Ondo Governorship Election 2024: 3 Reasons PDP May Lose

• The people of the colossal southwest state of Ondo will go to the polls once again on Saturday, November 16, to elect their governor
• In Nigeria, governors are the No.1 citizens of the respective states and are voted into power by the electorate, just like every other elective office seeker
• Several pundits consider the 2024 Ondo state governorship election the ruling APC's to lose

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Legit.ng journalist, Ridwan Adeola Yusuf, has over 9 years of experience covering politics, elections, and governance in Nigeria.

Akure, Ondo state - On Saturday, November 16, 2024, Ondo state in the southwest geopolitical zone will hold a governorship election.

Legit.ng reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC) is expected to win.

In this report, Legit.ng identifies some factors that may cause the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Agboola Ajayi to lose the Ondo state governorship election 2024.

1) PDP in Ondo not super strong

Per Premium Times, an APC insider claimed the party is “lucky” in this election cycle, given the 'weaknesses' of the main opposition party, the PDP.

Legit.ng reports that since the APC took over power in Ondo in 2016, the task of reclaiming the state has become a herculean one for the PDP.

The Ondo state PDP under its current leadership is finding it hard to dominate the APC. Thus, as things stand, it has fallen dramatically to a level where it now plays catch-up to the ruling APC.

2) Ondo: Likely battle of the highest

Voters in Nigeria's elections often sell their ballot, a development observers believe is a bad omen.

“Going, going, gone!” is a phrase commonly used to herald the determination of the highest bidder of an item being sold on auction. This process of presenting items for bid, taking bids, and then selling them to the highest bidder aptly encapsulates a questionable practice that has permeated Nigeria’s recent electoral experience: vote buying.

Since Nigeria returned to democracy in May 1999, vote buying has steadily grown in scale and brazenness.

Several videos and images have emerged, showing the unabashed sharing of cash, food and valuable items among the electorate by politicians and parties during recent elections in Kogi, Bayelsa, and Edo states. Stalwarts of the two main political parties, the APC and PDP, are most guilty.

With the APC being the party in power at the centre, the party could attempt to use federal might. They also have enough money to achieve their electoral targets.

Efforts by PDP's Ajayi to spend money are projected to be neutralised by the deep vaults of the APC, the party that controls public funds at the centre and in the state.

3) PDP: Lingering rancour at national level

The PDP had been facing lots of problems before and during the reign of the acting national chairman, Umar Damagum.

Considering the issue of whether Damagum must stay or go has not been resolved, it is going to be a problem at the polls in Ondo because the PDP is still clearly not united.

Read more on Ondo governorship election 2024:

• Obasanjo meets APC guber candidate days to Ondo election
• Sensitive election materials for governorship poll arrive in Ondo
• IGP releases fresh orders against Amotekun, vigilante groups as Ondo election looms
• Ondo guber election: Fresh twist as APC group dumps Governor Aiyedatiwa, backs SDP candidate
• “Don’t set Ondo on fire”: Ganduje warned as tension escalates over governorship election

Ondo election: Candidates may step down

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that about eight political parties would align with the APC or the PDP.

The deals to join the two bigger parties were struck recently, with announcements for support for either the APC or PDP candidates to be made before Friday, November 15.