The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in Ondo state, Eyitayo Jegede, has warned that any attempt to rig the October 10, 2020 governorship election in the state, would be strongly resisted by the people.
Jegede, a second-timer in the governorship race, recently won the PDP ticket in a keenly contested primary election.
He gave the note of caution while speaking in Akure before his teeming supporters, noting that the people of the state would guard their votes and resist attempts to rig the election.
According to him, a recent revelation by the former Secretary to the Ondo State Government (SSG), Mr Ifedayo Abegunde, that he (Jegede) was robbed of victory by the All Progressives Congress (APC) power brokers, and that Governor Rotimi Akeredolu did not win in that election, was instructive enough.
Abegunde had resigned from Akeredolu’s government in protest, shortly after the state’s deputy governor, Mr Agbooola Ajayi, also defected from the APC to the PDP.
Warning that the masses of Ondo state would not allow a repeat of the 2016 experience, Jegede said, “Ondo state is not a conquered people or territory; so if you are coming to the state to rig, stop at the boundary.
“This is because, our people have learned from that experience and are now on their toes, to resist any attempt by anybody to subvert their will.
“I have known my brother, Abena (appellation for Abegunde) for a long time and I know he was saying the truth when he said Akeredolu did not win the 2016 election; that it was rigged for him.”
Also, Jegede described as baseless, a campaign smear that he would pursue ‘Akure agenda’, being a native of Akure, the state’s capital, if voted into power.
The legal practitioner in his response stated “Yes, I am a native of Akure and I am not ashamed of it, but I can also be classified as a native of other communities in the state.
“I had gone round, visiting the riverside areas of Ilaje and Ese-Odo and I could feel what they were going through. From that area up to Ile-Oluji and Okeigbo, they don’t have electricity at all; unlike Akure that has a little supply
“So we are going to provide electricity in these areas and also build hospitals as they lack medical facilities and are battling with mosquito bites. Certainly, that cannot be an Akure agenda?
“I have been to Akoko areas, to Okitipupa and all parts of the state and I know what their problems are,” he further explained.
The governorship candidate, who is a former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General in the state, particularly lamented the hardship that the less-privileged residents of the state were going through under the APC-led administration.
“The free health services reserved for pregnant women, nursing mothers, elderly citizens and the physically challenged people under the PDP administration are no longer there.
“Our education sector too is in shambles, to the extent that, tuition fee of N35,000 in the institution is now N230,000: thus denying children of poor people access to education.”
Jegede noted, ” If I am elected governor of Ondo state, we will reduce the tuition fees of not just Adekunle Ajadin University, Akungba, but all tertiary institutions in the state,” Assuring the citizenry of more dividends of democracy”.
