Several interest groups within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State have begun lobbying to ensure their preferred candidate emerges as deputy to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
The race to emerge as Deputy Governor is due to next year’s governorship election.
Aiyedatiwa is not perceived as a politician, and he is expected to pick somebody who would help him unite the fractured party due to the imbroglio over the death of former Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.
Governor Aiyedatiwa hails from Ondo South and the speaker of the Ondo Assembly, Olajidi Olamide, hails from Ondo Central, he is expected to pick his deputy from Ondo North where Akeredolu hails from for balance of power.
Those who have been tipped to likely emerge as deputy are the immediate past minister of state for transport, Prince Ademola Adegoroye, a former Secretary to the State Government, Ifedayo Abegunde, Commissioner for Energy and Water Resources, Rasaq Obe, the chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Victor Olabimtan, Chief of Staff, Chief Olugbenga Ale and a son of the leader of Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti.
A chieftain of the APC who pleaded anonymity said the issue of deputy governor would be discussed after the three days mourning period for Akeredolu.
He said: “There is supposed to be a stakeholder’s meeting after the mourning period. We cannot talk about it while the mourning is still on.”
President Bola Tinubu has tasked Governor Aiyedatiwa to unite the party and the first step, according to a party leader, would be the extent of consultation before he picked his deputy.
An APC chieftain said: “It is the prerogative of the governor to pick his deputy. The consultation will be a mere formality because he has a bigger task of winning the primary.
“Many of these people being paraded are not in the book. Obe is not a politician. He cannot give Aiyedatiwa the political leverage he badly needs now. What Aiyedatiwa needs is a politician because he is not a politician.
“The party is not united. He has been told to bring everyone together. His manner of consultation before picking his deputy would determine how far he is willing to go to ensure party unity.”
It was gathered that Aiyedatiwa might pick his deputy from Owo to appease the kinsmen of Akeredolu. Many loyalists of Akeredolu have already resigned from Aiyedatiwa’s administration.
Another permutation is that he might move to have his trusted men in key positions by picking his deputy from Akure thereby paving the way for the removal of speaker Oladiji and a new speaker to emerge from Ondo North.
The choice of Akure, according to a source, is because of the huge voting population.