ONDO: More frustration for Tinubu as his preferred candidate is disqualified

The Magu season may have temporarily taken over the airwaves since the arrowhead of the Buhari administration's anti-corruption campaign, Ibrahim Magu, was whisked away by the DSS last week over corruption allegations, there's still political tussle down south, as Edo and Ondo States respectively gear for their governorship elections.


In Ondo State particularly, there's a bit of disquiet following the disqualification of Tinubu's preferred governorship candidate ahead of the July 20 Ondo governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Tijani Tumsa–led Screening Committee had on Friday announced the disqualification of one of the contenders. Although the committee mentioned no name, but sources in the party however, said it was Abraham.

Feelers in the presidency said Akeredolu still enjoys President Muhammadu Buhari’s support.



The support of the presidency in 2016 gave Governor Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) an edge over the preferred candidate of Tinubu, Abraham in the September primary of the party. Akeredolu polled 669 votes to defeat Abraham who garnered 635.

Since then, the relationship between Akeredolu and the APC leader and former Lagos State Governor has been far from smooth. And now with the disqualification of Abraham, at a time Tinubu is said to have been rendered politically irrelevant by powers in the presidency, it remains to be seen how this latest action by the screening committee will affect an already strained relationship between Tinubu and thoss he helped brought to power.


Meanwhile, Governor Akeredolu, who is said to be enjoying the full support of the Presidency, remains upbeat that a second term is already in the bag.