Results of last
Saturday’s parliamentary election in Ondo State came as a shock to
many, as they produced new political leaders to represent the state in
the National Assembly. The results released by the Independent National
Electoral Commission in some cases proved analysts wrong.
The hitherto
Peoples Democratic Party-dominated National Assembly is now to be
controlled by the Labour Party, which won the three senatorial slots
and eight out of the nine House of Representatives seats.
The winners of the
election have continued to celebrate, some of the losers have accepted
their fate while some are ready to challenge their defeat in court.
Olusegun Agagu
One of the big
losers in the election is former governor of the state, Olusegun Agagu.
At a forum shortly after he was declared unfit to govern Ondo State by
the courts, he announced his retirement from politics. This allowed
some of his aides to show interest in the Ondo South senatorial seat
but they were later jolted when Mr Agagu, from the blues, declared his
interest in the senatorial ticket.
While some of his
aides who had initially shown interest, like Eddy Olafeso and Segun
Ayerin, withdrew from the race, Oladunni Odu did not bow out of the
contest despite constant pressure. Mrs Odu was later defeated at the
party’s primaries. But in last Saturday’s election, Mr Agagu was
defeated narrowly by one of his ‘boys’ who has pitched tent with the
Labour Party, Boluwaji Kunlere. Mr Kunlere was the secretary of the PDP
in Ondo State for four years before he moved to the LP.
Many factors have
been mentioned as being responsible for Mr Agagu’s loss. Some key
members of the party were said to have worked against him because they
believed once he was elected, it would be difficult to displace him,
Analysts were of
the view that if Mr. Agagu won the senatorial seat the Mimiko-led
government would no longer be popular. The PDP has since signified
intention to challenge Agagu’s defeat in the law court.
Gbenga Ogunniya
Gbenga Ogunniya was
first elected to represent Ondo Central senatorial district on the
platform of the Alliance for Democracy in 1999. Then, he was selected
by the party leadership ahead of Olu Agbi who is an indigene of Akure.
From the blues, Mr. Ogunniya emerged the party’s flagbearer despite the
fact that he had just returned from the United States of America.
During his 12 years
in the senate, Mr Ogunniya never moved a single motion; he was an
ordinary member who always concurred with the issue of the day. He was
however, in the forefront of former president Obasanjo’s third term
ambition. At the home front, his impact has not been felt as he only
doles out money to his loyalists.
Saturday’s election
marked the end to his fourth term ambition as Mr Mimiko, who is
incidentally his kinsman, did not support him. Before the election,
rumour was rife that the Ondo people had reached an agreement that they
would support their kinsman, Mr Ogunniya. It was gathered that
prominent people which included traditional rulers, prevailed on Mr
Mimiko to allow his kinsman to retain the position.
However, the
alleged agreement did not work as Mr Ogunniya was humiliated at the
polls by Ayo Akinyelure who polled 113,292 votes to Mr Ogunniya’s
41,783 votes.
Bode Olajumoke
Bode Olajumoke of
the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was elected in 2007 after he
defeated Lekan Olagbegi of the Labour Party. Mr Olajumoke emerged as
PDP candidate after he defeated his challengers, Jide Ipinsagba, Remi
Okunrinboye and Chris Ojomo at the party’s primary election.
But in last
Saturday’s election, Robert Ajayi Borrofice polled 84,290 votes in the
Ondo North senatorial district to beat Mr Olajumoke who scored 51,112.
Before the election, opinion polls had favoured Mr Olajumoke whom many
believe to be close to Mr Mimiko. It would be recalled that the
friendship between both was very cordial when the governor was
contesting his defeat in the governorship election in court. Mr Mimiko
was also said to have prevailed on Mr. Olagbegi not to challenge
Olajumoke’s election at the tribunal.
Olu Agunloye
Mr Agunloye was the Action Congress of Nigeria candidate for the Ondo North senatorial district.
He was a member of
the Peoples Democratic Party before he pitched his tent with the Labour
Party. Many perceive him as a leader that played a prominent role in
helping Mr Mimiko to secure his mandate at the tribunal.
Many had thought
that Agunloye would be announced as the candidate of the party, bearing
in mind his closeness to the state governor. Since the advent of Mr
Mimiko’s administration, the former minister was usually seen around
government circles. It was rumoured that he even lived in one of the
chalets in the governor’s lodge.
Maybe, the thought that the governor would use his closeness to hand
him the senatorial ticket made him to stay in Akure, the state capital,
instead of working on the party’s leadership and delegates. He was
jolted when he was not picked by the LP leadership as the party’s
candidate. He quickly joined the ACN to pick the senatorial ticket
there but came a distant third in the election.
