Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the former Ondo State Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi, alongside his supporters have formally rejoined the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the decision was driven by the need to add value to the party and to support the reelection bid of President Bola Tinubu.
Ajayi, who spoke on Tuesday in Igbekebo, Ese-Odo Local Government Area of the state, said the exercise formally affirmed his membership of the APC and would enable him to participate fully in the party’s activities.
He noted that his move to rejoin the APC would also strengthen his support for Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s ‘EASE’ agenda and the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
“I decided to join APC. You recall that I was a member of APC before I became a deputy governor there. At the time, there could be a misunderstanding, and I left, but I’m back fully now.
“And this is about the Nigeria project. We should come together to see how we can add value to the system. And particularly, I want to also commend Mr President for the bold steps and the reforms that he has introduced to the country.
“He’s been able to establish and lay a solid foundation. No president will come and say he wants to come and cancel those policies again. Anybody who comes in future, after President Tinubu, cannot even say he wants to remove all these policies that give the government a very formidable economy, vibrant background.
“Yes, no country is free of crime. Nigeria is not exempt, but I’m sure you can see the difference between now and what it was maybe about four or three years back. I want to believe that with all our support, the president will transform the country.
“After his eight years in office, we will commend him and say that yes, Nigeria is better than how he made it.
“Like I said, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa is doing his best. We should come around to also support him so that we can all enjoy the facility of government and contribute our quota so that the country and the states can move together,” Ajayi said.
Babatunde Kolawole, the Special Adviser to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa on Legislative and Party Affairs, who also spoke at the event, described the return of Ajayi as a big value addition to the APC.
Kolawole said, “I have the mandate of His Excellency, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, to represent him in welcoming our former Deputy Governor, His Excellency, Alfred Agboola Ajayi, to our great party.
“And as I have said earlier, he is a big value addition to our party. He has joined us officially today to support the developmental stride of His Excellency, the Governor of Ondo State.
His joining is to support us, and is to support what the government is doing. Now that we have turned Ondo State to a one-party state, our one million votes is achievable and doable come 2027.”
Ade Adetimehin, the Ondo APC chairman, in his earlier remarks, described the former deputy governor as a grassroots politician.
According to him, “Alfred Agboola Ajayi is a political figure. He’s a man who knows the nooks and crannies of Ondo State. When it comes to politics, he is a bulldozer.
“Virtually all the leaders in Ondo State are now in APC. And like Agboola Ajayi said, he’s coming to add value to APC, he’s coming to work for the second term of President Bola Tinubu.”
