Oke Braces Up for Ondo 2024 Guber Race

Fidelis David writes that a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo state, Olusola Oke, has joined the mounting tempo of campaigns and political activities by aspirants jostling for the tickets of their parties ahead of the November 16, 2024 governorship poll in the Sunshine State.

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hairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu recently for the umpteenth time recently announced that Ondo state Governorship election will hold on Saturday, 16th November 2024 while party primaries will hold from 6th to 27th April 2024 in line with Section 178 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

Besides, INEC said the submission of the list of nominated candidates via the online portal will start at 9.00am on 29th April 2024 and close at 6.00pm on 20th May 2024.

As a result of these, political arena in the sunshine state of Ondo is changing very fast. This reason is not far fetched. It is less than two months to the party primaries ahead of the governorship poll.

The drumbeats of war are increasing in tempo. The aspirants are reaching out and as the primaries draw near, the aspirants and their parties are becoming even more conscious and anxious of the mode of primary to be adopted by the national leadership of their parties.

For now, there are no fewer than 20 aspirants from both the APC and opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) jostling to take over from Aiyedatiwa, whose tenure ends on February 24, 2025. The aspirants are made up of seasoned campaigners and neophytes who are hoping to upset the old order.

One of the major contenders for the race is a two-time governorship candidate in Ondo State and an aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress for the November 16 governorship election in the state, Olusola Oke, who is from Ilaje, the second most populous local government in the state.

For Oke, so much has gone into preparations for the elections and his only goal is to win and become the next governor of Ondo State.

Oke, who hails from Ilowo, in Ilaje LGA, is a lawyer by profession, having been called to bar in 1987. He has held several positions in the Ondo State government before he was elected a member of the House of Representatives (Ese-Odo federal constituency) in 1992 on the platform of the then Social Democratic Party.

In 1999, he was appointed a member of the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to represent Ondo State. He was appointed the Chairman of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC). He is a one-time National Legal Adviser of the PDP who contested the 2012 governorship election under the PDP and lost to the former governor of the state, Dr Olusegun Mimiko who was then in Labour Party.

However, Oke left the PDP for the APC. But, after the APC’s controversial primaries where he came a close third, he joined the AD in 2016 and became the party’s flag bearer for the 2016 governorship election.

But in January 2018, he was received back into the APC by the state Chairman of the party, Ade Adetimehin and late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

Oke’s Chances Ahead of November Poll

On December 19, 2023, Oke held an interdenominational thanksgiving service, at the International Culture and Events Centre (the Dome), in Akure, after being involved in a ghastly motor accident on Friday, August 25, 2023 and was rumoured to have died, thereby dominating public conversation in the coastal state and the country as a whole.

The colourful billboards and large banners found nearly in all the nooks and crannies of the state, coupled with the huge crowd that attended the event suggested that he’s loved by the people of the state.

His close allies believe that his state wide political structures and financial resources available to prosecute the governorship race, shows that Oke has a brighter chance of emerging victorious at the APC primary and the governorship polls.

Some political admirers of Oke also opined that his candidature will give APC landslide victory at the poll while Aiyedatiwa’s camp still see Oke as a major threat to the governor and his bid to return as the governor of the state.

Implications of Oke’s Candidature

Recently, while declaring his intention to contest the 2024 election in Akure, the former lawmaker declared that if given the ticket of APC at the forthcoming primaries, there would be no opposition to the party during the main poll.

Oke, a former national legal adviser of the PDP, boasted that all the political parties in the state would support him and the return would be very massive.

Ondo Remains Largely Economically Handicapped, Humanly Underdeveloped

He said his primary mission in politics is the compelling and urgent need to liberate the people of the coastal state from leadership ineptitude.

The former Commissioner who represented Ondo State on the Governing Board of NDDC, lamented that despite Ondo’s natural endowment the state has remained largely economically handicapped, humanly underdeveloped, educationally static and socially sterile with the majority of the population ravaged by poverty.

“I am bearing heavy burden of vicious circle of poverty. Ondo State is blessed with natural, mineral, agricultural and abundant human resources, yet, today it is one state in Nigeria that is under the heavy burden of backwardness, and burden of poverty.

“We are in deficit in many respect. In the education sector, there is a wide gap, yearning to be filled. In the health sector, we are lagging behind. I was myself, a living witness to this recently when I was involved in a ghastly accident and was taken to the Trauma Centre in Ondo. My experience during my short stay there showed that Ondo State is far behind in the health sector and I know that nothing is happening in the road sector, in terms of road network. We can’t boast of any dualized 10 kilometre road in this state.

Filling the Wide Gap of Underdevelopment in Ondo

According to him, “Because of the gap in development, unemployment gap is widening everyday. Yearly, we produce not less than 15,000 graduates but three per cent of them are absorbed because there are no employers.

“In the begging in this state, there was Ifon ceramics company, there was Cocoa industry in Ile-Oluji, there was Oluwa glass, there Oil meal and a host of others that were complementing efforts of government in terms of employment but all these have become history and new ones aren’t coming up. Our economy today has become a civil service economy. Our people leave mostly on transfer payment.”

The former Chairman and of Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (OSOPADEC), explained that he has a bold and strategic comprehensive plan of action, aimed at reinvigorating key areas of the state’s local economy, to spur economic growth, generate productivity and prosperity and improve the standard of living for the people of the sunshine state.

“Ondo State needs a leader with vision, direction with sense of commitment not coming to fill any gap but to serve the people and what I’m looking for now is legacy because whether we like it or not, Ondo state is in a state of war at this moment and we need a dodged fighter with a mission, direction and vision who will be able to change the narrative of our dear state.

“I believe that government can open opportunity towards tapping our mineral resources, which will generate employment that will reduce criminality in our society and even generate income for our people. So the state is in its total state of collapse.

“I had all my education in the rural area, I am a part of the people, I understand their suffering, I had suffered a lot with them, my involvement in the recent accident had nothing to do other than bad road. So having suffered with them, I belief I am the right man for the job.The next governor of Ondo State must be a determined and focused person that will ready to do the work.

Banking on Popularity, Capacity, Acceptability and Experience.

Besides, Oke vowed to defeat the incumbent governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa during the APC primary slated for April, 2024 stressing he’s banking on his popularity, capacity, acceptability and experience.

“I know President Bola Tinubu is one man that will never sit down in the comfort of his office or private room to drop a candidate or an aspirant of the party but he will consider acceptability, popularity, capacity and other factors that could make the party win and excell in governance.

“I am confident that when all these factors are put on the table, I would be the most qualified person among other aspirants. Also the status of the aspirants, experiences, qualifications and other considerations would be put into consideration. So, I belief very strongly that the factors that will determine the next governor of Ondo State would include antecedent, level of acceptability by the people and contribution to the party.

“Unless we change the directions, narratives and others we cannot move forward in this state, and I am the right man for the job. We need to take Ondo state to the level of riches and God has given us all everything that we need. So it is in our interest for society to grow, for development to be in Ondo State and when all these things happen we will all be the beneficiaries.

“All our problems didn’t start with APC government, it’s been there, Olusegun Agagu came in to address some of those problems, and let me say that everybody running for governorship position has his own ideas, dream and mission to governance and such person will want to go according to his understanding and philosophy of development and others.

“No doubt, governorship of a state is no longer an internal affair of a state, the leadership of the party, and the leadership of the country will also be interested. If this contest were to be influenced or to be determined alone locally, I belief very strongly that the people of Ondo State are craving for my leadership of this state.

Tinubu’s Position

Besides, the aspirant said he believed that President Tinubu, who is the leader of the party, will not impose any candidate in the APC primary.

“I want to belief that I know President Tinubu is one man that will never sit down in the comfort of his office or private room to drop a candidate or an aspirant of the party, he would consider acceptability, popularity, capacity and other factors to make the party to win and excell in governance.

“I am confident that when all these factors are put on the table, I would be the most qualified person among other aspirants.

Also the status of the aspirants, the thought, the perception of the people about each and every one of us would be put into consideration. So I belief very strongly that what will determine the next governor of Ondo State would be your antecedent, level of your acceptability to the people and contribution to the party.

“I know that what I’m doing to secure the confidence of the leaders is putting my virtues on their table and I am aware of the fact that if am given the party ticket today, there would not be opposition parties in Ondo State. The PDP will rally their support for me, the Labour Party will do the same thing and the return would be very massive.

“Ondo State election is very critical to President Tinubu’s administration, he know that we must not just win but win very well and they know that in this aspiration, it is Oke and others and I am very sure that I will win this election.

“But in the most unlikely event that I didn’t win, I will remain because I am a party man, mine is to put myself out for the service of the people of this state and I know the people desire my service. Politics is my second address and I continue with my profession, make my money and enjoy myself.

On power outage in the Southern Senatorial District, Oke said; “I was very instrumental to the inclusion of the dedicated line from Omotosho to Erinje in the budget. The project had been completed but the distribution is the issue. But we will continue to agitate for the completion of this project. It is a priority project in my hand if God give me the grace to govern this state.

On the demise of Akeredolu ahead of the poll, he said, “The death of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu caused elevation and de-elevation, parity and disparity in the politics and governance of Ondo state. But the truth of the matter is that what would influence the leadership is who can do the job.

“Before late Akeredolu travelled out, I met him in Ibadan to brief him about my aspiration and desire to succeed him and when I came back to this state, I went straight to Lucky Aiyedatiwa to brief him too that I will be running for the position of governor and he told me that it didn’t come to him as a breaking news, that he knew that I had been on this and that I am very serious about it. But he (Aiyedatiwa) has not briefed me about his own ambition. But let me say that my vision to govern Ondo state is for an appointed time.”

More so, recently, chieftains of APC from six local government areas of Ondo Central said  Oke is a name in Ondo politics that is synonymous with legacy of courage and development.

A former House of Representatives member, Afe Olowokere, and a legal practitioner, Wemimo Olaniran said Oke has touched so many lives and has proven to be a dependable politician and leader in the various positions he has held in the past. They said, judging from Oke’s experience and evidence of his crisis resolution ability, he is the kind of politician the state needs at this time.

“We have been around this state and its politics for about forty years or more. We know all the people contesting; many of them because of the surge of the moment are going around saying they want to be governor. Governorship position is not just because of the prestige and its perks. It carries more responsibilities.

“With the state of our economy now, we need a man who would want a name for himself. Who is not encumbered by any personal challenges or inexperience. A man who knows the state and its resources. Who through quality and sagacious leadership can harness both the aquatic, green, and human resources of the state for its development. We need a man who knows us, who can handle our realities and represnet us well at the comity of states in Nigeria.”

Be that as it may, the politician has the formidable force of APC’s Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who is the incumbent governor to contend with as political experts believe that going past Aiyedatiwa at the polls could be Mr. Oke’s major task.