In less than two weeks, voters in Ondo State will file out to elect a new governor among the 17 candidates jostling for the Alagbaka Governor’s Office. Among the candidates, only four are seen as observers as serious contenders while the rest as pretenders. BABATOPE OKEOWO reports the slogan war among the top contenders.
Ahead of the November 16 governorship election in the Sunshine State, the top contenders have embarked on what could be deemed ‘a slogan war’ as the gladiators move to outwit one another with taunts and sloganeering aimed their opponents.
Aside from the deployment of slogans by their respective political parties; the candidates have also adopted catchy phrases to drive their messages to the electorate.
Among the 17 candidates listed in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal as prospective governor of the state, only four including the incumbent, Hon Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Hon Agboola Alfred Ajayi, the Labour Party (LP), Chief Sola Ebiseeni and that of New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Hon Olugbenga Edema could be seen as serious contenders.
The Slogan War
The various political parties coined different slogans to wow and woo the electorate to their side as the election gradually drew near. For the ruling APC, the slogan is ‘Change’ or ‘Renewed Hope’ while the main opposition party; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has ‘Power to the People’ as its slogan.
The Labour Party (LP) has adopted the ‘Forward Ever, Backward Never’ slogan while the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP’s) slogan is ‘Education For All’ is also renting the air and is said to be resonating with the electorate like those of others.
The candidates
Aiyedatiwa of the APC
Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and the candidate of APC adopted the use of Odatiwa, Odirorun, a corrupted form of his name as the slogan for the election. In campaign rallies, when they shout APC, the answer is Odatiwa, Odirorun.
The campaign materials including cap and T-shirt also carry the candidate’s slogan. Governor Aiyedatiwa is a man of circumstance because he succeeded his boss, former Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who died of prostate cancer on December 27, 2023.
In the beginning, Governor Akeredolu brought in Aiyedatiwa to replace his main challenger in the PDP, Hon. Agboola Ajayi who was at that time the deputy governor of the state, saying at every event that he is his anointed successor but the relationship took a turn for the worse when Akeredolu who was fondly called Aketi took ill before he eventually died.
To the credit of Aiyedatiwa, who is the leading candidate and the incumbent has served in various capacities before becoming the deputy by his late boss since the beginning of the present democratic dispensation.
At various times, he had been a House of Representative candidate for Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency; Commissioner of Niger Delta Commission (NDDC) before fortune smiled on him and became the Deputy Governor to late Akeredolu and now the governor of the Sunshine State.
Agboola Ajayi of the PDP
Instead of the ‘Power to the People’ slogan known with the PDP, what many residents and supporters of the PDP’s candidate are used to are ‘Pagboyimika’, ‘Agbofessy,’ and ‘Agbo Irorun’.
The slogans of the candidate were taken from his name and that of his running mate; Hon Festus Olanrewaju Akingbaso popularly called Fessywest. In most of the rallies, the slogans belonging to the candidate and his deputy had overtaken that of the party.
Agboola was brought to life by the famous Ajayi family in the socio-politically conscious town of Kiribo in Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State. He had his Primary and Secondary Education in Kiribo and Bolorunduro communities of Ese-Odo Local Government Area just as he had his academic foundation rooted in these communities before pursuing University Education.
Ajayi’s political trajectory included his appointment as supervisor for agriculture and supervisor for works for Ese-Odo Local Government between 1999 and 2003. He was later appointed the caretaker Chairman of the same local government between 2003 and 2004.
He was later democratically elected Chairman of Ese-Odo Local Government between 2004 and 2007 and was made the treasurer of Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Ondo State chapter between 2004 and 2007.
The climax of Agboola’s political journey came in 2007 when he was elected to the Federal House of Representatives to represent Ilaje / Ese-Odo Federal Constituency.
At the National Assembly, he served as the Chairman of the House committee on NDDC between 2007 and 2010. He was also a member of various committees, which included the House committee on Gas, House committee on Habitat, House committee on Justice and House committee on Industry between 2007 and 2001
In all these lofty positions, he excelled and used these offices to touch the lives of his people. He became the deputy governor of Ondo State between February 2017 to February 2020.
Olugbenga Edema of the NNPP
The slogan of NNPP, ‘Education for All’ has been jettisoned for ‘Igbega Ipinle Ondo’ and ‘Edemayemi’ in the buildup to the November 16 governorship election.
To complement the idea of sloganeering, the Deputy Governorship candidate of the party, Dr. Rotimi Adeyemi has his surname shortened to Yemi. The catchy phrase for the campaign popular among the supporters is ‘Edemayemi’ in Ipinle Ondo.
Born in the rustic village of Ogogoro in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State on 15th November, 1966, Edema had his early primary education at the L. A. Primary School, Ogogoro and Urban Community School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.
For his secondary education, he attended Erinje Grammar School, Ode-Erinje, Ondo State between 1977 and 1978 and Doherty Memorial Grammar School, Ijero-Ekiti, Ekiti State between 1978 & 1982.
The young Gbenga then proceeded to the famous Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, where he bagged a Bachelor’s degree in Geography in 1990 and served in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme at Gbogan/Ode-Omu Anglican Grammar School, Gbogan, Osun State.
He later proceeded to the prestigious University of Ibadan, for his degree in Law which he completed in 1999. He was called to the Nigerian Bar on the 3rd of July, 2001.
Olugbenga Edema is a member of many professional Organisations including the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Prior to his appointment as the Chairman of Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (OSOPADEC).
He was the principal partner, Olugbenga Edema & Co, a firm of legal practitioners doing business in Akure, the state capital. He had his early stint with politics in 1998 as a member of the Peoples Solidarity Party, one of the many political associations aspiring for registration under the General Ibrahim Babangida transitional programme.
He moved to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), one of the two political parties that were eventually created by the Babangida administration where he held a number of significant positions including delegate to its National Convention before the abolition of the two parties by General Sanni Abacha in 1993.
With the return to democratic rule in 1999, he joined the PDP wherein he contributed immensely to its success in the 2003 elections. Subsequently, he served as a member of the Ondo State Sports Council (2005–2007) and the Ondo State Scholarships Board.
He joined the Labour Party (LP) on 24 May 2010 in Igbokoda, Ondo State and was elected as member representing Ilaje constituency II at the State House of Assembly in 2011.
He later joined the All Progressives Congress, APC, on the 23rd of October, 2014 and he re-contested but lost re-election in 2015. Until April, 2021, he was the Board Chairman of the Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission, OSOPADEC and later member of NDDC Board representing Ondo State.
Sola Ebiseeni of Labour Party
The LP candidate is one of the veteran politicians in the state. He has also chosen another veteran, Dayo Awude as his running mate. Instead of ‘Forward Ever, Backward Ever’ slogan of the party, he has adopted ‘Ebiseeni De, Tiwa Dayo l’Ondo’ as the new slogan for the campaign activities.
Since he launched the campaign of the party a few months ago, Ebisemi has been making waves with his new mantra.
A legal practitioner, he studied Law at Obafemi Awolowo University graduating in 1985 and has since been practicing in the Chambers of the then President of the Nigerian Bar Association, the late Chief Alao Aka-Basorun.
Aka-Bashorun was one of the leading lights in the Nigerian civil society in the same pedestal of greats such as the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, Chief Fredrick Faseun, Baba Omojola, and Femi Falana.
He started his political career as chairman of the old Ilaje/Ese-Odo Local Government. He was barely 30 years when he assumed this leadership role. As the local government chairman, he was the Coordinator of MKO Abiola 1993 presidential campaigns and when the election was annulled and other democratic structures dissolved in November 1993 ending his tenure, he joined the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) struggle for the re- validation of the mandate.
At the resumption of democratic rule since 1999, other political activities and positions held include Director, Oluwa Glass Company Limited; Deputy Governorship Candidate Democratic Party Alliance, Chairman Ondo State Law Commission, three-times Commissioner for Environment and Mineral Resources; Federal Government Delegate 2014 National Conference. Ebiseni is the Secretary General of Afenifere, apex Yoruba Socio-political Organization; Labour Party South West Coordinator and member Legal Team 2023 Presidential Election.
With a few days to the scheduled poll, these gladiators have intensified their push and one of the tools that have been deployed is sloganeering but how that would turn the tide in their respective favour remains to be seen.
