Jegede is no longer a factor in this election, says Akeredolu

Rotimi Akeredolu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Ondo state governorship election, says Eyitayo Jegede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is no longer a factor in Saturday’s exercise.

Jegede had been in and out of courts after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) replaced his name with Jimoh Ibrahim of the Ali Modu Sheriff faction of the PDP.

The commission had cited a ruling of a federal high court, Abuja, as the reason for its action.

But in its judgement on Wednesday, the appeal court ordered that Jegede should be reinstated as the party’s candidate.

Reacting to the ruling, Akeredolu told Channels Television that Jegede poses no threat to him.

“The election is already settled. I don’t see any problem. I have always said that even if both of them (Jegede and Ibrahim) run, I will defeat them,” he said.

“Jegede is no longer a factor in this election. There is nothing anybody can do, the election is this Saturday, and there is nothing they can do any longer. There is no problem at all. Just that they are throwing spanner in the works of the PDP. I don’t think PDP has a part in this election.”

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has called on the people of Ondo state to go out to the polling stations on Saturday and cast their vote for Akeredolu.

The president said the right to vote is not only a civic responsibility, but the opportunity to determine the course of people’s lives.

Buhari said a vote for the APC in the election is a vote for progressive and people-oriented policies.

“Since the creation of Ondo State in 1976, the people of the state have contributed immensely to the growth and development of Nigeria, especially in the domain of agriculture and education,” read a statement issued on his behalf by Garba Shehu, his spokesman.

“A vote for Rotimi Akeredolu, a renowned lawyer of guileless reputation who rose to the peak of his profession as the president of the Nigerian Bar Association, is a vote for the continued development of Ondo state.”

The statement also said Buhari looks forward to a free and fair election.