A former Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi has been declared winner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial primary election in the state.
Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo who is the head a seven-man committee saddled with the responsibility of conducting the primary to elect a candidate ahead of the November 16 governorship election in Ondo announced the winner around PM on Thursday, after an indirect primary held at the International Culture and Event Centre (DOME), Akure.
Specifically, Ewhrudjakpo said Ajayi polled a total of 264 votes to defeat six other aspirants.
He said Ajayi who was the candidate of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) in the 2020 governorship election and served as deputy governor of Ondo State from 2017 to 2021 defeated his closet rival, Kolade Akinjo who scored 157 votes.
According to him, a former Secretary General of Yoruba Socio-political Organisation Afenifere, Sola Ebiseni scored 99 votes, Engr. Adeolu Akinwunmi polled 64 votes, Otunba Benson Akingboye(Oba) had 24 votes while Arebuwa Bosun scored two votes.
His words: “By the virtue of the results, Agboola Ajayi having scored the highest votes is hereby declared the winner of this primary and is hereby declared the candidate of the PDP for the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State.”
Recall that on 21 June 2020, Ajayi, a lawyer and business resigned his membership from the ruling party All Progressives Congress (APC) and defected to the opposition party Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), citing irreconcilable differences between him and his principal, late governor, Rotimi Akeredolu.
He then joined Zenith Labour Party after losing the PDP gubernatorial primaries to Eyitayo Jegede and became the 2020 gubernatorial candidate of Ondo State in ZLP, then led by former governor Dr Olusegun Mimiko.
Agboola Ajayi, had served as a Councillor, Chairman of Ese-Odo local government, and House of Representatives member before he was nominated by late governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) as his deputy governor in 2016.
In his acceptance speech, the PDP candidate described his election as a victory for democracy.
He urged other aspirants to join hands with him to rescue the state from the misgovernance of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
According Ajayi, he’s is in the race to become the next Ondo governor because of his vision for the State’s economic transformation and inclusive sustainable growth, achieved through deeper structural changes.
Fidelis David in Akure
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