Agboola Ajayi, the deputy governor of Ondo State, may soon defect to Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) this weekend in pursuit of his governorship ambition. This is according to sources close to Ondo’s number two man.
The sources said the deputy governor, who came second in the just concluded Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s gubernatorial primary with 657 votes behind Eyitayo Jegede, who polled 888 to clinch the party’s ticket, was consulting with his political associates and stakeholders before taking final decision on the defection plan.
It was also revealed that the immediate past governor of the state, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, was the brain behind Ajayi’s new decision.
Mimiko, who was fingered in the scheming to ensure Ajayi’s victory at the PDP primary, was said to have sold the idea to the deputy governor to defect to his (Mimiko) ZLP to execute his governorship ambition.
Sources further revealed that Engineer Gboye Adegbenro, the state Commissioner for Works during Mimiko’s administration, has been penciled down as Ajayi’s running-mate.
One of the supporters of the deputy governor, who was not disposed to the new defection plan, confirmed that it’s the immediate past governor that was luring him into the move.
It would be recalled that Mimiko contested for the Central Senatorial District seat on ZLP but lost to PDP candidate in the 2019 general elections.
Currently, ZLP has been touted as the third force in the state with the deputy governor’s plan to defect to the party.
The deputy governor dumped All Progressives Congress (APC) in June and defected to PDP where he contested for the party’s gubernatorial ticket. But he lost to the party’s candidate in 2016 governorship election, Jegede.
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