Why Eyitayo Jegede Should Be The Next Governor Of Ondo State
By Olusina Akeredolu
Eyitayo Jegede SAN who is presently contesting to be governor of Ondo State on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is no doubt a man of destiny. Like yours truly and many others, Tayo, as we usually call him, has been so lucky to be one of a set of students that will later be known as the flagship law class of the University of Lagos in Nigeria. Those days when people will warn you not to attempt to go for a two-year Advanced Level GCE course, were the days many boys and girls from different homes and background went for the impossible to enable a direct University admission. This is because we have been destined to later meet as students at the faculty of law of the University of Lagos. Prior to this, the go-getter and level headed Eyitayo started his elementary school in Modakeke at Ile Ife. He attended Aquinas College, Akure for his high school and did his Advanced Level GCE course at the Christ School, Ado-Ekiti. It is still in-explainable how destiny brought all of us together to become siblings of one another and not just classmates in a University law faculty and even in decades after leaving school.
Eyitayo Jegede continued to be lucky, like the rest of us, to be at the faculty of law of the University of Lagos at a time that the great University showcased many of the finest and best Professors of law in Nigeria. I am talking of intimidating and eminent law Professors and academics like Prof. Oluwole Agbede, Prof. Abiola Ojo, Prof. A. A. Adeyemi, Prof. Adeogun, Prof. Oviaghara, Prof. C O Olawoye, Prof. M A Ajomo, Prof. M I Jegede, Prof. A. Adesanya, Prof. Jadesola Akande, Prof. A O Obilade, Dr. Jelili Omotola, Dr. E O Akanki, Dr. Uchegbu, Dr. Akin Oyebode, Mr. J A Anifalaje, Mr. Yemi Osinbajo and etc. These Professors of Professors and academics came from different Universities in Nigeria to assemble in Lagos at that time because of the vantage and strategic position that Lagos City occupies at all times in Nigeria when talking about commerce, sophisticated and complex legal practice. This is to show that Tayo had the best of legal education while in school.
As expected, he proceeded to the Nigerian Law School, Lagos where he mingled with another set of wonderful, brilliant and superlative classmates for one academic session. He qualified as a lawyer and was called to the Nigerian Bar in August, 1984. The one year mandatory National Youth Service program later took him to the then Gongola State for his primary assignment. After the Youth Service program, he decided to stay back in Gongola, now Adamawa State to start his law practice. He started as a junior counsel at the law firm of Murtala Aminu & Co., Yola and remained there as a brilliant lawyer for 12 years where he practiced extensively in all the northern part of Nigeria thereby building a very enviable legal practice with special interest in litigation, Commercial and Corporate law. In 1996, he decided to establish his own Law firm, Tayo Jegede & Co. opening offices in Yola and Abuja. Tayo was elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in December, 2008.
Eyitayo Jegede, SAN was appointed the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Ondo State by Dr. Olusegun Mimiko’s government in 2009 where he served for over seven years until July 2016 when he voluntarily resigned to join the race for nomination as gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the coming governorship election in Ondo State. I have known Eyitayo since 1980 and I have also known Governor Olusegun Mimiko as far back as January 1992 when he was appointed as Commissioner for Health and Social Services for the old Ondo State. Ever since, the astute governor has been tenacious with good governance either as Commissioner, Federal Minister or as State governor and thus has a lot to showcase as his achievement in those callings. Anyone who desires to succeed such a person as governor of Ondo State must be a person who possesses the capacity to surpass him in service to the people.
It is therefore not surprising that Eyitayo Jegede, the erudite senior lawyer and administrator is the round peg in a round hole to succeed Dr. Mimiko as the governor of Ondo State. As the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Ondo State, Tayo Jegede SAN held the forte where he manifested the review of the Laws of Ondo State for the very first time since the creation of the State in 1976. He actively supported and midwifed the provision of buildings and facilities for the establishment of a Court of Appeal Division, the National Industrial Court and the Liaison Office of the Federal Ministry of Justice, all in Ondo State. To improve the administration of Criminal Justice in the State especially to alleviate the suffering of the awaiting trial detainees, he collaborated with the office of the Chief Judge of the State to erect a high court building within the prison premises to fast track prosecution of criminal cases.
Tayo Jegede, SAN served two tenures as the Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, Yola branch before he was appointed as Ondo State Attorney General. For his knowledge and deep interest in the education sector, which is an added impetus to his law practice, he was appointed as a member of the 5 man implementation Committee that was saddled with the responsibility of establishing the American University of Nigeria, Yola, Adamawa State. He actually served as the pioneer Secretary of the Board of Trustees and worked with prominent Nigerians and foreigners alike in the Governing Board of the University to provide policy guidelines and regulations for the University.
He has demonstrated many times among us, his University classmates and even within the larger Nigerian Law School class that he is a man of impeccable character. He is humane and humble and as a technocrat he has selflessly and passionately served Ondo State as AG and Commissioner for Justice and has at all time affected humanity with a positive attitude. As an innovation within the corridors of power, he has sponsored moot court trial among University law students in the southwest of Nigeria, Edo and Kogi states and this modest support in the Legal Education sector has become a yearly event in that part of Nigeria. There are testimonies about his community service to the people with the vision to improve on the life of the common man. His almost eight years stint at the Ministry of Justice, Akure has shown that if elected as Ondo State governor, he will continue his dedication as a public officer with friends cutting across all political, ethnic and religious divides.
Governor Mimiko has shown good governance in the area of mega health, education, agriculture, affordable housing, job creation, city and urban modernization, etc and the record is there. Ondo State would no doubt need continuation of such a good work and Eyitayo Jegede is the sure bet for that position. He has learnt a lot from the people’s governor for over seven years which has given him the opportunity to know what the people of the State would need from their next governor. His resume as touted above will no doubt give him an edge over any other candidate that may be jostling for the office of governor of Ondo State at this time. With apology to Rotary International and with the support of Tayo Jegede’s classmates at Unilag and the Nigerian Law School, I say: “For he is a jolly good fellow, for he is a jolly good fellow, for he is a jolly good fellowwww, and so say all of us ………..”
Akeredolu is the author of “The Indigenous African Criminal Justice System for the Modern World”
Here are the reasons why Eyitayo should not be next Governor.
Mimiko fooled you once, he fooled you twice and now if you allow him to fool you the 3rd time, you are not just a fool but an irredeemable imbecile. “Oponu, Akidanidani”!
Before the last house of Assembly, having failed woefully in the general election, mimiko came shedding tears. He opened the vault of the state and spent like there will be no tomorrow. He rolled out bulldozers and declared emergency on all bad roads. He lifted embargoes on employment and promised to restore those he sacked back to work. You all saw sincerity and were carried away by his sweet words that he is a changed person. Immediately after the election, he made you paid dearly for making him cry. He witheld salaries, wages and pension of workers.
He never fulfilled his job promises and he asked the contractors to take away bulldozers from sites. Many people died of hunger and many took to crime- robbery, prostitution and kidnapping just to survive. Mimiko understand your gullibility and he knows how stupid you could be. Election time is here. He is about to install his stooge to cover up his atrocities. Mimiko has sold out Ondo state and need to cover his tracks. The country is in recession, everywhere is dry but here is mimiko pumping out billions every week to buy his way back to Alagbaka via proxy. Let us ask Mimiko where all these billions are coming from? What has change in the state income in the last 1 month? Do we get more money coming from federation account? Do we have increase in IGR? Do state have investment that just matured? All of a sudden, money that mimiko said the state dont have starts rolling in. All of a sudden, the state is buoyant again to execute projects.
All of a sudden, employment letters starts flying around.Artisan now become somebody. Okada riders that were maltreated are now royals. Jegede has no self blueprint but to cover Mimiko’s dirty “ass” and continue with Mimiko’s blueprints.
It is nothing but sheer wickedness for a leader to starve the followers to death, to ensure many go to bed hungry and many pensioners who had served for years died of deprivations, all in the guise of saving money for election/power.
You own your brothers and sisters who died in the hand of Mimiko’s misgovernance a duty that you don’t return mimiko back to power. You keep their memory alive by demanding for justice that the name of mimiko, who could have used these funds he witheld for elections to save them from untimely death via hunger. A live that is lost is worth more than 1 billion that Mimiko kept for election.
In the memory of those that died, please share and sensitize others about man cruelty against man. Human live worth more than election.
Only a fool will fall victim the 3rd time.
@Adeseyitan, You have just said my mind. If APC says PDP has failed us and APC is fast failing us presently, placing hardship on Nigerians, we will vote for SDP
SDP is the way, Dr. Olu Agunloye is the answer. He is just the best among the contestants. Alagbaka ti sure ju.