Ondo Poll: Akeredolu Picks Ex-NDDC Board Member, Ayedatiwa, As Running Mate

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has picked a former member of the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Lucky Ayedatiwa, as his running mate in the forthcoming governorship poll.

Ayedatiwa’s name was said to have been sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday.

The running mate, who hails from Obe-Nla, in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, was born in 1965.

Akeredolu announced the choice of Ayedatiwa during the swearing-in ceremony of a Commissioner and a Special Adviser in Akure, the state capital.

According to the governor, his choice possesses verifiable credentials, adding that he took the decision following wide consultations with party leaders.

“The leaders of the party have made wide consultations to choose the most suitable candidate as Running Mate in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the State. We have concluded that Mr Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa is the appropriate choice given the prevailing circumstances in the political arena at present.”

“This person has been with us since the beginning of this political journey in 2012. In arriving at this choice, some important factors assisted the leaders of this great party.

“We have decided to sever ties with mediocrity and treachery.”

“There is indeed no art to find the mind’s construction in the face. We are also not in any position to change yesterday. We must, however, allow the experiences of the immediate past to guide our decision.”

“A candidate with verifiable credentials and pedigree has been chosen to complete the last part of the gubernatorial race.

“We may not have chosen a saint and the best but let it not be said that we, either wittingly or otherwise, settle for an avowed hater of human beings and good things, an enemy of his own people and a serial forger.

“We owe our people the duty of care in this regard” he added.

Akeredolu noted that Ondo people expect a fresh and dignifying breather from the choking rot of the immediate past.

“The general public has been treated to a cocktail of lies by those who recently disengaged from our administration, as well as those who were asked to step aside to allow those who displayed a genuine passion to serve come on board.

“Their hirelings are busy spreading falsehood and maligning personalities on social media. You must have heard or read about the comedy of errors enacted by some erstwhile principal officers of this administration.

“Those who allege exclusion from governance have been unable to tell the people, in specific terms, how that happened. No political appointee is owed any salaries and allowances. Only those who came into office believing that political appointments would aid the primitive acquisition of wealth have been disappointed. For us, it is good riddance to bad rubbish.”