The MATO Strategic Media Team has challenged the volunteer media team of Hon. D.I. Kekemeke to accept the political reality that their principal is struggling to sell his senatorial ambition to the people of Ondo South rather than repeatedly issuing statements about anti-party activities and attempting to intimidate individuals who identify with Hon. Mathew Oye Oyerinmade (MATO), the PDP senatorial candidate.
They should confront the fundamental question of public acceptability, A candidate who enjoys genuine popularity does not need threats to secure loyalty. He wins people through credibility, service, performance and a convincing vision for the future.
The attempt to hide behind the expression approbate and reprobate does not answer the questions being raised by the electorate. APC membership does not confer ownership of people’s political conscience, nor does belonging to a political party prevent individuals from making independent choices.
The people of Ondo South are not political property. Those who are dissatisfied with a candidate have every democratic right to express their preference for another. Instead of branding every MATO supporter an anti-party agent, Kekemeke’s media team should explain why their principal is finding it difficult to attract the confidence of a wider section of the electorate.
Equally, the claim of having strong connections in Abuja is no substitute for popularity, competence or tangible achievements. What exactly have these connections delivered for Ondo South?
The district needs effective representation, federal opportunities, employment, infrastructure, educational development and improved welfare. It is not enough to name-drop the Presidency, Senate leadership, NDDC and federal ministries. Political influence must be demonstrated through results. Ondo South cannot afford to exchange its future for promises of access that have not been translated into identifiable benefits for its people.
There is also a broader question of political representation that deserves serious attention. With President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, occupying the highest office in the country, Ondo South has a strategic opportunity to elect a senator who can strengthen the district’s voice within the wider Yoruba political and national conversation.
The people should not overlook the value of effective representation and shared political understanding. However, such representation must be earned through competence and the people’s mandate.
MATO offers a candidacy that his supporters believe can combine grassroots acceptance, community engagement and meaningful political influence. His reported interventions, including support for the renovation and furnishing of APC secretariats across the six local government areas, the renovation of the APC state secretariat after the EndSARS unrest and the distribution of solar energy units to traditional palaces, further strengthen the case his supporters are making for him.
The growing Rainbow Coalition, which includes people from different political backgrounds, is evidence that party labels do not always determine the direction of public sentiment. Our campaign assessment is that MATO enjoys overwhelming support across Ondo South, with supporters putting his acceptance at about 90 per cent.
This is a campaign assessment rather than a scientifically verified poll, but the momentum should be a source of concern for a campaign struggling to broaden its appeal. The same freedom that allows political parties and individuals to support President Tinubu because of their assessment of Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa’s performance in Ondo State must also allow APC members and other citizens to support MATO for the Senate.
Our message to Kekemeke’s Volunteer Media Team is clear: stop the threats, abandon the politics of intimidation and face the reality of the marketplace. If your principal is marketable, take his message to the people and let them decide.
MATO does not need to be intimidated out of the contest, and his supporters will not surrender their democratic rights because of threats or political grandstanding. Ondo South deserves a senator who can command the confidence of the people, not one who expects loyalty through pressure. The ballot box, not media aggression, will determine the winner.
….Da tie mo! MATO for Senate. Ondo South deserves quality representation, not political intimidation..
©️MATO STRATEGIC MEDIA TEAM