A-Z DETAILS OF AKALAS DECLARATION! #Alao-Akala: Reloaded for 2015# Former Governor of Oyo State, Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala, literarily shut down the ancient city of Ibadan, the state capital, with his loud and formal entry into the 2015 governorship race in the state. He did this on Thursday (4/9/14) under the banner of the PDP. A well structured programme, it is very much in doubt if there was any part of the city which did not feel the presence of the former governor with the sobriquet, ‘O-yato’ as he embarked on a road-show alongside his tumultuous supporters along the major roads across the city. From his Old Bodija residence to the party secretariat at Dandaru, along Queen Elizabeth 11 Road to Mokola roundabout through Sabo to Dugbe on to Molete and coming through Beere to Oje to Agodi-Gate and terminated at Watershed Events Centre along Old Ife Road, the residents trooped out in large number to cheer the former governor and urged him to forge ahead. Waiting to receive him at the event centre was a mammoth crowd which was kept alive with music supplied by Abas Akande Obesere, Femo Lancaster and Taye Currency on the band stand. Before embarking on the road show, the immediate past governor made a stop-over at the party secretariat where he met with the party’s state officials and formally told them of his intention to run for the exalted office. There he pleaded for a level-playing field for all the more than 10 party’s aspirants recalling that one of the aspirants has been parading himself as the party’s anointed candidate. He maintained that there could not be any anointed candidate outside the one the party delegates would elect at a transparent and well conducted primary election. At the formal declaration he became the first aspirant to pick the expression of interest form. He paid homage to the party leadership and urged them not to make any of the aspirants a favourite, but to allow each of the aspirants to prove his/her mettle at an open and transparent primary election after which whoever wins will square it up with other contestants at the general elections. “I urge all of us to work together, so as to form the next government in the state. It is only when our party forms the government that the party can really become functional, it is then that you the leaders can move with your shoulder high as the party in power,” he said. Responding, the party’s state chairman, Yinka Taiwo, disclosed that the party had no candidate yet and asked the former governor to discountenance whatever rumour he might have heard concerning the party leadership. He said: “We have heard a lot, some said we have been bought and the question I asked them is that, are we Sallah rams? Whatever you hear is just rumour and I want to assure everybody that we have no price.” While commending the former governor for being a party lover, Taiwo said he had started seeing the party back to the Agodi Government House, but appealed to the party elders to make it possible by coming together with one voice and unity of purpose. Taiwo recalled that if the elders had not fought with the former governor in 2011, he would have made it back for a second term and, by now, he would be looking for a successor rather than seeking to contest again. For the former governor and his entourage to even get to the event centre became herculean as his supporters with their various buses had created traffic gridlock on the Gate-New Gbagi road, the location of the centre and where a crowd of supporters and loyalists had converged. Addressing the crowd, the former governor, who opened his address kneeling down before rolling on the ground to appreciate God with a Yoruba adapted gospel song, ‘mo le, mo ba, mo tun gba a pada, ire gbogbo to sonu lowo mi’ meaning, ‘I pursue and reclaim it, all the good things that got lost from me’ recalled his various achievements while in office and assured the people of the state that his return would bring back the old glory of life abundance for the people as he charged the crowd to vote massively for the party during the next year election. He explained that what he saw in town moved him, because he saw that people were really suffering. “We are announcing our arrival, ‘Alao de, owo de, ijoba mekunnu ti de’ (Alao arrives, he arrives with money, the government of masses arrives). We won’t be arrogant, you have tasted us before and you know how sweet we were. We won’t bring grief to the people, you were all living fine during our time and it is our prayer that God will back the good time. There is no money in circulation now because all the money in the state is being taken to Lagos where the contractors handling their various projects come from. All those arrangements will stop, we are bringing back South-West to the mainstream. Everybody is complaining now, motor dealers are no more selling because people’s lives are not improving, the artisans are grumbling, those operating food and drink joints are lamenting, we didn’t sack any worker during our time, we know you are waiting for us and we are assuring you that we are coming back. The zone, about two weeks ago, confirmed its support for our President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and together, we are in the race.” Speaking further, Akala told the people, “you will agree with me that a ‘lot of water has passed under the bridge’ these past years and in spite of all odds, we remain undaunted, resolute and determined to stay together believing that together we shall reposition our great Pace Setter State to the overall joy and benefit of all. My good people of Oyo State, in the last few months, I have received hundreds of telephone calls, thousands of text messages and personal visitations from all and sundry, asking me to come out once again to contest for the post of the Governor of our dear Oyo State. I must say that these past three years, I have had time to reflect on our performances as I believe many of you have. Did we satisfy the yearning of the masses? As a government, did we provide the much needed succour for the people? Were the masses impressed by our people-oriented policies and programmes? It is indeed gratifying to note with a deep sense of modesty that we made positive impacts on the lives of the people, as attested to by the greater majority and also the International Community. The World Bank and the World Health Organization as well as the UBEC, CBN and the Federal Ministry of Transportation recognized our contributions by giving our government awards on our performances on Local Empowerment Programmes, Agriculture, Roads, Transportation, Education, Health and the Environment among several others. “I am convinced that while reflecting on our performance in government, the good people of the state were also watching and monitoring the performance of the present administration. As a matter of fact, they have been able to see the difference and compare notes in relations to our performances. One fact remains incontrovertible, ours was a governance with a human face while the present is characterized by anti-people policies as evidenced in the wanton destruction of means of livelihood, imposition of higher taxes, capital flight and outright dismissal of public servants on flimsy excuses. Our government was characterized by friendly policies, people-oriented projects, accelerated commerce through micro-finance loans at zero % interest and without collateral, rural development, job creation, that is, by using home-based and local Contractors for minor and major contracts, opening of new roads in the rural areas, release of grants to schools which enhanced educational development, respect for the work-force and job security for Public Servants. This is in addition to purchase of Skip-eaters for environmental sanitation, purchase of fully equipped ambulances, renovation of Public places, such as Mapo Hall, Atiba Hall, repositioning of BCOS with modern equipments and opening of radio stations in Ogbomoso and the Oke-Ogun axis. And more importantly, our administration established good and qualitative leadership as against the present situation where we now experience leadership of a Group Managing Director running State affairs as a Private enterprise”, the former governor added. Various speakers spoke eulogizing the past administration under Akala and the need to forge a common front now to drive away the present administration in the state.* Mogaji Iba Oluyole, Nureni Akanbi took a swipe at the other aspirants from Ibadan, who had come together and demanded that the governorship position should be zoned to Ibadan. Asking people not to take them seriously, he said they should be scrutinized to know their true identities. Another speaker from Oyo, Chief Lanky said all the differences between the former governor and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi 111 which contributed to the loss of the 2011 governorship election by Akala had been resolved. While assuring that all the four local government areas constituting Oyo Federal Constituency had resolved to support the former governor in his bid to come back, he appealed to the people of Ibadan to join hands with them to return Akala to power in view of his antecedents as a tested and trusted leader. With this declaration, another vista has started in the political journey of the state and in the months ahead, the situation is definitely not going to remain the same.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 18:33:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015