Ondo: Guber Battle Intensifies, Opposition Against Akeredolu Collapses

By Faith Okoli

The groundswell of opposition against the re-election bid of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo state appears to be falling apart.

Last week, a group, Unity Forum, headed by Ali Olanusi, a former deputy in the state, announced Olusola Oke as the consensus APC candidate for the September governorship election.

But few days after, some members of the group have said they have nothing to do with that decision, insisting that Oke had a pact with Governor Akeredolu to support him back to the Alagbaka Government House as a two-time governor.

Ajayi Borofice, a senator leading the support for the state’s helmsman bid for re-election said Oke has proven to be a traitor after reneging on his earlier support for the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN to get re-elected for another four-year term.

But oke, a former governorship candidate of the PDP is not ready to back down on the mandate, he claimed, the Unity Forum, conferred on him as APC flag-bearer for the upcoming election.

The Chief Olusola Oke Campaign Organisation, on Sunday, in Akure the state capital, in a statement described the allegation that he had any pact with Governor Akeredolu as false.

The statement signedby the coordinator of the group, Rotimi Ogunleye, Senator Boroffice, a member of the Unity Forum is only trying to undermine the decision of the forum’s members to return Oke as APC guber candidate.

Ogunleye said the claim that Oke had a pact with the governor to support him for another term is untrue.

The statement said “We have listened to the complaints and issues raised by some governorship aspirants in the APC Unity Forum and one of the leaders of the forum, Senator Ajayi Boroffice.

While it is the legitimate right of any member of the forum to make comment about the report, we wish to express deep concern about the statement made by Senator Ajayi Boroffice, who on a radio programme alleged that the adopted aspirant of the Unity Forum, Chief Oke, has a pact with Governor Akeredolu; that Chief Oke will step down in a week to the APC primary.

The senator alleged further that Akeredolu has promised to hand over to him in return.”

Borofice is just trying to rubbish the integrity of Oke by peddling falsehood against him.

The statement further said “The Olusola Oke Campaign Organisation takes exemption to the statement made by the distinguished Senator. There is no iota of truth in the statement.

It is meant to denigrate the person of Chief Olusola Oke. The senator and indeed everybody know that only God has the power of the promise of the future. It lies not in the hands of man.

While we will not begrudge him for expressing dissent opinion about the decision of the leadership of the forum, we are unable to accept a statement which Senator Boroffice knew or ought to know was a blatant falsehood.

Why the distinguished senator chose to peddle such unfortunate and unfounded falsehood is yet unknown to us.”

The Oke Campaign Organisation said it will abide by the final decision of the party on the issue.

We “wish to state unequivocally that we shall respect the leaders of APC and we shall not waiver on our commitment to the collective struggle of the Unity Forum,” it said.

Meanwhile, Segun Abraham, a leading APC governorship aspirant has disclosed that he’s not part of the decision to make Oke the party’s consensus candidate.

He described Oke as a political harlot that cannot be trusted with the party’s mandate.