The ranks of the 16 aggrieved members of the Ondo House of Assembly have been broken by the purchase of official vehicles for them by the state government and the promise of a return ticket to some of them by the party.

It was gathered that the long-awaited Kia Optima Sport Utility Vehicles SUV promised them by the governor Rotimi Aketedolu on assumption of office have arrived the state and would be presented to them individually by the governor.

Governor Akeredolu it was reliably gathered has insisted that he would personally present the SUV to each of the 26 lawmakers.

Consequently, the aggrieved lawmakers have started to trickle into the Assembly complex ostensibly to benefit before the expiration of their tenure in June this year. Vanguard also learnt that the party has equally promised to give a return ticket to some of the aggrieved members to further divide them.

But those who won the last primaries and their names already submitted to INEC have vowed not to let go their tickets. Reliable source hinted that the members may be directed to by the leadership of the party in the state to defect to another political party and would be backed during the election.

The same scenario played out in the senatorial seat in the Northern district where Dr Tunji Abayomi had to jump ship to AA following the automatic ticket given to the ranking Senator Ajayi Boroffice. Some failed House of Representatives aspirants in the party have jumped to the AA to contest the coming election with the full support of the state party machinery.

Meanwhile, the elected speaker Olamide George and some of his close colleagues have snubbed the carrot dangled by the governor insisting that they have lost confidence in the governor’s preferred speaker of the assembly.

Recall that the lawmakers impeached the speaker and his deputy, Hon Bamidele Oloyelogun and Ogundele lroju barely a month ago.

•Sourced from a Vanguard report