Ahead of the governorship election slated for November 2024 in the state, notable leaders in Ondo State have stressed the need for the other zones to allow Ondo South to produce the next governor of the state.
A former senior special assistant to the late governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on oil and gas, Dr. Benson Enikuomehin, who spoke on behalf of the leaders at a press conference in Lagos, argued that conceding the next governor to Ondo South will help to correct the prevailing political imbalance in the state to guarantee justice, equity, fairness and peace for all segments of the state.
The popular lawyer and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who is an indigene of the state appealed to the leadership of the two major political parties in the forthcoming election to support candidates from Ilaje which is in Ondo South and also the backbone of economic growth in the state.
He said though the incumbent Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa is eminently qualified to continue in office, the fears of the people in the zone is that he could only spend a term going by the amendments in the constitution that says, “Once you succeed, your boss, you can only spend a term because the constitution talks about two terms of eight years.
I am speaking on behalf of notable leaders of Ondo State, providence has thrown up Aiyedatiwa as the Governor at this moment and we are not quarrelling with that. Assuming that the providence would allow him to do two terms, it would have been better. We will be shortchanged if Aiyedatiwa is allowed to contest.’’
Enikuomehin said Chief Olusola Oke towered above other aspirants from Ondo South because of his pedigree, saying, “Chief Oke is the only one among the aspirants who is not having any political appointment now, and he is financing his campaign.
‘’We cannot allow a greenhorn to run the state. When I listened to Oke’s manifesto and what he promised to do, it’s very extensive, and it shows that he understands what the issues are.’’
He, however, stressed that aside from the fact that Oke has contested the governorship election in the past, he has the antecedent to win the election for the party.
Harping on why Ondo South should be considered, he said the former Governor Olusegun Mimiko from Ondo Central spent eight years and was followed by Akeredolu, from Ondo North who spent almost eight years before his death. So the South deserves eight unbroken years”.
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