Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
No fewer than ten aspirants are jostling for the governorship ticket of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Tuesday.
Deputy Governor Mr Agboola Ajayi is slugging it out with the former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of the State, Mr Eyitayo Jegede, and the two of them appear to be the major contenders in the race.
Also contesting the governorship primary election on the platform of the party are the former National Vice Chairman (South-West) of the party, Dr Eddy Olafeso, the former Commissioner for Environment, Mr Sola Ebiseni, and a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon Bode Ayorinde
Others are Senator Boluwaji Kunlere, Bamidele Akingboye, Banji Okunomo and Godey Erewa.
Some aspirants had alleged the deputy governor of doctoring the delegates’ list through some members of the primary election committee.
Although the deputy governor denied the allegation, other aspirants alleged that he had given money to some officials of the party to ensure that they do his biddings in the primary election.
The deputy governor, who was the last to join the governorship race, having defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP, was alleged of vote-buying before the primary election.
Jegede, who was the candidate of the party in the 2016 governorship election, boasted that he would win the party’s ticket, saying that he has control of the members of the party.
‘Ajayi is not a threat to my ambition because even his boss, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, was not a threat to me in 2016. I contested against his boss four years ago, so, contesting with him cannot be a difficult thing for me now,’ he said.
Daily Sun reports that many of the governorship aspirants, especially Ajayi and Jegede, have already camped their delegates in undisclosed hotels in Akure to avoid being bought over before the election.