The immediate
past attorney-general and commissioner for justice of Ondo State,
Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, has been declared the winner of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, governorship primary election in the state.
Jegede emerged the winner of the party’s
primary by polling 760 votes to defeat the deputy governorship
candidate of the PDP in the 2012 governorship election, Hon. Saka Lawal.
Announcing the results of the primaries
at the International Cultural and Event Centre (The Dome), Akure, on
Monday, chairman of the PDP Primary Election Committee for Ondo State
and the Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, said Eyitayo won the
party’s primary election by polling a total of 760 votes to defeat his
main opponent Saka Lawal, who polled a total of 22 votes to take the
second place.
The primary election, which started with
the accreditation of voters, took off at exactly 8:00am and was duly
monitored by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) and it attracted local and international observers, the press,
security apparatuses in the State.
The voting commenced after all the
delegates, who conducted themselves in an orderly manner, had been
accredited, collation and the counting of votes followed immediately.
Saka, who addressed the delegates before the commencement of the
voting, said he has taken a strong decision to remain in the mainstream
of the party, he assured that all leaders and members who have left
party for the opposition parties will return, adding that he will build
on existing legacies of Governor Olusegun Mimiko if he is given the
opportunity to fly the flag of PDP.
He stressed that he will remain
committed to the progress of the party saying the party will emerge in
the forthcoming governorship poll in the state “I want to assure you
that Saka Lawal will not leave PDP.” He said.
Also speaking, Eyitayo Jegede promised
he will focus on the economy if he emerges the party’s flagbearer as
that is the only way out of the non-payment of workers’ salaries.
While announcing the results, Dickson,
said that 713 delegates were accredited for the primaries from a total
delegates’ list of 840, adding that there were no invalid votes. He
commended the aspirants, delegates and other members of the party for
their commitment to the unity of the party.
According to the State Publicity
Secretary of the party, Hon Banji Okunomo, the accredited delegates
include 3 Ad-hoc delegates per ward elected on the 18th of August in the
203 wards of the State in addition to the delegates that are
“automatic” by virtue of the positions they occupy presently or in the
past in compliance with the provisions of the PDP Constitution.
Jegede, who is a Senior Advocate of
Nigeria, was born to the family of late Chief Johnson Bosede Jegede, the
Odopetu of Isinkan, Akure, and Mrs Caroline Oluwatola Jegede (nee
Asokeji) from Ipele town, in Owo Local Government Area.
He qualified as a lawyer in 1984 after the one year mandatory programme at the Nigeria Law School, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The one year mandatory National Service
saw him posted to the then Gongola State where he eventually started his
law practice. He was a counsel with the law firm of Murtala Aminu &
Co., Yola for 12 years and practised extensively in the northern part
of Nigeria where he built an enviable legal practice with special
interest in litigation, Commercial and Corporate law. In 1996, he
established the Law firm Tayo Jegede & Co. with offices in Yola and
Abuja.
He was appointed a Notary Public by the
Chief Justice of Nigeria in 1992 and was elevated to the rank of Senior
Advocate of Nigeria on 16th December, 2008.
In 2009, Mr Eyitayo was appointed the
attorney general and commissioner for justice under the administration
of the present governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko where he
served in the two terms of Governor Mimiko until July 22, 2016 when he
resigned his appointment in order to pursue his governorship ambition.
Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), who is a
member of the Council of Legal Education in Nigeria, served twice as the
Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association in Yola before coming to Akure
to serve and a member of the 5-man implementation Committee that was
saddled with the responsibility of establishing the American University
of Nigeria (AUN), Adamawa State.
He has represented the state as a member
of the Volleyball team at the intermediate level during the various
National Sports Festivals at Kaduna in 1977, Ibadan in 1979 where he won
laurels for the State.
In his acceptance speech, Eyitayo
commended the national leadership of the party and the electoral
committee for transparency and fairness in the process.
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