In what has been described as a surprising turn of events, the Ondo State Deputy Governor in Nigeria, Agboola Ajayi, has reiterated his decision to continue his tenure as deputy governor, ruling out rumoured resignation plans, despite his loss at the recently concluded October 10 governorship polls.
Ajayi, who ran against incumbent Governor Rotimi Akeredolu on a ticket from the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) in the last elections, has revealed that he plans on finishing his first term tenure with this administration on the originally scheduled date of February 23, 2021.
This was contained in a statement made available to the public in the state capital, Akure, by the Media Adviser to the Deputy Governor, Allen Sowore. Dispelling Ajayi’s resignation, Sowore alleged that the purported resignation was sponsored by Governor Akeredolu, as propaganda through the State’s Ministry of Information. He described it as “subterfuge in preparation for a macabre plan to put the deputy governor’s forged signature on a prepared resignation letter.”
Warning the general public to be wary of the government’s antics, Sowore also stated that the people put Ajayi in power, therefore, if he were to resign, it would be at the request of the same people that put him there. “Therefore, he has no reason whatsoever to relinquish the people’s mandate, which of course is limited by term/time as democratically bestowed upon him,” he said.
Reaction From The State Government
The Commissioner for Information and Orientation in the state, Donald Ojogo, in a statement reacting to Ajayi’s decision, explained that the governor’s focus was currently on dousing the tensions caused by the #EndSars protests, as opposed to whether or not his deputy intends to resign.
“It should be the height of insensitivity to dissipate energy on whatever the ZLP candidate may have said in respect of the above subject matter,” he said.
Reiterating that the government has no plans to forge Ajayi’s signature, Ojogo called on the ZLP candidate to “place his conscience before the moral square” when it comes to his position on whether or not to resign.
This story is part of our new series on Nigeria where we analyse electoral and political reform in the country ahead of the next general elections in 2023.
