Akinyelure- three votes and Jamiu Afolabi, 44 votes, Ademola Adegoroye- 0 votes, Bukola Adetula – eight votes, Foluso Adefemi – 13 votes, Victor Olabimtan- 18 votes and Boye Oyewumi – seven votes.

A total of 2774 delegates were accredited to vote during the exercise which was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In the 2012 governorship election in the state Akeredolu was the flag bearer of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). He came third, training Governor Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party (LP) and Olusola Oke of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)

Whereas Jegede emerged candidate of the PDP in its primary held also in Akure, where he polled a total of 760 votes to defeat, Saka Lawal who scored 22 votes.

No fewer than 840 delegates from 203 wards in the state participated in the primary election.

The election which was conducted by the Chairman of the electoral committee and governor of Bayelsa state, Seriake Dickson was observed by INEC officials, Security personnel, journalists and various electoral observers.

READ ALSO: Jimoh Ibrahim wins factional PDP primary election

The 2016 Ondo state governorship election will be keenly contested interestingly for a good number of reasons.

One, the state is one of the two states still under the control of the PDP, out of the six in the South West geo-political zone. As one of the states lost by the progressives since 2003, they have not relented in their efforts to regain its control ever since.

While both candidates are struggling for power, their parties are facing serious crisis at both ends. The Ondo state of the PDP appears to be fragmented as the two factions, led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi and Senator Modu Sheriff, are fighting for control.

Although the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recognised Jegede as the authentic candidate, the factional candidate, Jimoh Ibrahim, who is backed by Sheriff, is kicking against his candidature.

Governor Olusegun Mimiko is in charge of the party in the state, although there are protests against his style of party management since he defected from the Labour Party (LP) to the PDP.

On the other hand, following Akeredolu’s victory, a deluge of mixed reactions trailed the exercise with some stakeholders commending the process and congratulating the winner while others refused to be too enthusiastic.

READ ALSO: APC aspirant Ekungba reportedly calls Ondo people bastards

According to analysts the ondo state gubernatorial election is very important to Mimiko, as some people believe that the Ondo state governor is still the main issue. Although Jegede is the candidate. He became the anointed candidate, based on his competence and track record as a commissioner.

However, as both leading political parties continue in their campaigns and other activities ahead of the November 26 governorship election in the state, it is evident that as matters stand today, one of the these two lawyers cum-politicians will surely emerge as the next governor of the state.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial policy of Naij.com.

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