2023: Why I’m running for senate – Faozey

Engr. Faozey Oladotun, Oyo central senatorial aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), in the last general elections, on Tuesday, ended speculations about his re-run bid, saying that he was back in the race to fulfill his vision for the development of the state by possessing legal authority to engage in the formulation of public policy, as well as to create a sustainable development platform for his constituents , particularly the youths; in order  to harness their full potentials .

Oladotun, noted that their energy has not been totally harnessed for productive use, assuring that the platform will renew the hope of the people.

He, specifically tasked the youths to tap into the opportunity of this generation by  taking advantage of the fourth industrial revolution driven by digital technology.

“To be realistic and fair to ourselves, this generation belongs to the youths . The  present occupant of Oyo Central senatorial district, Oloye Teslim Folarin,  became a senator of the federal republic of Nigeria at the age of 39 years.

“Even, in developed countries, most of the richest people are the youths, including Facebook C.E.O, Mark Zuckerberg, whose fortune made him the sixth richest in the world. He’s  just 37 years old. The ideology, I want to sell is about tapping the opportunity of this generation, that’s my vision, that’s what I want to bring on board because; we own this generation”, he said.

The APC chieftain, who disclosed this while addressing a  press conference in Ibadan , the Oyo state capital, also revealed  that he has learnt some lessons from the previous political process that would be crucial to making decisions about his future  aspirations.

According to him, “initially, I didn’t plan to embark on politics, even in those days, I usually tell people that I will never participate in politics. I came back to Oyo in 2018 for different purpose. There is a non- governmental organization in Italy, its role is to bring in innovative road construction products. I came in and we wrote FERMA, informing the agency about the concept, unfortunately, we were unable to get the approval to execute the project, even up til now; because they wanted something. So, because of this delay in approval process , one of my brothers in Oyo town, who is also a politician, later advised me to contest for the National Assembly seat so that I can be able to facilitate these developments for my people; with less stress. That was when my journey into politics started. We sat together and drafted some plans as to how to  go about it.

“Also, in  Nigeria, we have almost 2 billion minutes international calls  coming in monthly, and from that 2 billion calls, government is not making a cent. So, we introduced international sort out to the federal government which will pass through Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Telecommunications, but they didn’t see the light in it, because they wanted immediate gains,  the proposal did not fly. If, we calculate 2 billion minutes calls, even if the government only introduces N5 as tax, its a huge revenue which is billions of naira monthly into the covers of the government. But, up till now, that policy has not been implemented in Nigeria.

“So, the political process started due to gallant of approvals that we were unable to secure for these  projects. My people would have benefited from these projects , so, in terms of policy making, I want to get involved actively ”, he declared.

Speaking further , the successful ICT guru, also announced his readiness to establish the first Oyo Incubation and Innovation Tech hub in Oyo town. He explained that the hub will assist in research and development, adding that anyone with innovative idea would be mentored, empowered with start up fund among others.

The Oyo – born politician, also revealed that he is planning to launch the first electric vehicles with charging stations in his town.

He said, “We are trying to set up the first Oyo Incubation and Innovation Tech hub which is going to be situated  in Oyo town. The purpose of setting up this hub is that anything that relates to research and development would be coming out from there and anyone with an innovative idea can come down, we will give mentorship , start up fund and some other things that are related. For example, we  planned to launch the first electric vehicles and set up charging stations for at least 10 electric vehicles. I want to create platforms for people, particularly the youths to be self-reliance.

“Because, we have created the platform, a lot of investors will come in that in the whole of Oyo state, in Oyo town that’s where we have electric cars , it’s going to be reflected on google, thus placing the town on the map. That’s  what we are trying to do.

Oladotun, however, assured that Oyo town, as one of the hubs in Nigeria, would be used for the upcoming Internet Governance Forum (IGF) meeting which  is billed for Poland before the end of this year, saying “it is even going to be the first in the Southwest , we don’t even have it in Lagos presently.

“We are using our Oyo Tech Hub to host Internet Governance Forum meeting which is a global thing. A lot of people will participate at a global level. This will surely attract huge development not only to the town, but the state in general”, he added.