By Temitope Adedeji
BACKGROUND : in 1999, when this new Political dispensation started, under the rulership of the then president Olusegun Obasanjo at the federal, while Chief Adebayo Adefarati was the governor of Ondo State. During this period, other representatives of the people were also elected into the state House Of Assembly, House of Representatives and the Senate.
However, an Indigene of Ondo town was elected by the people of the central senatorial districts comprised Ondo East, Ondo West, Idanre, Ifedore, Akure North and Akure South making six local government areas, voted Olugbenga Ogunniya.
Senator Ogunniya finished his first four years as a senator of the federal Republic after four years with Chief Adebayo Adefarati of the then Alliance For Democracy AD.
Moreover, President Olusegun Obasanjo was re elected for second term in 2003 for another four years under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party PDP.
The then governor, Adefarati tried if he could come back to power but the people of the state voted him out and brought -in Dr Olusegun Agagu as the new governor in the state under the PDP.
Senator Gbenga Ogunniya immediately changed his party and moved to the rulling party, PDP. He was accepted and voted again into the national Assembly for another term that would run with the new governor for another four years.
Ogunniya, an Ondo West man, was at the National Assembly for the second term through year 2003 – 2007 , when another election was held. He rode on the back of the then governor, Dr Olusegun Agagu who wanted second term for himself and was initially declared winner in 2007 , which favoured Senator Gbenga Ogunniya to have gotten the ticket again in 2007 for another third term.
Surprisingly, the re – election of the then governor was terminated by Dr Olusegun Mimiko, another Ondo man, in a legal battle with the governor over who won the governorship race of 2007, till year 2009 , that the mantle of leadership was handed over to Dr Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party.
Running through this analysis, an Ondo man was at the senate for good twelve years consecutively without any hindrance.
Looking at this scenario, Senator Ogunniya tenure got terminated eventually in the year 2011, after un – interrupted twelve years.
The whole six local governments can be classified into two parts
1) Ondo dialect speaking Communities comprising : Ondo West, Ondo East and Idanre
2) Akure dialect speaking Communities Comprising : Ifedore, Akure South and Akure North
After Senator Ogunniya, Senator Ayo Akinyelure another man from Idanre, another Ondo dialect speaking community, also got the mandate for another eight years at the Senate. Thought his own was interrupted immediately after his first four years by an Akure man, Senator Tayo Alasoadura, and got it back (Akinyelure) for the last leg of his four years, to make it eight years.
Now, in total, Ondo dialect speaking Communities have tasted it for good twenty years while Akure Speaking Communities have just eight if Senator Adegbomire finishes his first tenure.
The benefits of allowing Adeniyi Ayodele Adegbomire to have another term is enormous even to the development of the state capital and the entire state as a whole.
It is when he is allowed to go for second term that he can be taken to be a ranking senator. A ranking senator has the power and the will to demand and move better projects like Universities, Polytechnic and Colleges of Education and others to his districts like the way it’s been done in Ekiti State today.
Ekiti State has three ranking senators which have facilitated schools like Fed University, Oye, Federal College of Education and many others to the state apart from the existing ones that is making the state developing rapidly.
Sentiment apart, Ondo State only can account for two ranking senator which are Senator Ayo Akinyelure,,and Sen Ajayi Borrofice, Ayo Akinyelure brought transformers to all communities in his districts during his periods at the national Assembly.
Let’s all join hands for development in our state. Let’s shun politics of bitterness and sentiment that has brought us back seriously in the state amongst committee of members in the Southwest.
