By Ayodele Oni, Akure
The Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), in Ondo State says the orderly and peaceful way its candidate for October 20 governorship poll emerged is causing sleepless night for Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and the All Progressives Congress, (APC).
Barrister Eyitayo Jegede, a two term Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state emerged as the flag bearer of PDP, defeating six others, including the Deputy Governor, Mr Agboola Ajayi.
The PDP was reacting to a statement credited to the state governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu through the state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Donald Ojogo, that the exercise was violent and that certain unnamed facilities at the venue of the event, the Dome, were destroyed.
Publicity secretary of PDP in the state, Mr Zado Akintoye pointed out that the governor should realise that as attestation to the peaceful conduct of the primary poll, virtually all those who contested against the winner of the election issued respective statements, commending the peaceful conduct of the PDP primary election.
“Besides, not a single word of complaint has so far been expressed by the management of the state-owned event centre, that there was damage of any sort, at the facility.
“The information commissioner’s expression, on behalf of the governor, quite ridiculously serves as sheer recapitulation of the age-long saying that, ‘Before the farm owner gets the time to blow the whistle, the thief is accusing the owner of the farm of stealing’.
“Otherwise, how would one describe the orgies of violent acts unleashed on perceived strongholds of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by heavily armed thugs, fighting the cause of the governor.”
The PDP maintained that if there is anyone promoting thuggery, it is Aketi’s desperate party, the APC, under his leadership.
“Fact is; Aketi is afraid of PDP’s Eyitayo Jegede’s emergence and it is understandable. If he’s a man of honour, he should just withdraw from the race and stop wasting the scarce resources of Ondo State on a project that is destined to fail.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Akeredolu should send his sleuths to town, to see how the common people are exultant, that a liberator in Eyitayo Jegede has come, PDP further claimed.
But the APC laughs off the claims. In 2016, Akeredolu defeated the same Jegede. So the party says it is losing no sleep over his emergence, describing him as a perennial loser.
