APC has commenced its orchestrated membership registration and revalidation exercise nationwide.

Ayandele, in a statement issued on Monday and made available to newsmen in Ibadan by his Personal Assistant, Comrade Sola Adeleke, described the registration and revalidation exercise as not only timely but essential in helping the Progressive party to prioritize its key objectives of aiding the cause of democracy in the country and making life better for the citizenry.

According to him, “this registration and revalidation exercise exercise is a unique testimony to the fact that the APC is the only party in Nigeria that is committed to planning and organization as it is obtained in the advanced societies across the globe. It is only when a political party is organized that it would be able to offer its best to the people who are usually desirous of good governance and decent practices by political players.

“With the superb arrangement put in place by the leadership of our great party at the national and state levels coupled with the resolve of all gladiators to work together as members of the same progressive family, we have no doubt that the exercise would be a huge success in Oyo state.

“More importantly, we are using this opportunity to encourage all existing party faithful to troop out and revalidate their membership of the APC while we also call on members of the society who are 18 years of age and above to register as new members. The exercise commences this Wednesday, February 10, 2021 and it will be on for two weeks across the Wards and Polling Units in the 33 local government areas of the state.

“Particularly, the people of Oyo South Senatorial district should lead the pack in the exercise for them to be able to correct the mistake of 2019. As the APC remains the best threshold to actualize the developmental desire of the masses Ibadan/Ibarapa axis as well as all other zones in the state, our people need to embrace the membership registration exercise of the APC and thus put the world note about their readiness to bring the Progressive party back to power in Oyo state in 2023.

“All eligible persons in Ibadan North, Ibadan North East, Ibadan North West, Ibadan South East, Ibadan South West, Ido, Ibarapa Central, Ibarapa East and Ibarapa North local government councils should come out and be counted as members of the Nigerian population who want the best for their fatherland”, Ayandele urged.

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The Oyo State Government, on Wednesday, urged residents of the state, especially those in flood-prone local government areas, to take precautionary measures in respect of the flood alert from the administration.

The state government, which spoke through the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Mrs Olubamiwo Adeosun, stated that every necessary step must be taken to avoid disaster.

According to her, to forestall flooding and its attendant effects, residents of the state, especially those in Ona Ara, Lagelu, Oyo East, Kajola, Egbeda, Ogbomoso South, Iseyin, Ibarapa North, Ibadan South-West, Ibadan North-West and Ibadan South-East Local Government Areas, are required to clear surrounding and street drain channels and avoid dumping wastes improperly.

“It is even of paramount importance that our people should take necessary precautions during heavy rainfall or in the event of flooding. People living in houses built along floodplains should relocate to safer places, avoid the use of low bridges and culverts when the rain is persistent, and whenever there is rainfall, people should avoid staying under high tension electricity installations,”she said.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, quoted the SSG as adding that residents must also ensure “that each household keeps a dustbin and patronizes government-approved waste disposal contractors, avoid building on floodplains, obtain building approvals from relevant statutory bodies before commencing building, among others.”

Mrs. Adeosun stated that as part of efforts to put an end to the menace of flooding in the state, the government has given its full backing to the total implementation of the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project, ( IUFMP), the state-owned flood risk mitigation project with funding and technical assistance from the World Bank.

She noted that the project has constructed ultramodern hydraulic structures at 17 locations in Ibadan as well as construction of extensive drains/adjoining roads to the structures, adding that the rehabilitation of the 78-year-old Eleyele Dam recently commissioned by the governor is also part of the efforts to contain flooding.

According to the SSG, the warning alert became imperative following the Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) and Seasonal Rainfall Predictions (SRP) released by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) respectively, which, she said, signposted the state among those prone to some extent of flooding in 2020.

She said: “Earlier this year, the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) had released their Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) and Seasonal Rainfall Predictions (SRP) respectively, both of which pinpointed Oyo State among the states that are prone to some extent of flooding in the Year 2020. The reports went further to outline the specific local government areas likely to experience flooding, which in the case of Oyo State include Ona Ara, Lagelu, Oyo East, Kajola, Egbeda, Ogbomoso South, Iseyin, Ibarapa North, Ibadan South-West, Ibadan North-West, and Ibadan South-East.

“More recently  in June 2020, a follow-up correspondence was done to the Office of His Excellency by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), charging our state to intensify its flood risk mitigating measures ahead of the predicted heavy downpours.

“The vulnerability of Ibadan and some other towns in Oyo State to river and urban flooding is induced by our towns’ topographic terrain; the problem of indiscriminate waste disposal and building of houses on flood plains.

“There is the tendency that the foregoing could even be aggravated by the universal menace of global warming and climate change.

“It is in the light of this that the government of the day in Oyo State has given its full backing to the full implementation of the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project, the state-owned flood risk mitigation project with funding and technical assistance from the World Bank.

“Under this Project, the highly capacious ultramodern hydraulic structures constructed at 17 different locations of the Ibadan Metropolis, complemented by the extensive drains and approach/adjoining roads to them, are already completed and functional, thus helping to rid those hitherto flood-ravaged areas of incessant flooding and the attendant calamities that came in its wake.

“On a larger scale, processing of the proposed channelization of major rivers and water channels in Ibadan under the IUFMP scheme, is at an advanced stage, with some of the works already awarded to reputable contractors. This implies that major water courses in Ibadan like Ona, Ogbere, Orogun, Kudeti, Agodi Channel, etc. will soon undergo major channelization which, when completed, would boost the runoff draining capacity of the city.

“Beyond the massive hydraulic interventions listed above, the Oyo State Government has revved up the machinery of averting the predicted flooding across all the cities, towns and villages of Oyo State. As we speak, a comprehensive Radio and Television campaign is running on some major channels in the state, the thrust of which message is to enjoin our people to clear neighbourhood drains, avoid improper waste dumping, shun building on waterways, move out of flood-prone areas, avoid wading into flooded spots, etc.

“Also, earlier today, a Multi Stakeholders’ Meeting was held in this same location to galvanize stakeholders from some of the identified LGAs, LCDAs, Communities, as well as relevant MDAs and other regulatory agencies on their roles and responsibilities towards this new charge. That way, we will be able to present a common front and jointly avert another crisis within a pandemic.

“May I now use the opportunity presented by this forum to charge our people, both individually and collectively, to take the flood advisories to heart and commit wholeheartedly to their messages. We are required now, more than ever before, to clear our surrounding and street drain channels, avoid dumping wastes improperly, ensure that each household keeps a dustbin and patronizes government-approved waste disposal contractors, avoid building on floodplains, obtain building approvals from relevant statutory bodies before commencing building, among others.

“It is even of paramount importance that our people should take necessary precautions during heavy rainfall or in the event of flooding. People living in houses built along floodplains should relocate to safer places, avoid the use of low bridges and culverts when the rain is persistent, and whenever there is rainfall, people should avoid staying under high tension electricity installations.

“As a responsible government, the Engr. Seyi Makinde administration cares about the safety of the lives and property of our citizens and would not want them to suffer avoidable losses.”

The government called on all media houses in the state, which it noted are critical stakeholders and co-partners for development, to make dissemination of warning messages on flooding part of their daily routine, to safeguard the state from calamities, saying “the situation at hand demands our proactive response and collaborative effort.”

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He had vowed not to mount the soap box again, except to canvas for votes on behalf of his protégés. In the governor’s reckoning, 2019 is the destination point for his illustrious political career, having also served Oyo South Senatorial District in the Senate between 2003 and 2007 under the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD).

In the February 19, 2018 edition of the Punch Newspaper, a respected Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Adeniyi Akintola, said, “Ido Local Government is launching the campaign to endorse him (Ajimobi) to go to the Senate and by the grace of God, he shall make it. Of course, this isn’t his first time; he wasn’t a bench warmer there as he gave quality representation. In the Senate, he will be a pride to Oyo State and the South West.”

And since this move by the patriotic Ido elders and leaders, many other groups and individuals have asked the governor to take another shot at the Senate in the best interest of the state and the region. Having surrendered to the superior argument of his supporters, the governor participated in the October 2, 2018 National Assembly primaries of the All Progressives Congress. To underscore the beauty of democracy, his main challenger, Dr Fola Akinosun, refused all entreaties by party stalwarts to step down for the governor in deference to the political tradition that respects position and experience in such circumstance. But Akinosun eventually lost by 168 votes to Ajimobi’s 2659 as announced by the Chief Ademola Seriki-led electoral panel. Thus began another journey to the hallowed Red Chamber for the governor to represent Oyo South Senatorial District.

In a short acceptance speech after the primaries, Ajimobi had said, “I look forward to going back to the Red Chamber to contribute my quota to the national debate and the progress of the nation. I wish to bring to fore my parliamentary experience to grow a Nigeria that the next generation will be proud of.”

Many reasons had been adduced by the proponents of Ajimobi should go to the senate, ranging from his enviable corporate and political experience, integrity, record of achievements, clout, robust political capital, inexhaustible physical agility, intelligence, gift of the gab and most importantly because of his mettlesome disposition. Although, the uninitiated have derisively dubbed the Senate as the retirement home for two-term governors, but in advanced climes the Senate is populated by senior citizens who are regarded as the bulwark of democracy. Advanced age is seen in western democracy as an asset rather than liability.

For instance, since 1981, the average age of representatives and senators in the US Congress has jumped from 49 and 53, respectively, to 57 and 61, according to Quorum. In the today’s 116th Congress of the US, Dianne Feinstein of California is the oldest sitting member of the Senate at 84 years old. She is known for being a liberal, left-leaning politician who has dedicated her life to serving the people of California.

Another asset that Ajimobi possesses is his impeccable educational attainment, having bagged a BSc in Business Administration and Finance from The State University of New York, Buffalo. He also obtained an MBA in Operations Research and Marketing, with a concentration in Finance, from the Governor’s State University, Park Forest, Illinois.

In 1979, Ajimobi became the youngest Manager at the National Oil and Chemical Marketing Company in Nigeria, and rose to the position of the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the National Oil and Chemical Marketing Company. As Managing Director he substantially improved the profitability of the company and the shareholders’ fortunes. In 2003, he voluntarily retired after 26 years of meritorious service in the Oil and Gas industry.

Whether at the regional, national or international platforms, Ajimobi is consistently acknowledged as one of Nigeria’s most gifted and effective leaders with the ennobling characteristics of great and noble statesmen.

During his first spell at the Senate in 2003, the governor and his AD colleagues, who were just six in number (with three others from Lagos State and one each from Ondo and Ekiti States), were hampered by their numerical disadvantage. In a sharp contrast, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had an overwhelming majority of 78 members, while the All Nigeria Peoples Party had 25 members.

To underscore the respect his colleagues had for him, he was appointed the Deputy Minority Leader of the 5th Senate.

In addition to his ably-discharged primary responsibility as a Senator, Governor Ajimobi deployed his personal resources and goodwill to carry out several grassroots projects in Oyo State, including the establishment of the first and the largest free vocational training center. The centre offers training in computer engineering, computer operations, telephone engineering, fashion designing, hair dressing, tie and dye etc. So far, the centre has turned out over 20,000 students. It has also been recognized and certified as a partner and training centre by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) of the Federal Government.

Between 2003 and 2007 Senator Ajimobi also identified communities that lacked potable water, where he sunk boreholes. He also carried out many empowerment and grassroots programmes for his Senatorial District.

During the infamous ‘third term agenda’ of the third republic it was alleged that some political jobbers, including National Assembly members, fell for the filthy lucre transported in the wee hours of the night in hefty Ghana Must Go bags by agents of the evil plot. It is on record that Ajimobi was among the very few that resisted the allure of the mint N50m doled to each pliant lawmaker to oil the botched civilian coup. Ajimobi was and is never afraid to speak truth to power no matter whose ox may be gored. When you talk about a contended man of integrity and patriotic zeal, Ajimobi stands tall. In the Senate, his views will be respected and he will not be in the league of absentee lawmakers or those who will only be heard during voice votes.

Apart from his unprecedented achievements in the past eight years, Ajimobi has also amassed enormous goodwill and respect within the top hierarchy of the APC. Today, he is a leading light of the party at the national, regional and state levels judging by the several assignments he had been saddled with in the recent past. These include his appointment as chairman of the APC national convention committee and chairman of the party’s 2018 well-organised presidential primaries national convention. The governor is highly connected to the centre, having been rubbing shoulders with the topmost echelon of the APC and the leadership of the country in the last eight years.

It was not merely fortuitous that Ajimobi broke the second term jinx in Oyo State, having been the first governor to be re-elected by the good people of Oyo State and for two successive tenures. The governor had unwittingly wormed himself into the hearts of the people when on assumption of office in 2011he decided to challenge the status quo of mediocre leadership. He braved the odds to tame the roughnecks disturbing the peace of the land, while he embarked on infrastructural revolution that changed the entire landscape of Ibadan, the state capital. He did not stop there; the governor took the road revolution agenda to the six zones of the state, where dual carriage roads were constructed for the first time in their histories.

That the respected Vanguard Newspaper named Ajimobi as the Governor of the year 2018 is not by happenstance, but in recognition of his hard work. According to the newspaper, he was given the award “for his outstanding unfurling of infrastructural revolution in the state and his numerous accomplishments in the education sector.”

In 2011 when Governor Abiola Ajimobi took over the reins of power, the state of affairs in the state was aptly captured in Thomas Hobbes state of nature, where there was perpetual fear and strives. Pre-2011, the rule of brawn superseded the rule of law; live was simply “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.”

Brigandage and violence was the order of the day, headlined by incessant attacks and killings by rapacious drivers’ unions, as well as fatal bank robberies.

Between 2011 and 2019, Governor Ajimobi restored sanity, peace, security, law and order by establishing a well-kitted and equipped joint security outfit codenamed ‘Operation Burst.’ Not intent on resting on his laurels, the governor introduced the Safe City project, which witnessed the installation of Closed Circuit Television cameras across flash points in the state. The latest initiative is, of course, meant to nip criminality in the bud.

And to the credit of the Ajimobi-led administration, not a single incident of bank robbery has been recorded in the last five years unlike before. The establishment of a Security Trust Fund, which has donated multi-million naira worth of equipment to security outfits and refurbished many grounded patrol vans, has also boosted these efforts.

Ajimobi has also in the last eight years impacted on the environment, education, health, civil service, a feat that has earned him the appellation of the builder of modern Oyo State. Sentiments apart, it is now up to the good people of Ibarapa North, Ibarapa East, Ibarapa Central, Ido, Ibadan North, Ibadan South-East, Ibadan South-West, Ibadan North-East and Ibadan North-West to reward Ajimobi for his eight years of service to the good people of Oyo State by voting him as their next Senator. Undoubtedly, it is a person of his stature and track record that has what it takes to take Oyo State to the next level of development.

Akin Oyedele is the Senior Special Assistant on Media to Oyo State Governor

The post Why Ajimobi Towers Above Others In Oyo South Senatorial Race || By Akin Oyedele first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

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The provincial list of candidates for presidential and national assembly elections recently released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,  revealed that Sen Akanbi’s name has been submitted as the party nominee.

As for Senator Akanbi, the declaration by the incumbent Governor, Abiola Ajimobi to run for Senate in 2019 has put the political bid of the lawmaker representing the most populated senatorial district in the State –  Oyo South on the line in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Interestingly, with this latest development, Sen. Adesoji Akanbi (ADC) is expected to contest the seat with Governor Abiola Ajimobi (APC) while the other contenders include, Dr Fola Akinosun, who was reported to have secured the Action Democratic Party ticket (ADP) among others.

Oyo South Senatorial District houses nine local governments namely: Ibadan South-West, Ibadan North, Ibadan North-West and Ibadan South-East.

Others are Ibadan North-East, Ido, Ibarapa Central, Ibarapa East and Ibarapa North.

By Idowu Ayodele

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