Follow Us on Google
Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Barring any last minute change of plans, Ondo State Deputy Governor, Mr Agboola Ajayi will any time from now formally announce his defection to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Ajayi, according to a reliable source has concluded arrangements to join the PDP and had met with leaders of the party at both the state and national levels.
Some loyalists of the Deputy Governor were said to have already defected to the PDP at their various wards.
A source within the PDP told Daily Sun that Ajayi had met with the National chairman of the PDP and arrangements are being perfected to ensure that he gets the gubernatorial ticket of the party.
Agboola had since stopped attending government functions and he has not identified with the second term ambition of his boss, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
The Deputy Governor was said to be interested in the governorship position and some of his loyalists are already campaigning for him.
However, the PDP governorship aspirants are not ready to step down for the Deputy Governor despite his moves.
Already, six aspirants have obtained the party’s nomination form and the six persons were said to be determined to contest the primary election of the party.
The National Vice Chairman of the Party, Eddy Olafeso who is also an aspirant, said that no aspirant will step down for Ondo Ajayi.
Olafeso was responding to comments by a National Working Committee member of the PDP who revealed that the Deputy Governor might emerge as the candidate of the party on the condition of serving only one term in office.
But Olafeso said Agboola is not yet a member of the PDP and has not collected nomination or expression of interest form of the party.
Another aspirant, Banjo Okunomo said the coming of the Deputy Governor would not constitute any fear or panic in the PDP.
According to him, “How would his coming to the party now constitute fear or panic when the party was winning election without him in the past. PDP doesn’t impose candidate on its members and that is the beauty of democracy and the internal arrangement of the party.
“Anyone coming to join the PDP should be ready to work. There is nothing to worry about. If the deputy governor shows his interest in the governorship race, let him join in earnest and start to work because the ticket of the PDP is not for sale.
“His coming does not pose any threat. I have already picked the nomination form of the party and I am ready to slug it out with other governorship aspirants at the primaries”.
