Ondo 2020: Akeredolu meets Oke, Unity Forum

Ahead of the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo State, the state governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, has continued to extend an olive branch to all aggrieved factions of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

Akeredolu on Tuesday met with one of the party’s aspirants who contested the ticket of the party in the just concluded gubernatorial primary of the party, Chief Olusola Oke, and the leadership of the Unity Forum of the APC in the state.

Oke and his campaign group and the leadership of the Unity forum were at the governor’s office in Alagbaka where they met with the governor for several hours.

Though the outcome of the meeting was not made known to the public, but the meeting, according to a chieftain of the party, from the Unity forum, was in line with the recommendation of the national leadership of the party to pacify the aggrieved members of the party.

A source who is one of the leaders of the party in the state disclosed that the governor has appealed to the aggrieved members to forget the past and join hands with him to ensure victory for the party in the next governorship election.

He stated that as the October 10 governorship election is approaching, the party needs to support the governor for his re-election in order not to lose the state to opposition.

Speculation was rife that Oke was planning to defect to another party to contest for the October 10 governorship election after losing to governor Rotimi Akeredolu in the primary.

Akeredolu had earlier visited the homes of some of the APC aspirants, including Chief Olusola Oke, immediately after he emerged as the candidate of the party, seeking for their support.

However, Oke and the Unity group had tabled some conditions which must be met by governor Akeredolu before supporting him, saying “the group will take further decisions in the next seven days by that time all decision should have been finalised”

But the source said the only condition tabled before governor Akeredolu had been approved which is to work together for the success of the party and for the party to retain the state.

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“We agreed that it is not in the interest of any member of the party for the party to slide into the hand of opposition,” he said.

Meanwhile, the former governor of the state, Dr Olusegun Mimiko and his former deputy governor, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, may have settled their differences ahead of the forthcoming governorship election

Tribune Online gathered that the former governor who is the leader of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Olanusi met in the early hour of Wednesday to iron out their differences and work for the emergence of the ZLP in the election.

Mimiko was said to have sought the support of Olanusi for the embattled deputy governor of the state, Hon. Agboola Ajayi who is planning to run for the governorship election on the ZLP platform.

The details of the meeting were not made public but it was gathered that the meeting was part of the final steps towards the official declaration of Ajayi for the ZLP

Ajayi who was billed to declared his new platform for the governorship election today (Thursday) had postponed the official declaration to either Monday or Tuesday next week, while the party would substitute the name of the party flagbearer, Rotimi Benjamin with Ajayi.

Campaign posters and banners of Ajayi have flooded the ZLP secretariat ahead of his official declaration as the embattled deputy governor is said to have concluded all arrangements to cross to ZLP and contest the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

Ajayi contested the primary of the PDP and lost to Jegede but he was said to have met with Mimiko where talks were finalised on his move to ZLP.

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