By Ogungbemi Adeyemi Orimisan
For over two decades, political rivalry between Ondo State governors and federal ministers has stunted progress, weakened federal presence, and robbed the Sunshine State of its full developmental potential.
Since Nigeria’s return to democratic governance in 1999, Ondo State has remained one of the most politically sophisticated and intellectually gifted states in the federation. Yet, it continues to underperform in terms of federal presence, infrastructural expansion, and coordinated development.
The missing link, as history has repeatedly shown, lies in the state’s internal political contradictions — particularly the recurring rivalry between Ondo State governors and federal ministers of Ondo extraction.
From the early clash between Governor Adebayo Adefarati and Minister Olusegun Agagu, to the emerging friction between Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the story has been one of political ego, divided loyalties, and lost opportunities.
The Adefarati–Agagu Prelude (1999–2003): Where the Rift Began
The political seeds of discord were first sown in the formative years of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. Chief Adebayo Adefarati governed Ondo State between 1999 and 2003 under the Alliance for Democracy (AD), while Dr. Olusegun Agagu, a respected technocrat and academic, served as Minister of Power and Steel under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government.
The two men, both patriotic in intent but politically opposed, could not forge the kind of synergy that could have advanced the state’s infrastructure and energy development. The partisan divide turned cooperation into competition.
Instead of being allies in progress, they became symbols of conflicting political blocs — and Ondo State, sadly, was the casualty. By 2003, that cold war had reshaped the state’s political structure, as Agagu succeeded Adefarati in a tightly contested election, but the old wounds of division persisted.
Agagu’s Governorship (2003–2009): The Echo of Disunity
As fate would have it, when Dr. Agagu became governor, the same rivalry he once faced as minister resurfaced in a different form. Although he and the federal government shared the same PDP platform, his relationship with some Ondo-born federal figures remained strained.
Notably, Dr. (Mrs.) Modupe Adelaja, then Minister of State for Defence, and Ambassador Olu Agbi, Nigeria’s envoy to Greece, operated on separate political currents within the same ruling party. Other figures such as Chief Olusola Oke, who served on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and Prince Segun Adesegun, an influential PDP stalwart, also pursued parallel agendas.
The absence of a unified front meant Ondo State failed to harness the full benefits of its strong federal representation. The internal friction within the PDP’s Ondo structure translated into minimal federal projects and weakened political leverage.
Mimiko’s Era (2009–2017): The Politics of Isolation
The arrival of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, first under the Labour Party (LP) and later the PDP, further complicated the state’s relationship with Abuja.
For a significant part of his administration, Mimiko was politically isolated from the federal centre, especially under the Yar’Adua government. Even during the Jonathan years, when he enjoyed a warmer relationship with the presidency, coordination between state and federal appointees of Ondo origin remained disjointed.
Figures such as Dr. Kingsley Kuku (Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Programme), Dr. Pius Osunyikanmi (Special Adviser to the President on International Relations), and Senator Bode Olajumoke all wielded substantial influence at the federal level. However, their activities rarely aligned with the state’s developmental blueprint.
Ondo’s case was paradoxical — its sons were powerful in Abuja, yet their home state saw little federal impact. What should have been a season of prosperity became one of political compartmentalization.
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Akeredolu’s Tenure (2017–2023): Fractures Within the Fold
When Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, assumed office in 2017 under the All Progressives Congress (APC), optimism was high. For once, the state and federal governments shared the same political colour. But unity proved elusive.
Akeredolu’s frosty relationships with figures such as Senator Robert Ajayi Boroffice (then Deputy Senate Leader), Isaac Kekemeke (former NDDC Executive Director and APC pioneer chairman in Ondo), and even Senator Tayo Alasoadura, who served as Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, became public knowledge.
Despite belonging to the same ruling party, factional rivalries and succession politics prevented meaningful collaboration. Ondo, an oil-producing state, could not fully maximize the Niger Delta Ministry and NDDC interventions. The state’s infrastructural projects, including port development and industrialization schemes, suffered setbacks due to a lack of united advocacy in Abuja.
Aiyedatiwa and Tunji-Ojo: A Familiar Storm in a New Sky
Today, the unfolding tension between Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa and Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior, bears an uncomfortable resemblance to the state’s political past.
Both men represent a new generation of leadership — dynamic, intelligent, and ambitious. Yet, their differences, if left unmanaged, risk dragging the state back into the old cycle of competition over collaboration.
Ordinarily, their combined influence — with Aiyedatiwa in Akure and Tunji-Ojo in Abuja — could deliver a wave of federal projects, employment programmes, and security infrastructure. But if political rivalry dominates, Ondo may again be left behind while smaller states reap the benefits of federal cooperation.
Breaking the Cycle: Building Bridges, Not Walls
To move forward, Ondo’s political class must learn from history. The state cannot continue to lose out because its leaders are divided along partisan or personal lines.
First, there is a need for a Permanent Ondo State–Federal Development Forum, comprising the governor, ministers, senators, and top federal appointees, to harmonize development priorities.
Second, political ambition must give way to statesmanship — leaders must see themselves as partners in progress, not as competitors for supremacy.
Third, civil society, traditional rulers, and the media must demand unity of purpose as a non-negotiable expectation from those in public office.
Only through deliberate collaboration can Ondo State attract the kind of federal projects, grants, and infrastructure that its neighbours currently enjoy.
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Conclusion: History’s Lesson and Tomorrow’s Hope
From Adefarati vs. Agagu to Aiyedatiwa vs. Tunji-Ojo, the recurring theme has been one of political brilliance turned inward — leadership potential squandered by rivalry.
Ondo State has never lacked visionaries; it has only lacked a shared vision. If the Sunshine State is to shine again, its brightest stars must stop eclipsing one another.
The time for division is past. The time for a united front — in service of the people — is now.
