The Deji of Akure, Oba Aladelusi Aladetoyinbo has said the next governor of Ondo State either from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, or the All Progressives Congress, APC, must emerge from Akure.
The monarch who made the call barely one year to the governorship poll in the state warned that any party that failed to pick an indigene of Akure would not be voted for by the entire people of the Akure division which according to him comprise Akure-South, Akure-North, Ifedore and Idanre local government areas.
Speaking during a news conference in his palace yesterday, Aladetoyinbo stated that it was time for the town to produce the next governor of the state.
The monarch observed that other divisions such as Owo, Okitipupa, Akoko and Ondo had produced a governor each, adding that the Akure division had been marginalised since the creation of the state in 1976.
Aladetoyinbo said he remains commited to achieving the goal and as such he has been holding series of meeting over how an Akure indigene will emerge as the next governor of the state.
According to the monarch, no Akure indigene would vote for governorship candidates from outside the Akure division in the forthcoming election.
The monarch said, “Next year’s election is our time, and we are ready. Any political party who failed to pick an Akure man does that at its own risk because this time around, we are not going to vote for an outsider. We don’t even want a deputy governorship slot.
“We have five divisions in Ondo State. They include Ondo, Okitipupa, Owo, Akoko and Akure. It is only the Akure division that has not produced a governor since 1976 that this state was created. It’s Akure’s turn now. It’s our turn and we are ready for it,” he maintained.
Aladetoyinbo further stated that in a bid to achieve the dream, he had been organising meetings with all monarchs and politicians in the Akure division on how to unite and come up with one candidate that would emerge victorious at the poll.
He added that the Akure people were ready to form a new political party should the two most popular parties in the state fail to pick an Akure indigene as their candidate.
“If the PDP and APC refused to pick an Akure man, we shall form another political party that will win that election like Mimiko did in 2007. This is an Akure agenda. When I said Akure agenda, I mean all local governments under the Akure division. We have Akure North, Akure South, Idanre and Ifedore local government councils and we contribute a total of 44 per cent of the votes and we are going to win.
“I have been having a series of meeting with all our sons and daughters on how to speak with one voice. You will see that things will change next year. It is our project. If I am still alive by then, we must accomplish it by God’s grace,” the monarch said.
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