By Banji Ayoola
A former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Victor Olabimtan has been named the director general of the Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu Campaign for the October 10 governorship election.
The close associate of the late Governor Olusegun Agagu, who currently serves as the Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Matters, would lead the 1,000 strong team to battle.
State Chairman of the party, Engineer Ade Adetimehin, would chair the committee which would be inaugurated today by Akeredolu. The governor is the overall chairman of the campaign council.
Among the committee’s prominent members are two former Deputy Governors, Alhaji Ali Olanusi and Alhaji Lasisi Oluboyo; Senator Ajayi Boroffice; Senator Tayo Alasoadura; Senator Yele Omogunwa; House of Representatives members from the state on the APC platform; Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mr Bamidele Oleyeloogun; all the party’s former governorship aspirants; Mr Abayomi Sheba; Dr Pius Osunyikanmi; and Mr Kole Oluwajana.
Its members are drawn from all the strata, and it is broken into various committees including Logistics and Administration, Medical, Strategy and Planning, Media and Publicity, Legal Matters, Finance and Resource Allocation, Protocols.
There are also Youths and Students Mobilisation, Civil Society and Support Groups, Special Interest, Women Mobilisation Strategic and Development Communications, Voting Unit Canvassers Committee and Contact and Mobilisation.
Akeredolu had at a stakeholders meeting of the party in Akure recently declared that the party would flag off its governorship campaign rally in the state by the first week of September.
He also said that touring of the 18 local governments would begin immediately after last Saturday’s council poll, while Mega rally would hold few days before the October 10 poll.
He equally stressed the need for regular meetings across units, wards and local government levels.
The governor particularly commended his co-contestants in the July 20 primaries for embracing the reconciliation efforts and choosing to work with him after the shadow election, noting that their magnanimity is responsible for the peace being enjoyed in the party.
He also stressed the importance of continuity of the party in government, assuring all stakeholders of inclusiveness in governance, and that the coming together of the stakeholders is a good thing.
He expressed confidence in the landslide victory of the APC in the October governorship election, just as he appealed to all to work together in the interest of the party.
He also reeled out the scorecards of his administration across infrastructural deliveries, facilitation of various industrial hubs, reconstruction and remodeling of schools, reawakening of abandoned projects by the immediate past administration, giving premium to healthcare delivery, employment of citizens and giving priority to welfare of workers and pensioners in the state.
