My Deputy, Ajayi Has No Political Value, Says Akeredolu

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

Ahead of the October 10 Ondo State governorship election, the state Governor and the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Rotimi Akeredolu, has mocked his Deputy, Mr. Agboola Ajayi, saying he has no political value, as he has no hold on any local government area in the state.

He said he would defeat Ajayi in his local government area in the forthcoming election and he would not recover from the defeat.

Akeredolu stated this while speaking with journalists yesterday in Abuja, as he also declared readiness for genuine reconciliation with other governorship aspirants and stakeholders of the party in the state.

The governor stated categorically that Ajayi has no political relevance anywhere in the state, advising him to stay in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) having lost the party’s ticket.

Asked how much threat the PDP governorship candidate, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, posed to him, Akeredolu said though it may not be easy to win, he believes he would win the election by the grace of God.

According to him, “For me, the deputy governor leaving the APC for the PDP is good radiance to bad rubbish. We thought we could accommodate him in the APC, but since he returned to where he truly belongs, it is all well. I always wish people the best I can.

“From what I have been told, he has lost the ticket and I pray he won’t jump to another place, but if he does, all is well. However, for his own sake and as a big brother, I will advise him to stay with Jegede and support him very well. He has made a case that he helped me to win, let him help him to win so that we will confirm that he is popular.

“What I know is that he is of no importance; he has no hold on any local government area, and I can assure you that in the election, I will defeat him in his local government area which he might never recover from. He is of no influence anywhere, and we picked him then because we felt we had someone from PDP coming to join us. We picked him to join us but he felt and told people that he is grassroots man.”

Also, Akeredolu said he believed that there must be reconciliation, adding that the committee headed by the Niger State Governor, Muhammed Bello, was making frantic effort to ensure that there is genuine reconciliation among other aspirants.