Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ondo State, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), on Monday said that the coming election was not a do or die affair, while tasking his co-contestants on the need to avoid bloodshed.
Jegede said that he was not desperate about winning as he sees his aspiration as a quest to deliver service to the people, noting that only the people will give their nod through their votes.
He spoke during an interactive session with leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ondo State chapter, led by their chairman, Rev. John Oladapo.
On how to forestall violence in the coming election, Jegede said: “As far as I am concerned, this election is not a do or die affair. While I believe that by the grace of God I will win, I am not also desperate to win. I do not want bloodshed for whatever reason. That’s why I will appeal to you our fathers, the men of God, to pray for a peaceful election in the state.
“The truth is that, all of us cannot become governor. Only one person will win and we should not because of that resort to violence and other criminal acts. This very much we know in the PDP and we appeal to our rivals to let, as brothers and sisters, play the game according to the rules,” Jegede urged.
The PDP candidate, who unfolded his agenda cutting across education, industrialization, employment and agriculture, said that he would partner with religious bodies towards restoring moral values and developing the education sector generally.
He added that if elected, he would introduce moral education and civil ethics into the schools’ curricula and that respective religious bodies would have great input in formulating the policy.
“I’m a product of a missionary school, Aquinas College, Akure, and I enjoy till date, the positive impact of the moral upbringing and discipline we had in our secondary school days,” he said.
Jegede also appealed to the people of the state for patience in the face of ongoing economic hardship, stressing that if elected, he would swiftly embark on tax-friendly industrial projects that will provide massive jobs to cushion the effect of the present economic recession.
In the same vein, he assured that workers’ welfare would be given great priority, if elected.
In his response, Rev Oladapo said that CAN was keen in knowing what the governorship contestants had in stock for the state, saying that a similar invitation for interactive session had been extended to the other contestants.
Also, the Catholic Bishop of Ondo Diocese, Rev. Jude Arogundade, urged all residents of the state to pray for the coming election, “as we do not want bloodshed.”