Ondo PDP aspirants kick against imposition, reject Mimiko’s candidate

 Aggrieved leaders of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the Northern Senatorial District of Ondo State have kicked against plans by Governor Olusegun Mimiko to impose a candidate on the members of the party.

The leaders have specifically rejected the ploy of the governor to pick the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) from the Central Senatorial District as his successor.

Daily Times gathered that Jegede, an Akure indigene, had been penned down and endorsed to take over the helms of affairs from Mimiko.

At a stakeholders meeting held on Tuesday the leaders from the district said the governor should immediately jettison the idea of picking his successor from the central senatorial district for the best interest of the party ahead of the governorship election.

The meeting, which was attended by the party’s state and local government executive members from the district, said that Mimiko should follow the alignment of the rotational and zoning principle of the party.

The leaders reminded the governor that there was an agreement reached to rotate the picking of the party’s candidate between the Northern and Central Senatorial District.

They added that it was now the turn of the Northern Senatorial District to produce the party’s candidate for the November governorship poll, since Mimiko, who is also from the Central Senatorial District, was rounding off from the seat.

According to a communiqué issued at the end of their meeting, the leaders mostly aspirants of the party contesting the governorship ticket said there was a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) reached by the state leadership of the party on the power shift.

The communiqué was signed by Senator Remi Okunrinboye, Hon. Dr. Bakkita Bello, Bamiduro Dada, Prince Nekan Olateru-Olagbegi, Dare Emiola, Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye, Dayo Fadahunsi, Yekini Olanipekun among other contestants.

They further disclosed that the MOU was signed by late Governor Olusegun Agagu, late Dr. Olaiya Oni, Saka Lawal, Otunba Fashawe, now in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Victor Olabimtan now in APC, Olusola Oke now in APC, Dr. Gbankinro among others.

Their communiqué read, “Consequent upon the recent development in our great party, in Ondo State, where the Governor Mimiko, at a meeting with the state and local government official and delegates of the party across the state, declared his endorsement of an aspirant from the Central Senatorial District as the PDP gubernatorial candidate for the November 26, 2016 election.

“This position of Mr. Governor is considered a miscalculation that will further put Ondo North Senatorial District at a serious political disadvantage, putting the state PDP at a loss and laying bad precedence in the state.

“That all the under-signed leader align their position with the rotational/zoning principle of our party. This is in accordance with the MOU reached by the state leadership of the party towards the October 20, 2012 election, that the governorship of the state be rotated amongst the three senatorial districts.

“Eventually, that referred election was won by Mimiko for a second term from the central, following a six-year governorship of late Agagu from the southern senatorial district.

“Based on first resolution above, the leadership of the north senatorial district should immediately enter into workable agreement and alignment with the southern and central senatorial districts to ensure the goal of rotation is achieved for equity, fairness and justice in furtherance of peace and political stability of our state.

“It is further agreed that an appeal be made to the national and state leadership of our great party to concede the governorship slot of 2017-2021 to Ondo North Senatorial District as a demonstration of fairness, equity and justice that the state is known for and keeping to the MOU.

“Unless our position in three above is acceptable to the leadership of the party in the state, we in Ondo north will neither go into, nor participate in any primary election conducted that will involve any aspirant from the central senatorial district because it is not their turn now when their son is just rounding up an eight- year tenure.

“We stand by the MOU reached by the leaders of our party in 2012 which was signed, by the leadership of the state PDP that Ondo North should produce the governor for 2017-2021. And the time is now!

“That the national and state leadership of the PDP should not forget in a hurry the consequences of imposition of candidates on the poor performance of the party in the 2015 Presidential, National and State elections”.