A former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Jumoke Akindele, on Tuesday declared her intention to contest the Ondo South senatorial seat in the 2027 general election under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

With the declaration coming after months of speculation, Akindele, a lawyer, who hails from Okitipupa Local Council Area of the state stressed that her decision to contest the ticket was based on sincere desire to serve and bring purposeful leadership to the district.

While speaking with newmen on her ambition, the first female Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, emphasised that her proven record of leadership and dedication to inclusive governance position her as the candidate best equipped to address the economic concerns, youth unemployment, infrastructure deficits, and other challenges facing Ondo South.

Akindele, who is setting her eyes to become the first woman to represent the district in the Senate is seeking to replace Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, who was recently appointed as the Nigeria permanent representative to the United Nations.

According to the former Speaker, who appealed for gender inclusivity for considerations, noted that since the state’s creation, no woman has ever represented the state in the red chamber, a situation she argued must change in line with global trends toward greater female political participation.

Akindele maintained that effective legislation must go beyond the mere passage of laws to include sustained advocacy for implementation as she referenced the sea incursion ravaging the Ayetoro community as a federal-level challenge that requires urgent attention, promising to prioritise it if elected.

Baring her mind on the mode of primaries for the emergence of candidate for the party, she urged that
political parties should first explore consensus among aspirants and party leaders, and where that fails, proceed to primaries in line with the APC constitution and the Constitution of Nigeria.

She warned that aspirants should not be shut out unfairly or ignored without explanation, stressing that every contestant is qualified.

“As you’re all aware, Ondo State has never been represented by any woman in the Red Chamber. At any of the republics, we have never had it. Are we saying we don’t have women who are capable? Okay, maybe we all can agree that we have qualified women in terms of the fact that it is on record that women have excelled in various fields of human endeavour.

“We all know that. But are we saying they’re not capable? These people who have excelled, they’re not capable? They don’t have what it takes to represent us? No, we do have them. We are more than qualified. We are capable. You understand? But we have not been that lucky in the state. And the trend in the world now is inclusiveness, gender inclusivity.

“Which one do I support between consensus and primaries? Well, right now the electoral laws say that you can either have a consensus or you have direct primaries. Well, I’m a trained lawyer. Even in the law courts, I’m one lawyer that would always advocate for settlement out of court.

“So because I’m that kind of lawyer, I will also be the kind of politician that says, try to reach consensus first. If you cannot reach a consensus, then go to primaries in the manner outlined by the constitution of the party and the constitution of Nigeria. So which one do I support? All of the above,” Akindele stated.