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Ahead of the April 20 governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State, party elders, under the aegis of Ondo APC Aborigines, have endorsed Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa as their preferred aspirant.
The endorsement was however rejected by the campaign organisations of two other frontline APC governorship aspirants, Wale Akinterinwa and Olusola Oke.
During their meeting held in Akure, the APC elders said that they settled for Aiyedatiwa because he was rated highest among the Ondo APC governorship aspirants.
The group’s chairman and a former Ambassador to Togo, Sola Iji, announced their choice of Aiyedatiwa.
Iji said, “During our meeting, we unanimously agreed to set up a nine-man committee headed by Honourable (Mrs) Christy Olufowose to identify the various aspirants jostling for the ticket of our party; assess them, using some well-thought-out criteria, and present three of them for further consideration by the leadership of the group.
“In our last meeting, the committee submitted their report wherein Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Honourable Wale Akinterinwa and Dr Paul Akintelure were recommended.
“Furthermore, the group mandated its leadership to have further consultation and deliberations in arriving at the choice of our preferred aspirant.
Consequently, the leadership of the group met, reviewed the report of the committee and considered the three recommended aspirants qualified and worthy.
“However, in contriving the choice of our preferred aspirant, the leaders believed that it is normal and conventional to offer the right of first refusal to His Excellency, Honourable Lucky Aiyedatiwa as a sitting governor.”
Iji said the choice of Aiyedatiwa was informed by his performance as governor in less than 100 days.
“By this decision, we are determined to deploy our numerical strength and resources to ensure the victory of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa at the primary. It is our fervent belief that Governor Aiyedatiwa’s candidature will position our party for a resounding victory at the general election and engender good governance in the state,” Iji said.
However, the Wale Akinterinwa Campaign Organisation has described the action of elders as biased saying some of them had earlier declared support for Aiyedatiwa openly.
In a statement titled ‘Who is fooling who?’, the spokesperson for the group, Mr Segun Ajiboye, described the decision of the APC elders as warped.
“How could these elders have been fair to other aspirants when they, indeed have before now declared their support for Aiyedatiwa?” Ajiboye queried.
Similarly, the spokesperson for the Olusola Oke Campaign Organisation, Mr Ojo Oyewamide, rubbished the endorsement by the APC elders.
Oyewamide said, “The truth is that the Aborigines are well-known supporters of Governor Aiyedatiwa. They had openly endorsed the governor before now. What they have just done is no news to us. Their choice does not amount to that of the party.”
