Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s current look on Channels Television’s Politics Today has drawn recent consideration to his relationship with Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, extensively generally known as BTO, forward of Ondo’s 2027 political cycle.
Speaking with host Seun Okinbaloye, Aiyedatiwa addressed the dynamic between the 2 APC heavyweights in notably formal phrases, framing their relationship round get together construction somewhat than private closeness.
“He is a member of my party,” Aiyedatiwa stated of Tunji-Ojo, including that he’s a minister and “we are all APC.”
The governor went additional, stressing his constitutional authority inside the state and primarily describing himself as governor and Tunji-Ojo as considered one of his topics.
That phrasing has attracted some scrutiny. Rather than talking to non-public affinity, the governor centred his reply on places of work and obligations, a alternative some observers learn as vital given the political stakes concerned.
Aiyedatiwa was equally direct when dismissing issues concerning the African Democratic Congress gaining floor in Ondo, questioning whether or not the get together’s emergence carried any actual electoral weight. According to him, politics is a recreation of numbers, so till ADC truly controls stuff, it is not going to be handled as a reputable risk to established constructions.
Meanwhile, each Aiyedatiwa and Tunji-Ojo maintain vital energy inside Ondo’s APC. Aiyedatiwa instructions the state’s govt equipment and civil service, whereas Tunji-Ojo brings federal backing and what get together loyalists describe as a formidable grassroots community constructed round his residence base.
A Federal High Court ruling has already discovered Aiyedatiwa ineligible for an additional time period because of constitutional limits, intensifying succession conversations inside the get together effectively forward of 2027.
Grassroots mobilisation tied to Tunji-Ojo, together with the BTO Unit-to-Unit motion, has added to hypothesis a couple of quiet rivalry, whilst each camps publicly insist the connection stays cordial.
Whether Aiyedatiwa’s remarks are easy information about political establishments or one thing nearer to a cooling relationship stays, for now, a matter of interpretation somewhat than confirmed reality.
