Honourable Banji Okunomo, a former chairman of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State was the spokesperson of Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organisation during the just concluded Ondo governorship election. In this interview with YINKA OLADOYINBO, he speaks on the outcome of the election and the expectations of people of the Sunshine State.
This is the first time an Ilaje man would contest and win a governorship election in Ondo State. What does this mean for Ilaje nation?
I will liken the development to that of former President Goodluck Jonathan being a man that almighty God favoured to be the first Ijaw man to be President of Nigeria. The manner in which Jonathan became president, it was the demise of President Umaru Yar’Adua that [warranted] the doctrine of necessity to be invoked and Jonathan to become president. A similar thing happened in Ondo State as Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa was the deputy to our late governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who died in officer and it was that [incident] projected Ayedatiwa to the position of governor. The Ilajes have long been agitating to rule Ondo State as governor; my humble self was part of the agitation to the extent that I also aspired to be governor in 2019 but all our efforts, including that of Olusola Oke, Olusola Ebiseni, Kolade Akinjo and so on did not achieve any success. It was this Lucky’s chance that put an Ilaje man in that position and you know that if you are contesting as governor, the wincumbency advantage will also come in. And I want to believe that was also the added advantage that made an Ilaje man governor. So, all I am saying is that we are grateful to God that an Ilaje man is now governor of Ondo State. If it had not happened the way I have explained, it may have been a bit difficult, because the belief of those who are running the country is that political power and economic power should not go together. Therefore, the areas that lays the golden eggs have always been at a disadvantage because they believe that since they have economic power, they cannot trust them with political power again. But it has always been by divine intervention that the areas with economic power are allowed to have political power.
Aiyedatiwa won in the entire 18 local government areas of the state which is unprecedented. What do you think was responsible for this?
It is unprecedented in the history of the state. The governor won in virtually everywhere. We have 203 wards in the state and the governor won in 202 wards except that of the opposition candidate, Agboola Ajayi, that won his ward. Number one, Ondo State people are a peculiar group of people, in the sense that, whoever wants to govern them, they will look at the quality of the person. And if the person is an incumbent, they look at his score card of that person. Recalled that Aiyedatiwa became governor on December 27, 2023, just 11 months ago. I can tell you that the short reign of Ayedatiwa in office has ushered in tremendous development, considering the number of people-oriented projects he has embarked upon. All this put together was responsible for the landslide victory. His intervention in education, health, staff welfare and so on. You will recall that before Lucky Aiyedatiwa became governor, the free shuttle bus programme introduced by the government of Olusegun Mimiko was suspended by the Akeredolu administration, but immediately Aiyedatiwa became governor, he resuscitated it and procured additional buses that are being used to convey all the classes of people in the state. He has also pumped in a lot of money into activating the education sector and has raised the subvention of the various state institutions. He paid three-month salary in salary of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic; teachers were recruited, also in terms of roads, we have a lot of them being flagged off, while the ongoing ones were completed. He also embarked on the light-up project in Akure.
As someone from the southern senatorial district, don’t you think Aiyedatiwa’s governorship will short-change you people as he would one spend four years?
I do not believe we will be short-changed; it will not result to any short-change. If the law has given the governor only four years, it doesn’t stop the area to have eight years or more; we still have the opportunity to say we will still have our eight years. The agitation will still be there, but that is not the issue to debate now. The issue now is how Aiyedatiwa will give good governance to the people of Ondo State. Four years is not a joke; we could not afford to give the four years to a mediocre person. If you allow a mediocre person to attain power on the alter of sentiment, we will continue to have mediocrity in power and that will be so damaging on the entire state. I am saying that if the governor cannot run for eight years, it doesn’t stop other people from that area from aspiring. No law stops any region from contesting. The zoning we are talking about is a conventional arrangement and in line with the practice of the people; we cannot stop anybody from aspiring.
You mean after Aiyedatiwa, we should expect the southern senatorial district to aspire to continue
If Aiyedatiwa will not be spending eight years, that won’t stop anybody from the South to aspire. I envisage a situation where people from the three senatorial districts would come out and say they want to be governor. I am already hearing of aspiration from the North and the Centra,l but what matter is that we will look at all the available options and pick the best for Ondo State.
Agboola Ajayi has said he would challenge the results of the election in court.
That statement showed an uncivilized development that we have been condemning in our system. If it were to be a saner society, by now Agboola Ajayi would have congratulated Aiyedatiwa. Everyone knows that the election was a free and fair one; he lost completely, including his own local government. Those people that voted there were they imported from outside? He said he would go to the tribunal. When he could not win the court of the people, he thinks he would win before the three- man panel. Which allegations does he want to prove in court? Is it allegation of irregularities or criminality? What criminal act? When you go to tribunal, the court is not a Father Xmas; it is a court of law where they rely on evidence. The fact that you go to court does not mean that you are on the winning side. The three grounds to challenge election, as contained the Electoral Act, are: one, that the person elected was not qualified to contest the election; two, that the person did not score the highest number of votes cast; corruption, which has to do with ballot snatching, ballot stuffing, vote buying and so on. On all these three grounds, none of them favours Agboola Ajayi. If he is alleging criminality, he has to prove beyond reasonable doubt because there was no violence or ballot snatching or stuffing in the election. So what is he going to establish in court? So Agboola Ajayi is embarking on a wild goose chase and a voyage of no return. Maybe he is only trying to save his face. Those who are serious-minded in the PDP would advise him against going to court because it is going to be an effort in futility. He lost the election woefully; he lost irredeemably. So he cannot get a reverse of the decision of the people.
What should people of the state expect from the Aiyedatiwa government in the next four years?
The reign of Aiyedatiwa [will be such that] everything will work well for the people. We have already seen the sign at the beginning, because he has unwavering commitment to the development of Ondo State and will not wait to deliver democracy dividends to the people. He is a man of few words and a man full of action. When you are ideologically inclined, you will not want to fail because performance is what will be your watchword. He has shown capacity to deliver.
READ ALSO: Ondo guber: Ajayi rejects election results, heads to Tribunal
