Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has declared that he will be running for the Novermber 2024 governorship election in the state.
Aiyedatiwa, who became governor after the demise of his principal, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, said he would join the race as required by the constitution of the country.
“Definitely, I will be running because I am already a sitting governor and let me say this, nobody wants to be governor for one year.
“Common! Give me what the constitution allows me to do. At least, let me have the chance of also running for one more time,” he said on a TV programme at the weekend.
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Aiyedatiwa became the state governor on December 27, 2023, after Akeredolu died of protracted prostate cancer at a German hospital.
As deputy to the late Akeredolu, he was immediately sworn into office by the Chief Judge of the state, Olusegun Odunsola, to fill the vacuum created by the death of his principal to complete the remaining term in office.
Speaking on his relationship with the former governor before his death, Aiyedatiwa denied having crisis with the late Akeredolu, who was buried on Friday.
He explained that a few individuals in the state who were being driven by political ambition caused the crisis in the state.
“Let me put this straight for the record sake, I never had issues with my former principal. There was no time we had a face-off, there was no time we had an issue that would demand that I had to make up with him.
“All that were being pushed out at a time were basically political. They were all falsehoods and insinuations because election was coming and they knew the governor was so sick and a lot of things were at play.
“There was no time I had an issue that I needed to resolve with him in terms of crisis. All that you saw at a time were basically political. It was driven by the ambition of few people who knew there is going to be transition in the state and I was advantaged as the deputy,” he added.
Daily Trust reports that Aiyedatiwa’s declaration to contest the governorship race was coming ahead of the governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state fixed for April.
Aside from the incumbent governor, no fewer than 15 governorship aspirants in the ruling party have shown interest in jostling for the gubernatorial ticket.
