As the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State draws closer, political tension between the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress (APC) has escalated.
The PDP has alleged that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the APC’s candidate, is slipping into “panic mode” as public sentiment, according to the opposition, leans increasingly away from the ruling party. However, APC representatives have dismissed these claims, asserting that they remain confident of a decisive victory.
The PDP’s Publicity Secretary, Hon. Kennedy Peretei, has publicly questioned the APC’s confidence, arguing that reality on the ground does not match the governor’s optimistic stance.
According to Peretei, APC leaders have shifted from their initial confidence to a defensive stance as the political landscape shifts.
“The comfort of their offices from where they proclaimed being ‘Lucky’ are the exact opposite of the streets in which hunger and lack, walk in all four legs.
“The electorate sent the signal wherever the campaign train of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa visited that there is pain in the land, orchestrated by the All Progressives Congress, Aiyedatiwa’s party. In their confusion, the National Chairman of APC, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, in one breath, said the Edo ‘Template’ will be applied in Ondo State. In another, he said, the APC does not need to rig the Ondo election to win.
“This was the first sign that the APC national leadership has come to terms with the reality that nobody can rig the November 16 election, and they are not as lucky as they hitherto assumed.
“Having failed to convince the people why they should trust him with their mandate, some panicky measures were taken.
“Because they were not all well thought out, they all fell flat on their backs. The 416 political appointees, carefully selected from the 203 Electoral Wards were shocked to discover that, for October, 2024, they received no salary alert.
“What is the guarantee that, after losing the election in November, they will be paid? Are these not the same people shouting they are ‘Lucky’? They should know better by now.
“When the alarm that the N73,000 minimum wage was announced at a campaign rally was another promise that would never be met, some people dismissed it. Those workers who went to endorse the governor for another term should ask themselves again if indeed, they have been lucky with this Governor.
“After spending 10 months in the saddle, it is his programmes and projects that should have done the campaigns for Governor Aiyedatiwa. Instead, he is recruiting propagandists to lie to Ondo State people, as if we are blind and deaf.
“Out of fear of losing the election, the Commandant of Amotekun Corps, Adetunji Adeleye was drafted to head a 25-member security committee of the campaigns. Instead of apologizing to the people, the Spokesman of the Aiyedatiwa Campaign denied that such was ever proposed. How can anybody trust people who lie so shamelessly in this manner? Those who think Ondo State is lucky with this kind of administration should pinch themselves to be sure that they are not dreaming.
