With roughly a week to the election, and in what may look like the greatest political twist in recent history, information have emerged about growing preference for a new breed of political leadership in Ondo and everything seems in favour of the governorship candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), the Okitipupa LGA-born, National Secretary of the PRP, Comrade Babatunde Francis Alli (BFA). While many leaders of the ZLP were initially rumoured to be in constant touch with Alli, more surprises have emerged about some APC and PDP leaders being the actual champions of the covert push for a new breed.

Surprising facts have now emerged about the deep romance between Alli and some notable leaders of the APC and the PDP. “He is still young with a lot up his sleeves. A truly new breed for a new Ondo State”, says a leading member of the ruling party. “He seems to understand the state even more than those in power” says a PDP leader who described the Nov. 3rd Governorship Debate in the State as embarrassing. If feelers from the State are anything to go about therefore, the APC might as well consider its growing euphoria of a walk-over in the Nov 16 election, a mere mirage. 

Those conversant with the politics of the Southwest, Nigeria, will readily describe Ondo State as the most unpredictable in terms of electoral decisions, making it the riskiest for any government to toy with, particularly, when the government becomes unpopular with the masses. For instance, how the then Governor Olusegun Mimiko led Labour Party, swept the PDP out of office in the 2007 governorship election has remained a reference point in the politics of the State. 

Despite the prolonged legal tussle that followed that election, and despite the PDP holding sway at the Federal level, the Labour Party still won that case at the Appeal Court level, abruptly ending late Olusegun Agagu’s Governorship reign in Ondo State.  How the state turned around to refuse the candidates of the same former governor Olusegun Mimiko, in the 2016 and 2020 governorship elections respectively still remains fresh in memory. The state may therefore be on the history path again if information reaching the media is anything to go by, this time however, the ruling APC may be the party heading for exit from the government house.  

Until recently, political analysts had predicted a two-party contest between the APC and the PDP in the coming election. In fact, only the APC and the PDP were considered popular enough to participate in the Channels Television Governorship Debate of Sunday 3rd November 2024 but findings have revealed deep-seated plans by some top politicians in the state to use a neutral political platform to form the next government. The PRP and the SDP candidates were initially shortlisted but the recent decamping of the SDP deputy governorship candidate to the APC seemed to have sealed the move in favour of the PRP. “We don’t want further complications”, a notable female politician was said to have noted. 

Meanwhile, findings have revealed that contrary to the publicly taunted reconciliation amongst the APC leaders, deep-rooted division remains in the party with the gladiators playing “the more you look, the less you see” with the sitting governor. This has been observed as the leaders of the political structures of some former aspirants in the well-debated primary election of the APC, are deeply involved in the “new government, but not APC” project. A clear sign that the ghost of the APC’s primary election of April 2024 won’t disappear until after the November 2024 election. In fact at the recent rallies by the party, while some leaders deliberately absented themselves, others attended merely to avoid being suspected of any foul play.

To make the matter worse, the wave of recent appointments of Special Assistants by the governor has not helped the situation as most of the appointees have been fingered in the “new government, new party” agenda now spreading fast, right under the nose of the ruling party. As if this was not enough, the recent endorsement of the governor by NULGE, Ondo State Chapter, has not translated into assurance of victory as the majority of Civil Servants in the State are also suspected to be planning a showdown with the governor at the November 16 governorship election. The recent promise by the PRP candidate to give the headship of agencies like the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) and State University Basic Education Board (SUBEB) to the Civil Service has also been seen as a skillful manoeuvring from an emerging political tactician. 

Although attempt to speak with the supposed new bride of the State’s political class have proven abortive as he is fast becoming the stealthiest player of the new order, one thing that is surprising however, is the way the candidate of the PRP has repeatedly boasted that he will defeat the APC and the PDP put together, a boast many political pundits considered incredible until recent revelations. 

Babatunde Francis Alli’s inclusive manifesto and general acceptability amongst the Christian community have also been suspected to add to his obvious confidence in stressless victory, at the poll. “We’ll beat them with minimum 1 million votes”, he boasted in October.

With recent emerging facts, the next few days might as well be the most dramatic in the history of Ondo State politics.