JUST IN: No Ondo politician beat my credentials, says PDP gov candidate
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The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the forthcoming election in Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi, has said no politician matches his credentials and experience in the state.
Ajayi disclosed this while speaking on Channels Television Programme, Politics Today, on Tuesday.
Reeling out what distinguishes him from other politicians in the state, the former deputy governor boasted that he is not scared of Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s incumbency power because many incumbent governors have been defeated in the past.
Aiyedatiwa is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the election.
Ajayi said, “I started politics at a very tender age. I was a ward chairman in my local government and later the secretary of the ward. Then, I became a supervisory councillor twice, after which I became chairman of a tier committee in my local government, Ese-Odo. Later, I was elected as the council chairman for another three years. I was elected to House of Reps from 2007 to 2011. And then I became a deputy governor. I have a track record.
“As a matter of fact, with due respect to political leaders in Ondo State, I have never seen anybody who must have gotten through these stages and beat my credentials in Ondo politics.
“I did my best when I served as a deputy governor, and this is one of the credentials that stands me out. People know I have the capacity, and my name is a household name in Ondo State.
“I wasn’t able to do some things that I wanted to do because of the constitutional limitations of my office. The National Assembly should do something about it by spelling out the constitutional roles of the offices of the Vice President and deputy governor to make them more relevant.”
Speaking on why Eyitayo Jegede wasn’t contesting, Agboola said it was the south’s turn to produce the next governor of the state.
“The late Governor Akeredolu is from Ondo North. Ordinarily, he was supposed to spend eight years, but we want to believe that it is still his tenure. Former Governor Olusegun Mimiko from the Central spent eight years. Now, it is the turn of the South. That’s why, if you look at the two major political parties, the contestants are from the south.
“Eyitayo and I are friends; we are talking. He was supposed to be in my programme today but was unavoidably absent,” he said.
He, however, declined comment on the feud between him and the late Akeredolu that led to his eventual replacement as deputy governor.
“We disagreed. He was a nice man. He’s not alive today, and I don’t want to talk about him, so we should allow him to rest,” he said.
Asked how he intends to govern the state, the PDP governorship candidate said he would not govern Ondo with the Federal Government’s allocation after four years of emerging as governor, adding that he would turn the state into an economically viable one.
"I am from a riverine area. As governor, I would provide massive infrastructure to link the sea. Once that is done, our sea is much longer and deeper than Lagos State’s, which gives us leverage to make more money from it.
“Our sea is untapped. I will link the sea with the rail. We will let vessels and commercial trains that would be carrying heavy loads reduce the influx of trailers spoiling our road every day. We will make money, and the government will be doing very well,” he added.
Earlier, the PDP presented a Certificate of Return to Ajayi.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission has set November 16, 2024, as the scheduled date for the state’s election.
Credited: The Punch
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