Politics

Ondo Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi, Defects To ZLP

The Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi, has officially defected to the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

He made the announcement on Friday at a colourful ceremony held at the state secretariat of the party in Akure, the state capital.

Addressing a crowd of party faithful at the event, the deputy governor said he was happy to join ZLP and was confident that the party would win the forthcoming governorship election.

He appealed to all loyalists of the party not to exercise any anxiety but be united and work for the party’s success in the poll.

Ajayi was received into the ZLP fold by the state party chairman, Joseph Akinlaja, and other leaders of the party in the state.

In an earlier remark, Akinlaja told the deputy governor that the ZLP members in Ondo were happy to receive him and his teeming supporters across the state into the party.

He was full of confidence that with the governorship election conducted under a free and fair atmosphere, ZLP would win convincingly.

The party chairman also disclosed that the official declaration of Ajayi as the ZLP governorship election would take place later.

Members of the ZLP in Ondo State gather at the reception of the state’s Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi, into the party in Akure on August 14, 2020.

Ajayi’s defection to the ZLP, which is in line with his resolve to contest the October 10 governorship election in the state, has put an end to the speculations that Ajayi planned to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In June, the deputy governor left the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the PDP, where he contested for the party’s governorship primary election.

He was, however, defeated by Mr Eyitayo Jegede who won the PDP’s governorship ticket, prompting Ajayi to leave for the ZLP to actualise his ambition of becoming the governor of the state.

Although some of his supporters agitated that Ajayi be picked as Jegede’s running mate, that was not the case as another person was chosen for the position.

The deputy governor’s exit from the APC followed a disagreement between him and the state governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who has since emerged as the APC flagbearer for a second term in office.