By Dayo Johnson, Akure
The last election in Ondo State promised to be a close, straight fight between the ruling Labour Party, LP, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; a re-enactment of the 2007 duel between Governor Olusegun Agagu and Dr. Segun Mimiko, the incumbent governor.

PDP members swore that it was time to prove, once and for all, that they “own” the state; that the 2007 election was no farce as the Court of Appeal made people to believe in its verdict on the Mimiko vs Agagu case.

For the Labour Party, it was the golden opportunity it had been wanting from to remove any doubt that it truly won the 2007 election. Such was the build up to the elections.

If sheer razzmatazz were the only criterion for winning an election, the PDP would easily have won. What with one of its chieftains flying to the party’s campaigns in helicopters.

But by the time the first round of polls – NASS election -was over, it was clear who indeed is in charge: Labour Party. Senator Gbenga Ogunniya, Senator Bode Olajumoke, and Dr. Olusegun Agagu were all defeated.

In the case of Chief Ogunniya, he wanted to go to the Senate for a fourth time. Such was the trouncing that many PDP stalwarts simply walked away from the remaining elections.

The same scenario played itself out in the House of Assembly election in which the LP trashed the PDP in all the 26 constituencies save Ese Odo Constituency which the PDP won. Many of the candidates fielded by the opposition hail from areas with fewer votes compared to LP candidates who are from areas with some votes. Also some candidates represented by PDP failed to perform to the expectation while in positions

The likes of the former Deputy Speaker Mayowa Akinfolarin representing Odigbo 1, Atikase Thompson Otito Ilaje 11, Fatai Adams Adekanye Akoko  North West 11, Olaniyi Adebusuyi Okitipupa, Asake Olabintan Ose  and other principal officers of the house would have returned but fall to the popularity and charisma of Mimiko. The people voted for Mimiko and not the LP candidates across the 18 council areas of the state.

Candidates of the PDP in the House of Assembly polls are now complaining that they were left alone by the party and its chieftains during the polls and attributed their woeful performances to the lackadaisical attitude of the party leadership.

Defence Minister Prince Adetokunbo Kayode (SAN) who is from the state saved the party from further humiliation in the presidential election.

The Minister embarked on series of  meetings with stakeholders and mobilisation of party members for the presidential election. His efforts and those of Mimiko whose party had pledged to support the President paid off in the end. But with the election over now, the PDP is being torn apart with party members trading blames over the outcome of the election.

The question now on the lips of the people of the state is that what is the fate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP in Ondo State as the November 2012 governorship election is around the corner.