The Director-General of Opomulero Group/Movement, Hon. Olasupo Olakunori Michael, has described the attempt to market Hon. Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo as a “Governor in Incubation” as premature succession politics that seeks to turn an incumbent government into a political afterthought before its mandate has run its full course.

The article by Aremo Sehinde Ilegbusi may be presented as a policy discussion, but its central political message is unmistakable: it is already positioning a particular individual for Alagbaka while Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa is still in office, still governing and still constitutionally entitled to seek another term.

That is precisely the problem.

Ondo State is not a political vacancy waiting to be filled. Alagbaka is not an inheritance waiting for a successor. And Governor Aiyedatiwa is certainly not a temporary occupant waiting for someone else’s political incubation to mature.

There is a proper time for succession politics.

There is a proper time for candidates to declare their ambitions.

There is a proper time for political parties to conduct their processes.

And there is a proper time for the electorate to decide.

We should not reverse that order simply because some politicians are eager to begin the race.

THIS IS NOT GOVERNANCE — THIS IS PREMATURE CORONATION

What is particularly striking about the “Governor in Incubation” argument is the presumption embedded in it.

A sitting governor is still carrying the constitutional responsibilities of office, yet political commentators are already constructing a narrative around who should succeed him.

The incumbent is expected to continue governing, delivering projects, managing the state and answering to the people, while somebody else is already being packaged as the next occupant of Government House.

That is not political succession. That is political coronation before the electorate has spoken.

And Ondo people should be able to recognise the difference.

Nobody is saying Hon. Tunji-Ojo does not have the right to aspire to the governorship.

He does.

Nobody is saying he cannot present his record to the people.

He can.

Nobody is saying other politicians cannot begin preparing for future elections within the bounds of the law.

They can.

But the right to aspire is not the same as the right to inherit.

And political visibility is not a substitute for an electoral mandate.

AIYEDATIWA IS STILL VERY MUCH IN THE POLITICAL EQUATION

The most glaring omission in the “Governor in Incubation” narrative is the incumbent himself.

Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa has not been constitutionally retired.

He has not resigned.

He has not surrendered his political rights.

And if he chooses to seek another term and satisfies the applicable constitutional and electoral requirements, he has every right to place his candidacy before his party and, ultimately, before the people of Ondo State.

Therefore, any political narrative that speaks about 2028 as though the succession has already been decided is getting ahead of the electorate.

The 2028 governorship is not vacant today.

Governor Aiyedatiwa is still the Governor of Ondo State.

He still has a constitutional right to seek another term.

And his administration still has work to do.

LET THOSE WHO WANT ALAGBAKA FIRST EXPLAIN WHY THEY ARE IN SUCH A HURRY

This is where the people deserve to ask uncomfortable questions.

Why the rush?

Why is an incumbent administration being politically succeeded before its mandate has run its course?

Why should the attention of Ondo people already be diverted from governance to succession?

Why should a political ambition be dressed up as though it were an inevitable historical progression?

And why should anyone assume that because a particular politician has supporters willing to write about his future, the people have already accepted that future?

The electorate has not spoken.

That fact should humble everybody.

GOVERNANCE FIRST. SUCCESSION LATER.

There is still work to be done in Ondo State.

There are roads to build.

There are jobs to create.

There are schools and hospitals requiring attention.

There are security concerns to address.

There are investments to attract.

There are young people seeking opportunities.

There are communities demanding infrastructure.

Those are the issues that should occupy the political conversation.

Not who has already been placed in an imaginary “incubator” for Alagbaka.

And there is also unfinished work at the federal level for every public official currently entrusted with national responsibility.

Political ambition should never become an excuse for abandoning present responsibility.

LET EVERY ASPIRANT WAIT FOR THE PEOPLE

If Tunji-Ojo wants to govern Ondo State eventually, let him say so openly when the appropriate political process begins.

Let him present his record.

Let him explain what he intends to do differently.

Let him answer difficult questions.

Let Governor Aiyedatiwa do the same if he seeks another term.

Let every other aspirant do the same.

Then let the people decide.

That is the democratic sequence.

Not incubation. Not coronation. Not succession by commentary.

The office of Governor belongs constitutionally to the people of Ondo State and whoever they eventually choose through the electoral process.

Until that happens, Alagbaka has no predetermined occupant.

And Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa is not a governor waiting to be replaced.

He is the sitting governor—with a constitutional right to seek another term, and with a continuing responsibility to govern.

That is where the conversation should begin.