Ondo: Citizens celebrate with Mimiko over Jegede’s Appeal Court reprieve

THERE have been wild jubilation across Ondo State  since  the  Court of Appeal  granted  Eyitayo Jegede SAN, leave to appeal the ruling that warranted the substitution of his name on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) list of candidates for the state’s governorship election billed for the 26th of this month.

Ondo City, Igbokoda,  Okitipupa and Owo  on Friday witnessed their own share of the jubilation which had earlier been witnessed  in the capital, Akure  and Ikare on Thursday evening, following the favourable  court rulings.

The State’s Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko was in Ikare , in the North Senatorial District of the state where he had gone to flag off a 4.7km road project when the Appeal Court siting in Abuja gave the ruling.

The town immediately erupted in jubilation with the same  scene recorded in the  Akure, simultaneously.

Akure was still agog when Governor Mimiko arrived the already crowded streets  and he was  instantly besieged by the people singing  victory songs, while he had to join them to move round the town,  thanking the people for their patience  since the PDP candidacy imbroglio started.

From Jegede’s campaign office down to the popular Oba Adesida Road in Akure, the people trooped out enmasse to congratulate the governor and his team with the shout of ‘PDP! Power! Iroko! Gbasibe’ renting the air.

Addressing the mammoth crowd, an elated Mimiko commended the people for their loyalty and thanked God for the ruling.

He charged the people to continue with their house-to-house campaign to win many more people to support Jegede’s ambition.

Mimiko, who enjoined those who were yet to collect their Permanent Voter Cards to go and collect them during the weekend, noted that the fight would be won with votes.

He assured the enthusiastic crowd that Eyitayo Jegede’s project is  God’s own project that would be completed by God Himself.

It was a carnival-like setting in Okitipupa, on Friday, where the state government flagged off the second phase of the free food distribution under its palliative programme.

The food distribution team, which arrived Okitipua as early as 9.00am,  could not settle down to work as the entire South Senatorial town was  agog with jubilation over the ruling.

Different groups had, as early as 8.00am, trooped to the streets in celebration of the ruling which they described as a deserved  justice served to the PDP candidate.

The same scenario played out in Owo, Ondo City and Igbokoda where different groups trooped to the streets in jubilation over the ruling.

The campaign office of  Eyitayo Jegede at Ijapo in Akure  witnessed heavy human traffic since the  ruling from the Special Appeal Court from Abuja.

The Appeal Court, apart from dismissing the appeal filed by Biyi Poroye and Jimoh Ibrahim to disband itself, also granted Eyitayo Jegede SAN the right to appeal the Okon Abang’s ruling.