Afenifere general secretary Sola Ebiseni declares his intention to run for Ondo governor

AFENIFERE general-secretary and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart Chief Sola Ebiseni has announced his intention to run for Ondo State governor when the contest takes place later this year.

Ondo State is due to go to the polls to elect a new governor on November 16 this year and all the major parties are expected to hold their primaries soon. Incumbent governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who just took over governance following the demise of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, is expected to be the frontrunner to secure the ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

In the last two governorship elections, the race for Government House, Akure has been a straight fight between the APC and the PDP. A head-to-head clash between Governor Aiyedatiwa and Afenifere scribe Chief Ebiseni would indeed be a heavyweight contest between two evenly-matched candidates.

According to Chief Ebiseni, with his orientation and knowledge of the state, he remains the best person to lead Ondo forward.  While describing the forthcoming elections as a crucial moment for the state, he emphasised that all previous governors of the state were nurtured and influenced by the principles of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Chief Ebiseni, a lawyer and former commissioner for environment under Governor Olusegun Mimiko, maintained that understanding the people and the territory was essential for the development of Ondo State. He called for the urgent need to diversify the state’s economy and end the current excessive dependence on federal allocation.

“If you follow the trajectory of governance from the Ajasin era, our state has had the rare privilege of being governed by governors who are not only intellectually suave, grounded in their chosen careers, thoroughly bred and groomed in the ideology of the Awolowo school of thought. However, the development of our state also requires being fully acquainted with the territory and the people.

"Such knowledge affords the new manager, the opportunity to determine the location of resources, create wealth therefrom and fairly allocate them without undue concentration in one or a few places. You will note that I have not been that available at the party due to the assignment given to me by the Afenifere organisation to serve as its secretary-general, which really took much of my time.

“From now on, I will be much more available to serve as an agent of unity, peace and unification. I have consulted widely with the leaders and stakeholders and solicited their full support as we strive to reclaim our dear Sunshine State from utter darkness,” Chief Ebiseni added.

Chief Ebiseni, who worked for Peter Obi of the Labour Party during the last presidential election, is a card-carrying member of the PDP. He pointed out that although he supported the former Anambra State governor in last year's last elections, he was never a member of the Labour Party.