Akeredolu: It may not be easy for me to defeat Jegede

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has expressed optimism that he would win the October 10 Ondo State governorship poll, under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Akeredolu said this shortly after meeting with the APC Election Appeal Committee at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja on Monday.
He advised the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Eyitayo Jegede, to focus on issue based campaign without resorting to violence.
“Jegede is my friend. We are colleagues and both members of inner bar, I don’t have anything against him and I just pray that our campaign should be issue based without violence.
“I know that he (Jegede) knows that it will not be easy for him. Yes, it may not be easy for me to win, but by God’s grace, I am going to win.
“I can assure you that as it was in the beginning, so it shall be now and forever more. We will win this election by the grace of God,” Akeredolu said.
The governor said the defection of his deputy, Mr Agboola Ajayi, to the opposition PDP would not affect his chances at the poll.
“For me, the deputy leaving the APC to return to the PDP is good riddance to bad rubbish.
“We thought we could accommodate him in the APC, but since he returned to where he truly belonged, it is all well and good. I always wish people the best I can.
“From what I have been told, he has lost the ticket and I pray he won’t jump to another party, but if he does, all well and good.
“However, for his own sake and as a big brother, I will advise him to stay with Jegede and support him very well,” Akeredolu said.
According to him, “Ajayi has made a case that he helped me to win, let him help Jegede to win this time around and that will confirm that he is popular.
“What I know is that he is of no importance, he has no hold on any local government, I can assure you that when the election comes, I will defeat him in his local government and he will never recover from it.
“Let me advise him again to stay with Jegede and let us see what happens,” the governor said.
He said he was at the National Secretariat to respond to some issues at the Election Appeal Committee.
“I am here at the secretariat because people lodged appeal against my election and emergence from the party primaries and that is why I came around to answer the committee.
“I was told that two aspirants approached the committee to file appeal against me and my mission here is to reply to those appeal,” he said.