The race for Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s running mate in the upcoming November 16 governorship election in Ondo State has commenced.
Aiyedatiwa, who received his certificate of return as the APC flagbearer at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Monday following his victory in the April 20 party primary poll, is now faced with the task of selecting a suitable candidate for the deputy governorship position.
Despite claims of irregularities by his opponents during the primary election, the party’s appeal committee dismissed these petitions as unfounded, clearing the way for Aiyedatiwa’s candidacy.
As the race for deputy governor heats up, at least seven APC members from the state’s central senatorial district are actively seeking the position.
According to sources, they include Kehinde Fasoranti, Princess Olawumi Olatunji-Ohwovoriole, Tayo Oluwatuyi (Tukana), Rasak Obe, Prince Kayode Aroloye, Mrs Olubunmi Ademosu, and Barrister Olumuyiwa Adu (Cubana).
To maintain the political zoning arrangement in the state, Aiyedatiwa is unlikely to choose the current Deputy Governor, Dr Olayide Adelami, as his running mate.
Adelami, a seasoned technocrat, was selected by Aiyedatiwa to compensate the Owo in Ondo northern senatorial district, where his late boss, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, hailed from.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that Adelami, who will serve only one year as Deputy Governor following the expiration of the current administration on February 25, 2025, may receive compensation with the Ondo North APC senatorial ticket in 2027.
Political analysts speculate about the chances of various aspirants, with Kehinde Fasoranti, a pharmacist possibly leveraging his father, Pa. Reuben Fasoranti’s relationship with Aiyedatiwa.
However, it is unclear whether the nonagenarian would ask or lobby Aiyedatiwa to choose his son as a running mate.
We learned that Rasak Obe, the commissioner for Energy, has long been positioning himself for the deputy governorship seat, even before the demise of former governor Akeredolu.
A source attributed Obe’s chances to his closeness to Aiyedatiwa, and also noted his proactive stance during Akeredolu’s illness, where he raised concerns over potential signature forgery.
Despite he is a young man, some in Aiyedatiwa’s inner circle regard Obe as overly ambitious.
They are concerned that Aiyedatiwa only has four years to spend if elected and without proper management of his cabinet, those with the ambition to contest the seat in 2028 may disrupt governance.
Both Olatunji-Ohwovoriole and Ademosu, who served in the late Governor Akeredolu’s cabinet, could be capitalising on the growing demand for women’s representation in leadership and elective positions.
Hon. Oluwatuyi, the current Secretary to the State Government (SSG), and Adu are relying heavily on their political clout in Akure to win the position.
However, a party source in Abuja stated that APC national leaders are likely to choose a running mate for Aiyedatiwa.
“The outcome of the Ondo APC governorship election has generated many controversies, and some of these aspirants are not backing down despite the intervention of the party’s national chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje.
“President Tinubu has yet to speak, and I am confident that when he returns from his trip, he will invite the aggrieved to appeal to them, as he did after the Edo State APC primary election.
“We do not want the APC to go into the November 16 election as a divided house, so the party may bait the aggrieved aspirants by allowing them to choose a running mate from their own camp.
“The source revealed that party leaders employed a similar strategy in Lagos State in 2019. They chose Femi Hamzat, the current deputy governor, from former Governor Babatunde Fashola’s camp, to calm the tension.
