The Director-General of Opomulero Group/Movement, Hon. Olasupo Olakunori Michael, has challenged Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo and his supporters to explain what he described as an increasingly aggressive attempt to project a future governorship as though the people of Ondo State have already handed over the keys to Alagbaka Government House.

“Who gave you the key to Government House? Who declared Ondo State vacant? Who conducted the election? Who gave anybody the authority to announce a successor before the people of Ondo State have even spoken?”

Olakunori said the language and intensity surrounding the emerging succession campaign raise a fundamental question: what exactly is being incubated — a political ambition or a governor?

“Hon. Tunji-Ojo is entitled to his political ambition. His supporters are entitled to campaign for him when the constitutional and electoral process begins. But what we will not accept is the attempt to turn political ambition into political coronation.

“Government House, Alagbaka, is not a family inheritance. The office of governor is not a throne. Ondo State does not belong to one politician, one political bloc, one senatorial district or one group of people sitting somewhere and deciding who should succeed the sitting governor.

“Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa is the elected and sitting Governor of Ondo State. His mandate must be allowed to run its constitutional course. Any attempt to spend the remaining period of his administration conducting a parallel coronation for his successor is politically premature and disrespectful to the electorate.”

“WHY ARE YOU IN SUCH A HURRY?”

The Opomulero DG directly questioned the growing intensity of the succession conversation.

“If the intention is genuinely to serve Ondo State, why the desperation to occupy the political space of the next governor when the current governor is still in office?

“Why are you so aggressive about succession? Why are you behaving as if the election has already taken place? Why are you trying to create the impression that the people of Ondo State have already made a decision they have not made?

“Let me ask Hon. Tunji-Ojo and his supporters directly: what is your intention? Is this about serving the people, or is it about prematurely occupying the political space of the next governor?

“We should be discussing governance, development and the welfare of Ondo people. We should not be conducting a political coronation while the elected governor is still governing the state.”

ONDO PEOPLE HAVE NEVER BEEN POLITICALLY DOCILE

Olakunori urged political actors and their supporters to study the political history of Ondo State before assuming that political endorsements from powerful individuals or political centres automatically translate into electoral victory.

“Let nobody be carried away. Ondo people have a history. They have repeatedly demonstrated that they can listen to political leaders, consider political endorsements and still make their own decision at the ballot box.

“The history of Ondo politics should humble anybody who believes that a candidate can simply be selected somewhere and presented to the people as their inevitable governor.

“Look at the history of Olusegun Mimiko. In 2007, Mimiko defied the political opposition he faced from the establishment in Abuja and contested against the incumbent Olusegun Agagu. Although Agagu was initially declared winner, the courts eventually overturned that result and Mimiko became governor in 2009. He subsequently won re-election in 2012.”

He added:

“Look at Rotimi Akeredolu. In 2012, he contested the governorship election on the platform of the ACN and came third behind Mimiko and Olusola Oke. Yet four years later, Akeredolu emerged as the APC governorship candidate and went on to win the 2016 election with 224,842 votes.

“Even within the APC in 2016, there were powerful endorsements and competing interests around aspirants, including Segun Abraham. Yet the party eventually produced Akeredolu as its candidate. That episode itself demonstrates that political contests can take unexpected turns and that no aspirant should be treated as governor before the people vote.”

“ABUJA CANNOT CHOOSE ONDO’S GOVERNOR FOR ONDO PEOPLE”

Olakunori said the lesson from Ondo’s political history is clear: external political influence may shape contests, but it cannot legitimately replace the electorate.

“Whether the pressure comes from Abuja, Lagos, Akure, Akoko, Owo, Ondo or anywhere else, nobody should confuse political influence with the people’s mandate.

“Political leaders can support candidates. Political parties can nominate candidates. Political blocs can mobilise supporters. But ultimately, the constitutional process and the electorate determine who occupies the Government House.

“That is why nobody should sit down today and tell Ondo people who their next governor must be.

“Abuja will not choose a governor for Ondo people. Political godfathers will not choose a governor for Ondo people. Newspaper columns will not choose a governor for Ondo people. Social-media campaigns will not choose a governor for Ondo people.

The people of Ondo State will choose their governor.

“DO NOT TURN 2028 INTO A CORONATION”

The Opomulero DG further warned against allowing succession politics to overshadow the performance of the present administration.

“2028 is not here. The election has not been conducted. The electorate has not spoken. There is therefore no political justification for behaving as though the result has already been written.

“If Hon. Tunji-Ojo wants to contest, let him declare his ambition when the appropriate time comes. Let other aspirants come forward. Let them present their records, programmes, ideas and qualifications. Let the political parties conduct their processes, and ultimately let the people decide.

“But nobody should attempt to manufacture a governor through political coronation.

“We have seen enough in Ondo politics to know that assumptions can collapse overnight. Candidates once considered impossible have emerged victorious, while candidates presented as inevitable have failed to secure the people’s mandate.

“That is the lesson of our political history.

“So, before anybody starts distributing imaginary keys to Alagbaka, let them answer one simple question:

WHO DECLARED ONDO STATE VACANT?

Until the people speak through the constitutional electoral process, there is no governor-in-waiting, no governor-in-incubation and certainly no governor already crowned.

Ondo State belongs to the people, and the people—not political coronation—will decide who governs them.