Rising From unknown to a Celebrated political Gladiator: Aiyedatiwa and his lucky charm
Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s victory in the November 16, 2024, governorship election in Ondo State marked a significant political achievement, as he triumphed where his predecessor, Agboola Ajayi, failed, writes LAOLU AFOLABI
The Independent National Electoral Commission on Sunday declared the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as the winner of the election held in the state on Saturday, November 16.
In what was generally termed a peaceful election, Aiyedatiwa polled 366,781 votes to defeat Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party and 15 other candidates in an election keenly contested between the APC and the PDP, the main opposition party in the state.
The APC governorship candidate and incumbent governor of the state trounced his opponents in the 18 local government areas of the state.
In the final declaration of the result, the State Returning Officer, Prof Olayemi Akinwumi, said Aiyedatiwa polled a total of 366,781 votes to defeat Ajayi of PDP, who got 117,845 votes.
The Returning Officer said, “That Ayedatiwa Lucky Orimisan of the APC, having satisfied the requirement of the law, is hereby returned elected.”
According to the electoral body, 17 political parties participated in the off-cycle election, which was meant to usher in a new administration in the state from February 23, 2025.
Ondo fell among the states holding the off-cycle election in 2009, following the petition by the then Labour Party governorship candidate, Olusegun Mimiko, against the second-term electoral victory of Dr Olusegun Agagu of the Peoples Democratic Party. The Appeal Court, on February 23, 2009, nullified Agagu’s election and ordered that the then LP candidate, Mimiko, be sworn in as the governor.
Aiyedatiwa’s return to the Alagbaka Government House in Akure was easier than what his immediate boss and the late governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, experienced in the 2020 election.
Akeredolu won the three-horse race governorship election held on Saturday, October 10, 2020, after defeating Eyitayo Jegede of the PDP and Ajayi, then of the Zenith Labour Party.
The former governor polled 292,830, after securing majority votes in 15 of the 18 local government areas, while Jegede, who polled 195,791 votes, won the remaining three councils. Ajayi came a distant third, as he polled 69,127 votes.
With the victory on November 16, 2024, Aiyedatiwa secured more electoral votes and won convincingly in all the local government areas to seal his return as the governor of the state.
November 16 journey
The two leading candidates are not unfamiliar with the terrain. They both served the same principal in the same capacity as deputy governor, though during different tenure.
While Ajayi served as deputy governor to Akeredolu in his first term, between 2016 and 2020, Aiyedatiwa served as deputy governor in his second term, between 2020 and 2023, before he assumed the governorship after the death of Akeredolu on December 27, 2023.
The journey to the seat for Aiyedatiwa was fraught with many challenges, similar to the treatment meted out to Ajayi before he eventually dumped his boss ahead of the 2020 governorship election.
Ajayi was the running mate to Akeredolu in 2016. He secured the position considering his crucial role that reportedly boosted Akeredolu’s chances in the election.
The former deputy governor was reported to have committed heavy financial resources to the project during the primary election to ensure the candidacy of Akeredolu in 2016.
His choice was against what a search committee had recommended for the late governor. An insider who reportedly saw the committee report claimed that three names, Ifedayo Abegunde, Tunji Ariyomo and Aiyedatiwa, were recommended.
Akeredolu, who lost the 2012 election to Mimiko, was rallying around to ensure his victory and eventually picked Ajayi, believed to be a powerful grassroots mobiliser and well-rooted politician in the Ese-Odo Local Government of the state as his running mate.
The camaraderie, however, did not last, as the two gladiators parted ways before the next governorship election, each accusing the other of betrayal of trust.
In the heat of the crisis and before the 2020 election, Akeredolu moved to remove Ajayi through the legislators but failed. Ajayi was served an impeachment notice by the state Assembly over an allegation of gross misconduct. As reported, 14 of the 26 members of the assembly signed the notice while nine members led by the former deputy speaker, lroju Ogundeji, backed out of the process.
The motion for the impeachment was read on the floor of the assembly, but the then Chief Judge, Oluwatoyin Akeredolu, rejected the request to set up a probe panel against Ajayi because a two-third majority as required by the 1999 Constitution for setting up such a probe panel was not formed in the assembly.
After the impeachment plot failed, Ajayi returned to the PDP, being a founding member. He had previously left the party for the APC a few months before the 2016 governorship election. He dumped the PDP again after he lost the primary to Jegede, and joined the ZLP, where he contested the 2020 election and lost.
All the while, he remained the deputy governor in the state as he refused to leave office, though he had dumped the ruling party. He campaigned in the PDP primary as a sitting deputy governor and also campaigned for the governorship election as the ZLP candidate in the same capacity.
Having failed in the mission to remove the deputy governor through legislative means, Akeredolu was reported to have sacked all Ajayi’s aides, including those of his wife. The late governor also barred him from leaving the Government House in his official car.
Ajayi, though packed out of the official residence of the deputy governor, remained in the position until the end of the administration.
The former deputy governor returned to the PDP with Mimiko and solidified his base. He emerged as the governorship candidate of the party for the 2024 election at the primary held at the Dome, Akure, on April 25, 2024, after Jegede had withdrawn from the exercise.
Ajayi defeated the former Secretary General of the pan-Yoruba socio-political association, Afenifere, Chief Olusola Ebiseni; a former member of the House of Representatives, Mr Kolade Akinjo; a former Commissioner for Information, Mr John Mafo; Mr Adeolu Akinwumi; Mr Bamidele Akingboye and Bosun Arebuwa.
If Ajayi felt humiliated or scorned as deputy governor, Aiyedatiwa suffered even more. He was insulted and ridiculed by the governor’s commissioners and aides.
Akeredolu and Aiyedatiwa started well as an ideal pair for the governance of the state. The former deputy governor even cultured the look of his principal, as both bore semblance with their moustache and white beard line. During the inauguration ceremony, Akeredolu eulogised Aiyedatiwa, commending him for his tenacity of purpose and loyalty.
The late governor even made remarks about Aiyedatiwa’s name. He said the new deputy governor was lucky as his name indicated. He also gave the meaning of his two Yoruba names: Orimisan and Aiyedatiwa and rounded off his speech that he had to go down for Aiyedatiwa to go up. Akeredolu said having won his second term, he could not become the governor again, but added that Aiyedatiwa would definitely go up.
The duo, however, fell apart with time. It was initially hidden from the public until the spat between the governor’s wife and his aide came to the public space. Then the Secretary to the State Government, Princess Oladunni Odu, and some commissioners eyeing the seat were all out against Aiyedatiwa acting in the absence of an ailing Akeredolu. Some legislators would not spare him either.
The relationship between Aiyedatiwa and Akeredolu became strained, partly due to the late governor’s extended medical leave, during which Aiyedatiwa acted as governor, leading to speculations about a power tussle between the duo. He was accused of harbouring ambitions to undermine the governor.
During a brief return from Germany where he had gone for treatment, Akeredolu, at a meeting held at his Ibadan residence with officials of the state, thanked everyone, excluding Aiyedatiwa. There was no courtesy accorded the former deputy governor. He was alone.
Following the meeting, his aides were sacked, including his media aide, who was accused of publishing a story against the governor. By then, officials of the state Ministry of Information were assigned to cover the media for the deputy governor.
It was another battle between Aiyedatiwa and the late Akeredolu’s wife, as the former first lady openly accused him of wife battery. Mrs Akeredolu reported in various media outlets why Aiyedatiwa must not be entrusted with the affairs of the state over domestic violence allegations.
Aiyedatiwa was also embroiled in allegations of financial misconduct and abuse of office, and an attempt was made, as was in the case of Ajayi, to remove him from office through legislative means.
Following the impeachment move, legal battles ensued as the former deputy governor sought the protection of the courts. His lawyer and prominent human rights activist, Ebunoluwa Adegboruwa, traversed between Akure and Abuja courts for notices and counter-notices.
The crisis got to its head when the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, had to intervene, asking President Bola Tinubu to call the gladiators in Ondo to a meeting.
The President summoned them to Abuja, including Odu, Wale Akinterinwa and others alongside Aiyedatiwa, where a truce was brokered for the governor to continue his acting leadership, until Akeredolu died on December 27, 2024.
Aiyedatiwa was sworn in immediately to avoid a vacuum and he then appointed Olayide Adelami, from Owo where Akeredolu hails, as deputy governor.
While Aiyedatiwa pledged not to abandon all projects initiated by his former boss, he, however, changed his looks from that of Akeredolu’s white beard.
The controversies around Aiyedatiwa polarised public opinion. While some saw him as a victim of political persecution, others viewed him as complicit in internal party disputes.
The battle continued during the primary of the party which was held on April 21, 2024. Aiyedatiwa emerged from the primary supervised by the Ondo State Governor, Usman Ododo.
Not satisfied, aggrieved aspirants, including Jimoh Ibrahim, Olusola Oke, and Wale Akinterinwa, among others asked the national leadership of the party to order a rerun of the exercise. Ibrahim took a step further as he took the matter to court, asking for the nullification of the exercise.
The APC National Working Committee handled the case with maturity as the party, led by Dr Umar Ganduje, appealed to the aggrieved party stalwart and prevailed on Ibrahim to withdraw the case in court.
The November 16 election had a unified front for the first time in the history of the party in the state, as Ganduje led governors of the party to work for Aiyedatiwa’s victory.
Aiyedatiwa’s eventual rise to become the governor and his eventual victory in the November 16, 2024, election demonstrated political resilience, leveraging his experience and navigating internal party politics effectively.
With the victory, Aiyedatiwa, from the Ilaje Local Government Area of the state, has returned the governorship to the Ondo South senatorial district, after the last occupant from the zone, Chief Agagu, who is from the Okitipupa Local Government Area of the state.
