The governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, has announced Lucky Ayedatiwa, a former representative of the state on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as his running mate for the October 10 election.

It was gathered that Mr Ayedatiwa’s name was sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday.

He is a native of Obe-Nla, an oil-bearing community in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.

Confirming the development, Akeredolu uploaded a graphic showing his name and Mr Ayedatiwa on Twitter on Wednesday.

Those that were said to have shown interest asides Mr Ayedatiwa include former members of the state assembly, former federal lawmakers, and some aspirants who stepped down for Mr Akeredolu in the just concluded primary election.

The governor was said to have settled for a traditional member of the APC to avoid the same trouble he had with Agboola Ajayi who left Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to APC four years ago and then returned to contest under the opposition party ahead of the upcoming election.

Mr Ajayi lost to Eyitayo Jegede who contested against Mr Akeredolu in 2016.

But Contrarily, the All Progressives Congress(APC) in Ondo on Tuesday said it was not aware that Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has picked a running mate.

Spokesman for Ondo APC, Alex Kalejaiye, said the party was still functioning on a suitable running mate for the October 10 governorship election.

Kalejaiye said the person being sought for must be a loyal party man that would not betray the party in the future.