The family of late Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has endorsed Otunba Bamidele Akingboye, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, for the November 16 governorship election.
The announcement was made in conjunction with the ASEI Human Rights of Nigeria, a human rights group.
Oluwafemi Akeredolu, the late governor’s younger brother, said it is important to prioritise a candidate’s integrity over party affiliation. “It’s not about the party; it’s about who wants to run for the party,” he stated.
Akeredolu criticized the current party-centric voting system, suggesting that individuals should be voted for based on their merits, not their party affiliation. He expressed confidence in Otunba Bamidele Akingboye’s potential to bring positive change to Ondo State.
His words: “If we say we are going forward, we are going forward. And that is why you always know that they call my brother talk and do. He is a very, very strict person.
“It is not about the party. My brother was a staunch APC member. It is not about the party. What has the party done for us as Nigerians? The party can pick an idiot and put him there that people should vote. People vote for the party now. It’s the party they are voting for”
He said “If INEC changes their pattern or election pattern that they should be voting for individuals, some parties will not make it. Individual will come out and say, oh, okay, I’m voting for an individual. This is the individual I like.
“You will see that some people will have different choices and say, no, I’m not voting for this man. I’m voting for this man. And we should have that at the back of our minds that it is not about the party.
“It is about who wants to run for the party. If someone is not competent enough and is in a majority party, must everybody now be foolish to follow the majority party? No. We know our situation. People are hungry.
“We have decided that it is not the party we want to follow, it is the personality. And in the personality of Otunba Bamidele Akingboye, I know he has a lot of potentials for ondo state.
“Ondo sea port is the biggest and deepest breathing area for any ship. There is a ship in China, that ship has about 2,000 meters long and about 4,000 meters wide. If you are driving that ship into any country, it has to stay in the middle of the deep sea.
“Other ships will have to go there and pack things from it. But that ship can turn around in Ondo state’s port. It can do a 360 turn in Ondo state’s port.
“And they left it unexplored. We thank God that my brother got the certificate for the port before he died. But nothing has been done on it.
“Now, the man there is promising that he will hand over the port. Do we want to hand over our port to a foreigner? No, we won’t let that happen in Ondo state.
“Ondo state needs change. And this is what will give us our change. Our fingers will go out on Saturday and vote for SDP. Once we vote SDP in, I can tell you, I can boast of it, that in six months, you will start seeing changes. Six months.”
Meanwhile, Oba Adewumi Babalola, the National President, ASEI Human Rights, announced his support for the ADP candidate.
Babalola said, “I am here to deliver a message to our people in Ondo state concerning the upcoming election in on the 16th, 11th, 2024. The message I passed to people in Ondo state, God showed me the next governor of Ondo states.
“That is why I called the people in the state to listen to my vision today. So, the vision, I got the new vision, to change the government in the state. God sent me to tell people to vote for SDP . That is Otunba Bamidele Akingboye.”
