No fewer than 15 members of the Ondo House of Assembly have officially declared support for the incumbent governor of the state, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, to clinch the ticket of the All-Progressives Congress and win the November 2024 governorship election.
The lawmakers, led by the Speaker, Olamide Oladiji, disclosed that Aiyedatiwa had so far impressed them by continuing with the legacies of the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu despite being in office for only a short period.
The endorsement comes one week after some members of the state Assembly passed a vote of no confidence in the Speaker after he openly assured Aiyedatiwa of getting the support of about 18 lawmakers during the governor’s formal declaration to enter the race a few weeks ago.
The aggrieved members, who distanced themselves from the show of partisan politics, included the Majority Leader, Oluwole Ogunmolasuyi; Parliamentary Secretary, Moyinolorun Ogunwumiju; Chief Whip, Oluwarotimi Fasonu, Minority Leader, Olajide Oguntodu and Deputy Minority Leader, Raymond Daodu.
Others were Akinsuroju Nelson, Akomolafe Temitope, Ifabiyi Olatunji, Agbulu Akeem, Christopher Ayebusiwa, Atinuke Witherspoon, Biola Oladapo and Afe Felix.
But a defiant Oladiji told newsmen during a visit to the APC national secretariat in Abuja on Monday that the governor had done more than enough to deserve the endorsement.
The Speaker, who came with a delegation of 15 state lawmakers, said the governor had prioritized the payment of their salaries, begun the recruitment of about 2,000 health workers and had maintained a cordial relationship with the legislature and the judiciary in the state.
