ONDO: Ajayi chose not to be my deputy, says Jegede

THE candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the October 10 governorship election in Ondo State, Eyitayo Jegede, has given reasons for not picking Agboola Ajayi, the incumbent Ondo State Deputy Governor as his running mate.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Jegede said Ajayi could not have been his running mate because the deputy governor’s ambition was to become a governor.

“Ajayi chose not to be my deputy. His ambition is to be a governor under a political party. He left the APC, came to PDP, defeated in our primary, and went to ZLP.”

Jegede had announced Gboluga Ikengboju as his running mate.  Ikengboju is a member of the House of Representatives, representing Okitipupa/Irele Federal Constituency.

Jegede continued, “I took opinions from virtually everybody. People chose who became my running mate. When a choice is made, we must respect it. One should not allow his ambition to override the choice of the people.

Agbola, who fell out with Akeredolu, the incumbent governor of Ondo, had defected to the PDP from the All Progressives Congress in a bid to secure a governorship ticket.  He was, however, defeated by Jegede in the party’s primary election.

After the defeat, Ajayi said he had fought ‘a good fight’, adding that he would make his next move known in a couple of days.

The deputy governor subsequently left the PDP for Zenith Labour Party, where he was handed the governorship ticket on a platter and made the party’s standard-bearer.

Many people had expected that Jegede and Ajayi would team up against the APC candidate and Ondo governor, Rotimi Akeredolu.  The expectation was based on the political clout of Ajayi shown by the number of votes he was able to garner despite defecting to the party some days to the election.

He also claimed that Ajayi was part of the “failure” of the Akeredolu’s administration that PDP is campaigning against.

“All the policies that we are fighting, the pains we want to end are the product of Akeredolu and his deputy. He was in our party (as a member) for just six weeks. He is a very powerful person and humble, you cannot do away with that.”

If elected, Jegede promised to strengthen the operations of Amotekun in Ondo State.

“Amotekun will stay without political influence. We must protect our people,” he added.

The PDP governorship candidate also said he would reduce the tuition of state-owned tertiary institutions, adding that “funding is not an issue.”