Why PDP lost Ondo governorship election – Ex-senator

A PDP Chieftain in Ondo State, Sen. Nicholas Tofowomo, says the party lost the Nov. 16 governorship election to lack of preparedness, a divided house and complacency by party leaders and supporters.

Tofowomo, a former senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Okitipupa.

NAN reports that Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa of All Progressives Congress (APC) had polled 366,781 votes to defeat Agboola Ajayi of PDP who scored 117,845 votes.

Tofowomo claimed that he was one of the party leaders whom Ajayi under-played their relevance and influence with their teeming supporters.

He said that he was not carried along in the formation of the PDP campaign council in his senatorial district, in spite of his readiness to work for him and the party.

The former senator said that the mass exodus of leaders and supporters from the party, including former Gov. Olusegun Mimiko and his 29 associates from PDP, also contributed majorly to the party’s loss at the poll.

He said that the PDP governorship candidate did nothing to reconcile all the warring factions, adding that the result was the party’s poor showing in the election.

According to him, there is nothing to contest in the just-concluded governorship election, as Aiyedatiwa won ‘convincingly’ in all the 18 local government areas in the state, with Ajayi losing, even in his Ese-Odo council area.

“I cannot speak for Edo governorship election because it was marred with irregularities. But for Ondo State, the outcome of the election represented the wishes of the masses, because of APC’s readiness and the strategies it adopted.

“How can you go to an election with a divided house, unpreparedness and lack of regard for influential party leaders and supporters and expect to win? That’s where Ajayi got it wrong,” he said.

Tofowomo said that he was the only Mimiko’s associate who refused to join the mass defection to APC ahead of the governorship poll because he was a staunch party member and for some reasons best known to him.

He added that he, his supporters and other party leaders were sidelined throughout the campaign period, stressing that he complained to another party chieftain, Dr Eddy Olafeso, about the situation but that nothing was done till the election day.

“Mimiko and his associates’ defection also contributed significantly to Ajayi’s loss.

“Mimiko is my leader for life, but I am one of his associates who decided not to defect for reasons best known to me and because I am a staunch member of the party.

“I bear no grudge against Ajayi and I sympathise with him over the loss of the governorship election because it’s not his loss but that of PDP,” he said.

The former senator, however, said that he was not engaging in any anti-party activity, urging anyone with such information to come out to challenge him.