ONDO APC: Akeredolu, Commissioners Split Over AA’s Option

Some members of the Ondo State Executive Council are divided over the alleged plan of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to support some National Assembly candidates of the Action Alliance (AA) in the next general election.

Some of the members of All Progressives Congress (APC) who have defected to the AA in order to realise their political ambitions included: Dr. Tunji Abayomi (Ondo North Senatorial District), Dr. Julius Olatunji Felder (Ondo South), Hon. Stephen Olemija (Akoko North East/West) as well as Hon. Victor Ategbole (Akoko South West/East).

While some of the serving cabinet members have vowed to stick to the candidates raised by the APC, others have reportedly aligned with the candidates of AA as allegedly bankrolled by the governor.

But the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Yemi Olowolabi, who debunked the allegation of the governor’s support for AA, said Akeredolu has demonstrated his commitment to the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari and his Vice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo by donating 18 buses for the campaigns.

Olowolabi said some people were insinuating the support of the governor for AA because of his friendship with Abayomi.

His words:

“If there are some members of APC pushing for AA’s arrangement, the governor is not part of them. The governor has said it repeatedly that he is a member of APC. At a meeting we held, a leader was trying to bring up the issue of AA and the governor shouted him down, saying he is a member of APC and not AA.

“Some people are just trying to use the governor’s name to push their personal agenda. But Akeredolu is not part of any arrangement that will support the candidates of other political party.”
A cabinet member, who spoke with reporters in Akure yesterday, described the governor’s alleged plan to support AA’s candidates for the National Assembly as disturbing.

He said: “This is a very disturbing situation because it presents all of us as if we don’t know where we are going. Presently, the entire cabinet is in disarray because of the AA arrangement that the governor is trying to impose on us.”

The source alleged that the Commissioner for Finance, Wale Akinterinwa, his culture and tourism counterpart, Alhaji Ismaila Olurimisi; chairman of the State Water Sanitation Board, Yetunde Adeyanju; the State NDDC representative, Lucky Ayedatiwa; Budget and Planning Commissioner, Dr. Emmanuel Igbasan; the Deputy State Chairman of APC, Hon. Agaba Atili; chairman of the State Oil Producing Communities Areas Development Commission, Gbenga Edema and Commissioner for Environment, Funso Esan, are supporting the candidate of the APC and incumbent in the South Senatorial district, Senator Yele Omogunwa.

However, the Commissioner for Education, Mr. Femi Agagu, Special Adviser on Political Matters, Hon. Tunji Fabiyi and the chairman of the State Universal Education Board, Mrs. Oladunni Odu are supporting Dr. Felder of the AA.
In the Ondo North Senatorial District, only the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Prince Solagbade Amodeni, was said to be supporting Senator Ajayi Borofice who wanted to return to Senate for the third term.

But the Commissioner for Natural Resources, Alhaji Rasheed Badmus, queues behind AA’s Abayomi while the candidate of the African Democratic Party (ADC), Mr. Jide Ipinsagba has the support of the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Hon. Abdusalami Taofeek.