A leader of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo
State, Bola Ilori, has said that the state governor, Dr.
Olusegun Mimiko, cannot determine the next
governor of the state because the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party has not delivered the dividends of
democracy to the people.

Ilori, however, advised the leaders of the APC in the
state to ensure that the governorship and council
primaries were conducted in a free and fair manner.
The APC chieftain, who is a former special adviser to
Governor Rauf Aregbesola on environmental
matters, predicted that irregularities in the
forthcoming primaries would split the party and
weaken its chances of victory at the polls.

He said, “I am very sure that Mimiko will not produce
his own successor. Fortunately, there is nothing like a
third term for governors, so he cannot contest. We
are set for the election. For us, winning the
presidential election in the state is a sign that we
have good structures on the ground. By this, we are
serving the governor a quit notice because our party
is ready to take over.

“We are getting more people on our side everyday;
we are winning the traditional and social institutions
to our side in readiness for the election. The
momentum of change is strong in Ondo and because
of this, we are quite sure that we would win

“It is over for the PDP in Ondo State. If you look at
Ondo town where the governor hails from, you will
know that the PDP is no more popular. We are also
going to ensure we don’t make mistakes. At this point
in time, we are assuring our party members that
there would be a primary for the governorship
election.

“Our national leaders are going to scrutinise who will
be the candidate of our party. The leaders would look
at factors such as credibility, loyalty to party ideals
and popularity of the candidates to guide them in
their decision of which aspirant to support.”