Less than two months after he was welcomed back to the Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo State, the Deputy Governor of the state, Agboola Ajayi, who is currently having a running battle with Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, over the October 10 governorship election has dumped the party for the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
On 22ndJune, when he crossed to the PDP, he downplayed the tantrums by his critics that his intention to contest against his principal was the reason for his defection. Agboola, on the other hand said his departure from the All Progresisives Congress (APC) was as a result of “unsolicited and illegitimate outsourcing of power, familitocracy, nepotism, clannishness and primitive accumulation of illegal wealth under state cover.” In spite his reasons, his latest switch to ZLP two months to the election may have proved his critics right.
That the embattled Deputy Governor has political clout in the state is not an understatement. In fact, bookmakers posit that his joint-ticket with Governor Rotimi Akeredolu sealed the victory in the last governorship election for the All Progressives Congress in the state.
But the PDP, that had few months back regarded the defection of the Deputy Governor to its fold as a boost to retake the state from the APC, reacting to the latest development from Agboola’s camp described his defection as ineffectual in the race and that of the chances of the party’s candidate, Eyitayo Jegede’s victory at the polls.
The Publicity Secretary of the Party in the state, Kennedy Ikantu Peretei, in a statement said Agboola “has abused the welcome and privilege accorded him by our party supporters during his brief stay in the party. He also proved that he is desperate to become the Governor of Ondo state.
“In the days to come, it will be dawn on him that, he has squandered whatever was remaining in the good will with this decision. However, his exit from the PDP will not affect our prospects of winning the October gubernatorial elections this year,” he said.
Pitching his tent with the ZLP, Agboola would replace the candidate of the ZLP, Rotimi Benjamin, having met with the leadership of the party both at the national and state levels. The Deputy Governor is said to have reached agreement with former governor of the state and a leader of the ZLP in the state, Olusegun Mimiko, to pick a running mate from his camp and also reactivate some of the policies of his administration when elected into office.
With this development, does Agboola have any likelihood of wining the governorship election? There is no doubt his grassroots politics and followership which has been the source of motivation coupled with the influence of Mimiko in the state politics being a two-termed governor with lot of influence, are factors, yet his resolute would however be put to test on October 10 when he face his principal, Akeredolu and Jegede at the polls.
