Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa spearheaded a crucial assembly on Monday, bringing together stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress and issuing a call for unified efforts to drive the party’s progress.
Three weeks into his term as the seventh executive governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa convened a meeting with APC leaders on Monday, marking his first official interaction with the party’s influential figures since the passing of Rotimi Akeredolu.
Currently, preparations for the upcoming governorship election later this year in the state are gaining momentum, with the APC explicitly stating that an automatic ticket for the election is not guaranteed for Aiyedatiwa.
The Monday gathering at the International Culture and Event Centre in Akure revealed a significant dearth of key Ondo APC figures with gubernatorial aspirations. Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Oladunni Odu, emerged as the sole governorship aspirant in attendance.
Some of the governorship aspirants, who did not attend the meeting, were Chief Olusola Oke, Mr Wake Akinterinwa, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, Mr Mayowa Akinfolarin, Mr Gbenga Edema, Jimi Odimayo and Olamide Ohunyeye.
Also, only one member of the National Assembly, Abiola Makinde, attended the meeting.
The National Vice Chairman (South-West) of the party, Mr Isaac Kekemeke, the Minister of Interior, Olubumi Tunji-Ojo, and the Minister of State for Youths Development, Ayodele Olawande, were absent from the meeting.
It was learned that those absent from the Ondo APC meeting did not receive invitations, as Governor Aiyedatiwa orchestrated the gathering in preparation for the party’s upcoming April primary.
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Stating the reason for his absence, one of the aspirants, Oke, said, “I received the invitation for that meeting at 2:00 a.m. today (Monday). I saw it on my phone and the meeting is 11:00 a.m. and already, I am in Abuja going to attend an important function.
“I responded to it that the notice came too short and I couldn’t attend, but I had no reason not to attend the meeting. I would have attended if I had been notified earlier. I don’t know if it was sent late deliberately or not.”
In a parallel account, Mr. Mayowa Akinfolarin, a former House of Representatives member and aspirant, clarified that he was not included in the meeting’s invitations, making his attendance unfeasible.
“I was not invited to the meeting; my close associates were not invited too,” Akinfolarin stated.
But the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Ebenezer Adeniyan, said every stakeholder was invited to the meeting.
“They were all invited through their local governments,” the CPS stated.
In his address to the stakeholders meeting, Aiyedatiwa fervently called on the party’s chieftains to embrace a spirit of peace and unity in preparation for the impending governorship election. He appealed to them to let go of past discord, emphasizing his declaration that the governor’s office currently has no vacancy.
“We must all come together as one family to work together for the progress of our party knowing for sure this is an election year, an election to the office of the Governor of Ondo State even though the seat is not vacant currently. Let us work together In oneness and in peace so that our party, the APC, will continue to govern this state,” the governor said.
Mr. Ade Adetimehin, the state Chairman of the APC, lauded the governor for the timely interaction with party stakeholders, emphasizing the imperative for party leaders to leave the past behind and forge unity in anticipation of the forthcoming governorship election.
Those present at the meeting included members of the state House of Assembly, led by the Speaker, Mr Olamide Oladiji, former deputy governors, Alhaji Ali Olanusi and Alhaji Lasisi Oluboyo, a former state chairman of the party, Ambassador Sola Iji, former SSG, Sunday Abegunde, member of the House of Representatives, Mr Biola Makinde, Chief Segun Ojo, Chief Jamiu Ekungba, Mrs. Jumoke Anifowose, among many others.