FOLLOWING the victory of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in last Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State, leaders of the party are now bent on playing available cards to ensure a repeated victory in the October 10 poll in Ondo State.
One of the moves, according to sources, is to weaken the strength of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) by wooing leaders of the party.
Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi is the candidate of the ZLP.
A source said Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and his Sokoto State counterpart Aminu Waziri Tambuwal have been scheduled to meet with former Governor Olusegun Mimiko this weekend.
The meeting, it was learnt, is to pressure Mimiko to accept the proposed alliance between both parties for the purpose of defeating Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.
According to the source, “the court ruling asking INEC to display credentials of Ajayi really jolted the ZLP because these days, you don’t underrate the possible negative effects of any judicial process instituted against any governorship aspirant.
“Mind you, there is another of such legal battle filed by another lawyer, who is a member of our party, against the deputy governor; and in the politics of nowadays, the judiciary has become a decider.
“With the cases of David Lyon and even Oshiomhole, who despised the court process initiated to unseat him still fresh in our memory, it appears the former governor has also caved in to the last minute safe assessment meeting because if he does not and the court strikes unexpectedly, it is the APC that will benefit from the mess.
“I have been told that the national leader of ZLP, Mimiko, has been contacted by both governors on the need for the meeting so as to bring our candidate to him to possibly apologise publicly in order to get his support to unseat the APC in that state. We won’t take chances at all,” he said.
