The Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi, says there is no truth behind reports that he plans to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Eyitayo Jegede in an alliance to unseat Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
Ajayi is the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) candidate for the October 10 gubernatorial election in Ondo.
He said agents of the Akeredolu-led state government were behind the disinformation campaign in the media, adding that the said alliance was a figment of their imagination.
Ajayi spoke through a Thursday statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Babatope Okeowo.
The Herald recalls that a viral report by The Nation on Wednesday claimed that Jegede and Ajayi were plotting a “last-minute working alliance to wrest power” from Akeredolu.
In the report, it was further claimed that Ajayi quit the PDP, which he joined shortly after quitting the All Progressves Congress (APC), because Jegede rebuffed PDP leaders’ advice to take him as a running mate.
“The belief in the camp of Jegede was that Ajayi might exhibit the same tendency that led to a crisis of confidence between him and his boss, Akeredolu,” the report noted.
However, in the statement, Okeowo stated, “This publication like the previous one from the same author is not only fake but planted by the information machinery of the outgoing Governor of Ondo State, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, to discourage the teeming supporters of the Deputy Governor.
“The said publication was coming barely 24 hours after the State Government prevented the Deputy Governor from using the government facility for the launch of his campaign, a development which showed their sinister motives
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“Let it be known to the members of the public that there is no romance between the candidate of ZLP and that of PDP after the governorship primary that produced Eyitayo Jegede as the candidate of PDP. There was no offer and rejection of running mate from the PDP leadership or Jegede to Ajayi as insinuated by the fake publication.
“The said publication has failed to prove any nexus between the two candidates and tried unsuccessfully also to impugn the character of the Deputy Governor.
“We say emphatically that the deputy governor is winning the forthcoming governorship election slated for October 10 and he is willing to welcome candidates or other political parties who may wish to support his aspiration to rescue the State from the misrule of Akeredolu’s government.”