Is Interior Minister, Tunji-Ojo, Jostling for Aiyedatiwa’s Job?

To many, 2028 is still a long way to go. But for politicians whose only job is politicking, it looks a few months away. The earlier the planning, the better.

Although the next governorship election in Ondo State is still three years away, the game has started in earnest, with its usual scheming, horse-trading, and intrigues.

Barely a year in office, political rivals are already regrouping and plotting to stop Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa from pursuing a second term.

Sources revealed to Society Watch that one of the names that has become a recurring decimal in the state’s political landscape is the current Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

The minister, who was a member of the House of Reresentatives, has been touted to succeed Aiyedatiwa.

Although the minister has not publicly declared his ambition or made it known to anyone, our source revealed that he has been the anointed candidate of the Presidency.

As gathered, his name has been on the lips of many in the state, a reference point and a colossus in political discussions.

However, another source stated that the assumption that the Presidency has anointed anyone for the 2028 election is a ruse and an attempt to destabilise the hardworking governor who has spent barely one year in office.

Another source stated that Aiyedatiwa may not be able to contest for a second term based on the law signed by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018.

The law states that if a person is sworn in as governor to complete the term of another elected governor, they can only be elected to that office for a single full four-year term afterwards.

This specific rule was introduced to prevent a scenario where a successor could potentially serve for more than the intended eight-year maximum (e.g., serving a significant remainder of a term plus two full elected terms, potentially adding up to 10+ years, as happened in some cases before the amendment).

That Governor Aiyedatiwa is a lucky man, just as his name is not in doubt. The man who was the deputy to the late Rotimi Akeredolu succeeded his boss in 2023 before finally winning an election in 2024.

Before Akeredolu’s death, a move to impeach him through the House of Assembly failed.  Aiyedatiwa was almost like a pariah; many people didn’t want to touch him, even with a ten-foot pole. But immediately after the death of the former governor, Aiyedatiwa was sworn in, his enemies suddenly became his friends.