Ondo State Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi, has expressed confidence that he will win the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) when the primary holds today, July 22, 2020.
Ajayi, who recently defected from the ruling APC back to the PDP, will face Eyitayo Jegede, the candidate of the PDP in 2016.
Others are the immediate past Vice-Chairman (South-West) of the party, Eddy Olafeso; Senator Boluwaji Kunlere; Bode Ayorinde and Godday Erewa, Ben Banjo Okunomo and Sola Ebiseeni.
Ajayi, while speaking through his chief press secretary, Babatope Okeowo, said that he has met with the delegates in all 18 local governments and also has the support of some aspirants who dropped their ambitions for him.
Okeowo said:
The deputy governor has done the needful, he has gone round the local governments, he has met with the delegates, we are just hoping and praying.
For now, we have two aspirants supporting us, we have Otunba Akindele Akingboye, he was initially disqualified but later qualified, but he has dropped his ambition for deputy governor, the same thing with Prince John Olamafo. He was a PDP running mate to Jegede in 2016 election and now with us.
We don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but we are confident that Agboola Ajayi will become the flag-bearer of PDP after the primary.
Reacting to the news about other PDP aspirants who are feeling unsettled about the deputy governor’s return to the party, Okeowo said Ajayi is the most senior member among the aspirants as he joined the party in 1998.
READ ALSO: Nigeria Records Highest PoS Transaction In Four Years
Okeowo continued:
I can confidently say none of them is a senior Hon. Ajayi in PDP, let me tell you, he started in 1998 and left in 2015 and came back in 2020.
Jegede joined in 2015, Banjo Okunomo joined in 2915, Sola Ebiseeni moved from AD to Labour Party and from there came in 2015, Eddy Olafeso came in 2006. So this remained in PDP since inception until 2015, and he had a genuine grouse, he won the PDP’s ticket in 2015 election and when Mimiko came with Labour Party, so his ticket was affected.
So you know there has to be an infusion of old Labour and old PDP and some of them were not happy with it, so they left in annoyance. Many of them are now back, so none of them parade the credentials of Agboola as PDP member, and that’s why they are raising all these false allegations against him.
Okeowo, however, said after the primary party is looking at a good contest but it is a known fact that the sitting governor has lost the confidence of the people.
