The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ogun

  • Three for governor in Ogun SDP

    Three for governor in Ogun SDP

    Ogun State Deputy Governor  Segun Adesegun, Mr. Fola Adeola and Comrade Wale Okunniyi, are vying for the governorship ticket of the Social Democratic Party(SDP) at the primaries. The date for the primaries is yet to be announced by the party leadership.

    Adesegun. who recently defected from the All Progressives Congress(APC) to the SDP, has said that he would contest against his boss, Governor Ibikunle Amosun, if given the ticket.

    The deputy governor said the time is ripe for him to take a decision on how to “lead his followers to the promised land and move Ogun State forward.”

    He said his decision is driven by the desire  to protect his followers from “rotting and wasting away” politically.

    But, Adesgun’s rival, Okunniyi, who was the governorship candidate of the defunct  Congress for Progressive Change(CPC) in 2011, said that he is more qualified and deserving of the SDP’s ticket than the deputy governor.

    Okunniyi, who rode into the home of former Governor Olusegun Osoba on horseback last week  amid cheers by supporters, to announce his interest in the  race, promised to govern well, if given the ticket.

    Another politician believed to be also vying the ticket is the running mate to Mallam Nuhu Ribadu during the 2011 presidential election on the ticket of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Fola Adeola, whose posters adorn strategic locations in Abeokuta.

    It is not yet clear, if the reticent banker is keenly interested in the ticket, although his name has continued to feature as an interested party in the last eight months.

  • ‘Nobody can impose Bankole on Ogun PDP’

    ‘Nobody can impose Bankole on Ogun PDP’

    Ogun West Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders have protested alleged moves by the party to impose former House of Representatives Speaker Hon. Dimeji Bankole as the governorship candidate for next year’s election.

    The elders, including  Chief Iyabo Apampa, former Deputy Governor Salmot Badru and Mrs Ebun Oyagbola, who protested against the plot at the party secretariat, Abeokuta, the state capital, said it was in bad faith.

    The protesters bearing placards with various inscriptions, decried  the plan to substitute the governorship candidate, Prince Nasir Isiaka, with Bankole.

    They noted that the  Ogun West has been marginalised politically, adding that the attempt to rob their son, Isiaka, in favour of Bankole was unacceptable.

    The chieftains vowed to resist any attempt by the party leadership to withdraw the mandate already given to Isiaka, urging the two districts-Ogun East and Central-to support their legitimate quest for power shift.

    Ogun West PDP senatorial leader  Hon. Boye Adesina said the few  powerful and undemocratic elements and their collaborators are bent on throwing the chapter into crisis, reminiscent of 2011.

    He said: “It is not in the tradition of the PDP to impose or select candidates for elections but to go through democratic process of open, transparent election as was conducted on Monday December 8th 2014.

    “We passionately appeal to the national leadership of our party not to be hoodwinked by these elements to short-circuit the transparent process that has produced Prince Gboyega Nasir Isiaka as Ogun State PDP governorship standard bearer for the 2015 election.

    “Ogun West people are seriously agitated for the long years of marginalization in the state and any undue interference to upturn or alter the result of the primary election held on Monday 8th December will not only seriously alienate our people, it will certainly have undesirable consequences on the fortunes of the party in the district.

    “That Prince Gboyega Nasir Isiaka having emerged as governorship candidate of the PDP in Ogun State through the process as defined by the party, we are irrevocably committed to his candidature.”

    Their protest letter was delivered to  the state Secretary of the PDP, Alhaji Semiu Sodipo ,who assured them that the party would stand by the mandate given to Isiaka during the primary election.

    According to Sodipo,  the state executive committee would send the protest letter to the PDP national secretariat in Abuja.

  • Lafarge bursary for Ogun undergraduates

    No fewer than 2,319 indigent students in the nation’s various tertiary institutions have benefited from the WAPCO Lafarge Africa (Lafarge cement) yearly bursary awards.

    The beneficiaries were drawn across Lafarge cement plants’ host communities of Ewekoro in Ewekoro Local government and Sagamu – both in Ogun state.

    The Managing Director, WAPCO Operations, Lafarge Africa, Adepeju Adebajo, who disclosed this on a Wednesday at the 2014 Community Development Programmes in Sagamu and Ewekoro respectively, also added that amount spent as bursary for the said beneficiaries in the last six years stands at N231.9 million.

    Adepeju said the company had this year, also spent a total N200 million – (N100 million each) for Sagamu and Ewekoro communities in the areas education, youth empowerment, health and infrastructural development.

    According to her, five blocks of classrooms were re-constructed in five public primary schools. She assured that Lafarge Africa Plc would continue to live to its billing as a socially-responsible and community-focused organisation as attested to by several notable independent national bodies and Ogun state government.

    Responding, the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Segun Odubela, lauded Lafarge for its intervention in educational development of the state, saying it had really improved the standard of education since the yearly education initiatives began.

    Odubela urged other investors in the state to emulate Lafarge Africa by extending hands of support to their host communities and the entire state for even development.

     

  • Free eye treatment for Ogun communities

    The MTN Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) arm of the telecom service provider, has begun the execution of the second phase of its Eyesight Restoration Intervention Scheme (MTNF EyeRIS), in Ogun State, even as Governor Ibikunle Amosun praised it for the initiative.

    No fewer than 6,000 patients are expected to benefit from the free eye care and corrective surgeries of the MTNF EyeRIS. The first phase began some months back.

    Some of the beneficiaries had free surgery for cataract while others received reading glasses to treat presbyopia and medications for various ocular diseases.

    At the inauguration of the programme at the State Hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta, Amosun said: “Early detection can prevent blindness or any other eye diseases,” adding that the MTNF is complementing the administration’s war against blindness.

    Amosun, who was represented by the Commissioner for Health, Olaokun Soyinka, said MTN’s intervention attested to the bond of partnership between the state government and the telecom service provider.

    Amosun said: “This intervention further demonstrates the strong partnership between the Ogun State Government and MTN Foundation in our shared value of assisting the under-privileged in the society.”

    Some of the beneficiaries praised the MTN Foundation and the state government for giving them the opportunity to regain their sight.

    Director, MTN Foundation, Mr. Dennis Okoro, said no fewer than 6,000 people are expected to be screened for cataracts and other ocular diseases in Ogun State and its environs.

    He noted that the project, which enjoys the endorsement of the Federal Ministry of Health, is being implemented in partnership with the Eye Foundation Centre for Prevention of Blindness (EFCPB) and in collaboration with ministries of health of beneficiary states.

    According to him, many cases of blindness and visual impairment in the country are preventable, as the foundation had, in the past one year, been actively engaged in the war to eradicate visual disabilities.

    “Since its launch in April last year, a total of 33,364 patients in six states have been treated for cataracts and other ocular diseases.”

    Okoro said the foundation intends to contribute towards increasing the cataracts surgical rate from 0.1% to 0.7% in the selected states, as this is in consonance with the World Health Organisation’s Vision 2020 Right to Sight Initiative.

    Mr Okoro further said MTN Foundation currently has 341 project sites across the six geo-political zones of the country, disclosing that it has spent over N10 billion on social projects in the areas of health, education and economic empowerment.

    He said: “Aside from the three major portfolios, the foundation also proactively responds to national emergencies, providing millions of Naira worth of urgent relief materials to victims of such occurrences.

    “In the first phase of the MTNF EyeRIS project, Osun, Niger, Delta, Abia, Sokoto and Jigawa states benefitted from the intervention through eye screenings and surgeries as well as the provision of eye glasses and drug packs for the beneficiaries.”

  • Ogun customs posts N6b revenue, reads riot act to smugglers

    The Ogun State Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has disclosed that it recorded revenue of N6 billion in 2014.

    Addressing journalists during the end of the year briefing in Idiroko,Ogun State, the Area Controller, Mr Haruna Mamudu, attributed the impressive performance in the command’s revenue generation drive and anti-smuggling campaign to the diligence and commitment of his men.

    He said: ” In detailing the activity for the period under review (December 2013-November 2014), the command collected N6,467,642,587.83, as against N5,390,662,512.53 collected same period in 2013. This shows a difference of N1, 076,980,075.00 and it is remarkable because this kind of revenue mark has never been attained in the command.

    “In the anti-smuggling canpaign, the command recorded 1,482 seizures between December 2013-November 2014, with Duty Paid Value(DPV) of N1,568,533,843.00 as against 1,226 seizures with duty paid value of N1,142,018,383.00 the command recorded in the same period in the year 2013. This shows a progressive seizure difference of 256 seizures with DPV of N426, 515,460.00.”

    He attributed the huge success recorded to the “quantum leap of the imported vehicles on which import duties were collected, which hitherto were smuggled into the country without payment of import duties and taxes. The unscrupulous importers are now reconditioned by the effective anti-smuggling campaign since I took over the affairs of the command in December 2013.”

    Mamudu explained that the anti-smuggling measures of the command had forced smugglers to resort to lawful declaration of imports and subsequent duty payment instead of risking seizure of their goods.

    He disclosed that five new operational vehicles have been given to the command to boost and enhance its operations.

    “It is noteworthy, that the present dynamic Nigeria Customs Service (NIS) is doing its very best to take the service to the next level. I am, therefore, delighted to announce to you that five new Hilux vehicles were recently allocated to the command for its operations and I want to thank the Comptroller General of Customs, Mr Dikko Abdullahi Inde, for this gesture. Let me use this forum to sound a note of warning to smugglers in Ogun State that we are now more equipped to tackle them, unless they renounce their illegitimate business of smuggling.”

  • Ogun community rues govt’s neglect

    Ogun community rues govt’s neglect

    Historically, Ijebu-Imusin in Ijebu-East Local Government Area of Ogun State is said to be 1,000 years old, even as some of those indigenous to the town believe it is much older.

    Those who accept as true the fact that the agrarian town which also has the good fortune of producing some of the country’s finest military generals, leading lights in the legal profession, surveying, education, medicine, accounting, architecture and journalism, among others, is much older as suggested by some, assert that the town came into existence at the same time with the Asian Tiger, China about 3,000 years ago.

    Aside the Oloko, the town has five monarchs who are traditionally referred to as Magusen (Itamarun), Obelu (Esure), Oyebola (Igbaga), Ogirimadagbo (Ilodo) and Elesugbon (Esugbon).

    There is also the sixth-Kunnusi of Idokunnusi, whose traditional ruler-elect is Prince B.J. Adetola while the Oloko, Oba Stephen Onafowokan, a first-class monarch in the state, is the head of all the monarchs in Ijebu-Musin.

    It is about the largest town in Ijebu land and boasts 42 communities or villages, a micro-finance bank, first-rate eye foundation centre, modern e-library and health care centres, among others which the community established through self-help efforts as well as a Federal Government Science and Technical College.

    Penultimate Saturday, members of the community gathered at their civic centre in their thousands, adorned in their colourful uniforms, for the 70th Imusin Day (Odun Omo Olumusin), the issue of the day was not whether the town is 1,000 or 3,000 years old but that of a self-appraisal; to ascertain if Imusin and her people are developing as they ought to.

    They admitted that much progress, albeit self-help driven, have been made, even as they had their worries about some areas that needed to be developed.

    The roads, drainage system and other basic amenities are either in deplorable state or non-existent. The town’s local market, though a veritable revenue base for the local government area, is in a sorry state.

    Infrastructure and location of schools in parts of the town at the other side of the Ijebu-Ode -Ore Expressway, namely Iwaya, Idomodu, Ododeyoruwa and Odosiwonade, which the Oloko appealed to the then Gbenga Daniel- administration to fix, still remained unattended to.

    It was alleged that children from the said communities travel between five and seven kilometres from home to attend secondary schools in other towns.

    Retired Maj-Gen Samson Adewunmi Odunsi captured the essence when he urged the town to take cognisance of its over 1,000 years of civilisation and determine if it has done well or not.

    Odunsi, who is the President, Ijebu-Imusin Planning Body (IPB), noted that 80 per cent of the developments in the town is through communal efforts, adding that the past and present governments-federal, state and local, have not been fair to them.

    He said there is the belief that the Ijebu-Imusin is about 3,000 years old and existed at the same time with China. He wondered where anybody would place and compare the town with China.

    Odunsi said:”The developments in the town, 80 per cent of them are through communal effort. The government is not doing anything here. What is our offence?

    “The government, past and present is not fair to us. We are only asking for our own fair share of government’s presence. Should we live a better life than our children?”

    According to him, the urban renewal projects-roads and bridges, of the state government are “fanciful and good” but are in wrong locations.

    He advised the state and local governments to pay more attention to the people in rural areas and put in place, facilities that would make life easier and better for them.

    Also contributing, the town’s paramount ruler and Oloko of Ijebu-Imusin, Oba Stephen Adedeji Onafowokan, who seemed to have lost hope of government’s assistance, made case for members of the community and friends to be encouraged to invest in Ijebu-Imusin.

    Onafowokan said: “The government, local and state, have abandoned Ijebu-Imusin for long. They need to treat Ijebu-Imusin as an urban area. The intra and inter-city roads are in a very bad shape with non-existent or poor drainage system. Ijebu-Imusin markets deserve a befitting facelift.

    “It is a regional market patronised by traders beyond our local government and state; a major revenue generating sector for our local government.”

    Concerning the socio-economic well-being of the community, the monarch regretted that a number of industries-Botam, Josel, Manilla, Temple and Golders and Egja-Meceng, among others that were hitherto the pride of the town and its people, are now “moribund.”

  • ‘Abuja can’t foist Bankole on Ogun PDP’

    ‘Abuja can’t foist Bankole on Ogun PDP’

    Ogun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been embroiled in a crisis over preparations for next year’s general elections. In this interview with Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN, its chairman, Chief Adebayo Dayo, speaks on the disagreement over the choice of the governorship flag bearer.

    Has the Senator David Mark led panel been able to integrate  PDP factions  in Ogun State?

    The Senator David Mark Committee was set up to integrate the new and old members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Southwest states. You know Mark is one of the strong pillars of our party. He was appointed to lead a committee that will stabilise the PDP in the Southwest. When you see a good man, you will see a lot of good things in whatever he does. What the committee is doing in Southwest will help our party. It has been so far, so good.

    Has the panel encountered any problem in that regard?

    The only problem it has is in Ondo State where the state executive of the party was dissolved. It was unfortunate that the Ondo executive was dissolved because its Chairman, Ebenezer Alabi and members of his executive council worked very hard to make sure that the PDP remained strong in the state. As co-ordinator of PDP Southwest chairmen, when I heard Ondo State executive was dissolved, I knew that Senator Mark was not responsible for the dissolution because he believes in the rule of law and due process.

    What is the position of the Southwest PDP Chairmen on the dissolved Ondo State executive?

    As far as we are concerned, the PDP Executive Council is not dissolved. That is the court order. The matter is before the court and the court has ruled that the status quo should remain. The party chairman and members of his executive remain in office until we have a final judgment on the issue. I know that members of the National Working Committee are law abiding, they will always uphold the rule of law.

    Is it true that a faction of the PDP in Ogun is calling for the dissolution of your executive?

    I am not aware of that. It is not true. However, we are in a democratic dispensation; people are free to express their opinion.

    The Ogun PDP executive cannot be dissolved until the expiration of our tenure in March 2016. Our executive is a product of a congress held in February 2012, which was validated by two courts of law.  We have judgments from the Federal High Court and State High Court, Ilaro, confirming the legitimacy of the congress from wards to state level and the elected members of the state executive council. The speculators should be very careful, so that they don’t commit contempt of court.

    What is your reaction to the speculation that the Presidency has endorsed former Speaker Dimeji Bankole for Ogun governorship?

    The thinking of some people is that when a young man had the opportunity of occupying high office, he should remain there forever. It is not possible because time changes. Gone are the days when an individual will remain in the leadership position forever. The only person that remained a leader till his last day on earth was Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He worked for it and got it. Awo was a great man; a consistent leader who never misled his followers. Many people think they could be a leader like Awo. How many of them can shun social vices like womanising, drinking and lying like Awo did. Awo was always busy in his study room thinking of how to improve the lots of common Nigerians.

    Bankole is a young man. I love him. But, he doesn’t know who his friends and enemies are. A man who is not ready to listen and learn from someone else’s experience, because he is too much in a hurry, how will he not make mistakes? He thought because he had occupied high office in the past that he will continue to be in big office for the rest of his life. That is why he is thinking of automatic ticket.

    I have told all PDP governorship aspirants in Ogun State that I am the umpire for the race. I have no interest in who picks the ticket. My ambition is that the PDP should win in Ogun in 2015. If I am a younger man looking for appointment from a governor, I would probably take side with an aspirant. I don’t have ambition of seeking political appointment. I want to organise a free and fair primary that will be acceptable to all concerned.

    If Abuja politicians give any aspirant automatic ticket, then they have to come down to Ogun State to vote for their anointed candidate. All I know is that we are preparing for the primaries through which candidates for elective offices would emerge. The delegates elected by the party members would decide the fate of the aspirants, including those seeking governorship tickets. Nobody can impose candidates on us in Ogun State. All the candidates would emerge through due process.

    What is your working relationship with Jubril Martins Kuye (JMK) like?

    What many people don’t know is that I happen to be a follower of JMK group for 18 years. JMK has been my leader. There are no more factions or groups in Ogun PDP. Kuye played a major role in making Gbenga Daniel governor in 2003. I regard him as my leader. But, he is not the only leader in the Ogun State chapter.  Daniel is one of the leaders in Ogun State today, Prince Kashamu is another leader, Senator Otegbola is also a leader. Being leaders do not mean that they have groups. We have settled all our differences in Ogun PDP. If our governorship candidate emerged either through consensus or primary, we will all work together.

    But, where an aspirant is contented with  the promise of an automatic ticket by Abuja suggests that he lacks grassroots support. With the acceptability of a candidate by party members, 50 per cent of the workload is over. Through complimentary efforts, the party will make up the outstanding 50 per cent.  If you are not popular among the party supporters, it is not possible for the party to win the election for you.

    Have you fully integrate Gbenga Daniel’s group back into the PDP?

    Thirty minutes ago, I received a text from Daniel, telling where he was. That speaks volume that our working relationship is very cordial. As someone who has been governor for eight years, he had helped many people through appointments. He has a lot of followers. The challenge I have now is how to manage the high calibre of people and having a working relationship with them. I don’t have any problem with Daniel and his followers. I am sure with the old and new group working together, the sky is the limit for us in Ogun PDP.

    Are you reaching out to other opposition parties like Social Democratic Party (SDP)?

    Yes, we have been discussing with our leader Chief Olusegun Osoba for a very long time. The relationship is very cordial, but we have not concluded any arrangement on 2015 elections.

    How many governorship aspirants have submitted their nomination forms?

    We have 11 in our records here in Ogun. They are Kayode Amusan, Tony Ojesina, Prince Yanju Lipede, Dr. Remilekun Bakare, Alhaji Sarafa Tunji Ishola, Dr. Femi Majekodunmi, Prof. David Bamgbose, Hon. Isiaka Akinlade, Omoba Segun Adewale, Prince Gboyega Isiaka, and Alhaji Rafiu Ogunleye.

    What of Dimeji Bankole?

    I am not aware of Dimeji Bankole’s intention. I have given you what we have in our records. May be he collected and submitted his form at Abuja.

    In addition to governorship aspirants, 109 aspirants for House of Assembly, 59 for House of Representatives and 10 for Senate have submitted their forms.

    How would you manage post-primary crisis?

    Unless we want to deceive ourselves, the people that have remained in the party over the years will have an edge over those that are just returning. But, we will make sure that the positions go round. Most of the returnees have got waivers to contest. We will support them in achieving their political ambition. We shall work together at the general elections.

    Are you prepared for the general elections?

    The large number of aspirants filing nomination papers shows the strength of the party. We have 11 governorship aspirants that cut across the three senatorial zones, canvassing votes in their respective constituencies. It is a warm up for the party’s campaign to commence. With the party structure and the party manifesto, the PDP is the party to beat in Ogun State.

  • ‘I’m running to liberate Ogun from poverty’

    ‘I’m running to liberate Ogun from poverty’

    Prof. David Bamgbose is the governorship aspirant of the  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State. In this interview with reporters, he explains why he deserves the party’s ticket and why he left the Accord Party for the PDP. MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE was there.

    Why are you contesting for governorship?

    You cannot leave the governance of this state to the set of people in power. Someone like me need not have any business with governance, if they were doing the right thing. There is need to create conducive environment for the people in both private and public institutions. People should be able to have access to infrastructure, equipment and other facilities. But, the authorities in power have refused to tackle the problems. I have been a player in the private sector and other diverse local and international organisations. But, I have found out that my country and my state in particular is not fulfilling its God-given destiny. There is need for us to do something to arrest the situation. But, people have accepted the situation without question. They are not thinking of changing the status quo. We must do something and that is what I represent. But, the challenge that I have is how to achieve the above objectives. Let me give you this example; our College of Education charges the lowest fees among all tertiary institutions, whether private, state-owned or federal government-owned. We also allow students to pay in instalments. We equally run free education in the prisons. The prison is supposed to be correctional institutions, but in Nigeria it is a different thing entirely. Our activities and what we do for prisons inmate have made some of them graduates. Coming into politics is to seek a higher platform to reach out to more people, to make life better for them. We must do something about the state; we cannot leave it to the set of people in power to continue to toy with our collective destinies.

    Why did you leave the Accord Party for the PDP?

    It is a very pragmatic, but painful decision to move from my former party, the Accord Party to the PDP. Pragmatic in the sense that you cannot achieve certain things on the basis of ideas alone; you must be realistic. I found out that in Nigeria, there are two major parties the PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC). The work we are going to do, if it must be successful, we must get across as many people as possible. It would be easier to achieve this through the PDP platform. So, there is nothing wrong taking that decision. The only thing that made me to move from the Accord Party to the PDP is to have a better structure. At the end of the day, also, I cannot confidently tell you that money will not be the criteria for the PDP to choose their candidate at the primaries. But, it should be on record that we presented our person on the platform. At the end of the day, the job would have been better done, if I can get the PDP ticket. This is because the personality of the people in governance has tremendous influence on the programme the party. The candidate of the party is very important; if you look at the calibre of the candidates of the parties in the elections in the Southwest, it speaks volume about the outcome of the result of the elections. So, one of the strongest reasons why I moved to the PDP is to be able to have a bigger platform, for us to be able to make our agenda available to a wide range of people and also to win the governorship of the state.

    There’s a long list of aspirants in the PDP. How you  can achieve this?

    It is the fundamental interest of any political party to get to the seat of power. Now, everyone that is aspiring on the platform of the PDP will go through the primaries and I think I will be of greater benefit to the PDP now and in the future. Out of the 10 of us that are vying for the governorship, under the PDP, there is none of them that have a business organisation in the whole of the Ogun State. I have three organisations in the state and I am resident in the state. Of course, they too are residents in the state; they go for their businesses and come back to the state. I employed over 200 people in our organisations. I want to say I am a bigger stakeholder in the evolution of the state than any one of them. And for example, the incumbent governor has been raising issues on tax matter. There was a time he locked the gate of our college. And if my party will present a candidate that will lose the election, God forbid, this people will go back to their business located outside the state. I will be the one that will remain in the state and facing the governor in the state. Again, there is a clear record of our activities of reaching out to the poor. In our colleges, we have offered scholarship. I have the track record of contribution to the betterment of humanity. So, it is better for the party to look beyond narrow equation or what they can get now. They should look at the larger benefit. I have the record of not being associated with any blemish. I have not worked with any government before. Some of the contestants have held political offices in the past without any benefit to the people. I may be weak in the area of giving money. I don’t have the money to throw around. I am of the opinion that these people, who go into the political arena, spending money are doing so on the basis of business and would look forward to reaping it back. If they get to power, what they will be bothered with is how they will recoup the money they have plough into it. It is investment for them, so we will not throw money around. We are going to sell ourselves to the people, as we are doing right now and allow God to pick the right candidate.

    Was there any consultation before  from the Accord Party to the PDP?

    I consulted with my primary constituency, but it was not a wide consultation. I had to talk to people in Accord Party, but they had divergent opinions. But at the end of the day, they understood my point of view. In Accord Party, we have little resources, for us to prosecute this election.

  • Ogun won’t return to Egypt

    SIR: Amidst euphoric celebration yesterday in Abeokuta, the Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, was officially declared the standard-bearer of the All Progressives Congress, having received overwhelming votes of the delegates at the party’s Governorship Primaries, which were adjudged very peaceful, open, free and fair.

    With this event, the journey of another four years in Oke-Mosan has begun. The February, 2015 governorship election will really be a case of no contest as a Mike Tyson in Amosun will be pitted against a Michael Spinks in the opposition. Did you remember that match in 1988, promoted as “once and for all” fight? It was a 12-round match but lasted 91 seconds! I’m not sure Spinks was able to land more than a jab before he kissed the canvas under the weight of Tyson’s fist.

    The fact is, Amosun will fight with the strength of five million Ogun citizens, leaving the opposition with a few votes as consolation. Yes, Amosun derives his strength from the masses!

    I agree with the widely-held view in Ogun State that the opposition and their allies should use the next four years for stock-taking, that is, to try to win back the confidence of the people which they completely lost while in power in the state.

    The wounds inflicted on the residents of Ogun while these people held the reins of power are still as fresh as injuries sustained a few minutes ago. Worse, they are yet to get their act together to even be considered a challenger in the forthcoming election.

    Under them, the children of the poor had no access to free education. Their parents could not sleep with their eyes closed because of insecurity, which also led to banks shutting business on a weekly basis. The few “face me I face you” roads they constructed were derelict. The economy of the state was in shambles amidst corruption while health care collapsed, worsening the crisis of misgovernance foisted on the state. During this season of anomie, even the children of Israel could claim a better life in Egypt.

    Today, under Senator Amosun, there is no home that does not enjoy free education with free standard textbooks. Residents now sleep in peace while banks open daily to customers. There are now international standard roads and flyovers in Ogun State.  The World Bank just a few months ago acknowledged how Ogun moved from F9 under the last government to A1 just under three years of the Amosun administration. And Amosun’s prudence in public finance management has been widely acknowledged all over the country. He has moved Ogun from Egypt to Canaan.

    I advise the opposition to spend the next four years to repent of their sins. Who knows, the people of the state may decide to forgive them in 2019. But then, consider this: A man you trusted defrauded you of say N50 million you placed in his care.  Thereafter, he repented and apologised without repaying the money. You accepted the apology because you just had to forgive.  But do you immediately place another N50 million in his care?

    • Soyombo Opeyemi

    Abeokuta

  • Ogun: It’s walk over for Amosun

    Ogun: It’s walk over for Amosun

    The shadow poll in Ogun State will be a walk over for Governor Ibikunle Amosun, who is seeking re-election. He has no rival at the primaries. He is a lone ranger in the race. Perhaps, the chapter is taping from the tradition of conceding the nomination to an incumbent, in recognition of his constitutional right to a second term and his achievements in the first term.

    Two weeks ago, the governor rounded off his “popularity tour” of the local governments. He was endorsed for second term across the three districts. In fact, one of his aides, Soyombo Opeyemi, said Amosun is prepared for 2015. “The governor has lived up to expectation as attested to by his achievements across the sectors. Many people want him to continue beyond 2015,” he added.

    Amosun controls the party machinery at ward, local government and state levels. He is also loved by national party leaders, who believe that he has done the APC proud, owing to his feats across the sectors. A native of Owu, Amosun has been endorsed by Egba monarchs and community leaders for a second term. In Egbado and Ijebu/Remo areas, his works, especially the urban renewal programmes and successful infrastructural battles, speak for him.

    However, after securing re-nomination,   the governor will have to gird his loins. The ruling party is polarised in Ogun. His deputy, Prince Segun Adesegun, and three senators-Alhaji Gbenga kaka 9Ogun East), Segun Obadara (Ogun Central) and Akin Odunsi (Ogun West)-are up in arms against him. The three senators who have defected to the Social democratic Party (SDP) have the backing of the APC leader, former Governor Olusegun Osoba. Some members of the House of Assembly have also deserted the governor. Therefore, while Amosun will not be opposed at the primaries, which will pale into a mere coronation for him, he will have to gird his loins as he prepares for the general election.