Ayodele Adesanmi, in this report, X-rays the entrance of renowned lawyer, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), into the October 2012 gubernatorial race in Ondo State, analysing the strengths and huddles ahead of the legal tactician.WITH the announcement of October 20 as the date for the Ondo governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the state is gradually getting set for the battle for the number one job in the Sunshine state. The struggle among aspirants for the ticket of their political parties is getting to the peak and, soon, the wheat will be separated from the chaff. Though the sudden announcement of the date by INEC was said to have caught many of them unawares, the aspirants were, however, said to have been reawakened from their slumber, as the parties have fast-tracked their process of picking their candidates. Aspirants have equally intensified their lobbying, strategising and moving closer to their godfathers who, they believe, will stand them in good stead during that critical period of the primaries.Though the process will vary from one party to the other, at the end of the day, some aspirants are bound to drop from the race in favour of others. In some of the parties, anointed ones would emerge through a proper democratic primary while in some it would be by 'lucky dip.' Whatever method employed by the parties, the aim is to wrestle power from the incumbent, Dr Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party (LP). As it were, it seems the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) is positioning itself as the main opposition party in the state, going by the number of aspirants jostling for its ticket. As at the last count, no fewer than 27 aspirants are on the line for the party's ticket. One of the driving forces of the aspirants is said to be the belief in some quarters that no incumbent governor has spent more than a term in office in the state. The other push for ACN members is the struggle to make Ondo come under the banner of the party, which they believe, would make the entire six South-West states come under its banner. Leaders of the ACN had said that they were out to teach Mimiko a lesson for refusing to join the party. One aspirant who believes he could stand up to the incumbent governor of Ondo State in the October election besides the usual LP/ACN sentiment is Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, who recently made public his intention to contest the election under the banner of the ACN. The former National President of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), while addressing his supporters at the public declaration of intent,said that he was hearkening to the call of the people in the state who, he said, called him to come and serve.'There was that clamour and the call which is very strong and cuts across party lines. After weighing all the options, I was convinced that this is the right time. I, therefore, decided to obediently answer the call of my people,' Akeredolu said. He further told his followers that he had been an ardent supporter of Chief Obafemi Awolowo since his school days. He said his entry into politics was to guarantee development.He further said: 'l make a solemn pledge to reverse this unfortunate trend.Joining Action Congress of Nigeria, my chosen political platform to realise this dream, is not fortuitous.I have been an ardent follower of Chief Obafemi Awolowo's political philosophy right from my secondary school days. The Action Group was a party whose achievements remain unrivalled in the annals of politics in Nigeria.'According to the lawyer, he grew up in Owo to witness the progressive politics at a close range. He said that the late Pa Michael Adekunle Ajasin 'was an inspiration to most of us in those days.' He disclosed that, as a lawyer, he was joining politics with a mark of integrity and uncommon dedication to the service of the people.He told his supporters: 'I bring myself forward to seek the mandate of the good people of Ondo State imbued with confidence that l posses deep understanding of the crucial socio-economic issues which must be resolved for the progress of the state. I am more convinced that given my experiences of administrative process, my training as an attorney, coupled with an unbroken stretch of practice for almost three decades, l stand out among other eminent indigenes of the state.' The legal luminary also said that his entry into the race was not borne out of desperation to grab executive power for personal aggrandisement, but out of the conviction that he could make the difference in the fortunes of the state.Though Akeredolu has not been a long-standing politician, the arrangement of his campaign suggests he is out to give the contest a good try. His support base is also said to have extended beyond the state, as reports indicate that stakeholders in other ACN-controlled states are getting excited at his entry into the race. A member of the Akeredolu Campaign Organisation, Mr Adekola Olawoye, told the Nigerian Tribune that Akeredolu had actually paid his dues when it came to the politics of progressives in the country and that almost all the governors of other ACN states were his friends. 'They are in the struggle together,' he said. According to him, picking Akeredolu as the candidate would help tremendously in securing the state for the party in view of his pedigree, adding that for the ACCN ticket he is the man to beat.The Chairman, Contact and Mobilisation Committee of the party, Mr Ade Adetimehin, however, disclosed that all the aspirants being paraded by his party were qualified. 'None would be treated specially, all of them are equal before the party,' he stated. According to him, rather than being a liability, the number of aspirants contesting on the ACN ticket is good for the party and for democracy.He stated that the huge number of aspirants was an indication of the popularity the party in the state.Adetimehin indicated that the party had a way of reconciling its members after a candidate must have emerged. He stated that all members of the party were members of the same family and that all loyalists of the party would be enjoined to maintain that stance after the emergence of a candidate.'The guidelines will be out in the next few weeks, which will kick-start the process. Our main aim is to win the state and be at the helms of affairs,' he said.The state's Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Kayode Akinmade, however insisted that the incumbent government would not be distracted by echoes of campaign politics. He said that the government was not ready to join issues with any party, adding that 'we know the people who gave us the mandate and they are already reaping the fruits of that mandate given to us. We are sure that they will readily renew the mandate going by the level of dividends they have reaped since 2009.'Akinmade stated that the state was ready to embark on aggressive commissioning of projects to showcase to the world what the LP had been doing in the state since its inauguration. 'We will soon embark on an aggressive commissioning of projects. Our projects will speak for us and they will campaign for us. All our projects are rural-based, though we did not neglect the cities. Every community has a feel of the developmental projects.' According to him, 'the stage will soon be set and we will be addressing all issues being canvassed by the opposition one after the other. The state belongs to all of us, so nobody can intimidate us in this state because our contract is with the people and they are behind us. They have been reaping bountifully from the dividends of democracy provided by the Mimiko government and when the time comes, the Ondo State people will choose between those who stand with them in thick and thin and those who only come to disorganise them for self political aggrandizement.
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