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As politicians brace up for the 2019 elections, a former governorship aspirant in Oyo State, Dr Bayo Adewusi, has insisted that rotation should be a factor in determining who becomes Oyo State governor.
Adewusi, who is a former Commissioner for Finance in Lagos State, said a situation where only a zone in the state produces successive governors is not in the best interest of the people of the state.
Speaking with reporters on the occasion of his 58th birthday, Adewusi, who hails from Eruwa, Ibarapa Zone of the state, said candidates from other zones outside Ibadan should be encouraged to occupy Agodi Government House in the interest of justice and fairness.
His words:
“If you have followed the politics and voting patterns of election in Oyo State since 1999, you will see that nobody will emerge governor without the active votes of all the other 22 local governments of the state. Ibadan votes alone cannot produce governor in Oyo State. In the last election, the votes from the Oke-Ogun part of the state produced the governor. For me, in the interest of justice, equity and fairness, the position of the governor must be rotated. Let everyone be a part of it. There should be a sense of belonging of every other part of the state. If there are other people from other parts of the state who indicate interests, they should be encouraged; that is my view.”
He said he would heed the call to serve his people if such calls come.
The politician also disclosed that he had returned to the All Progressives Congress (APC) after a stint in Accord party to which he defected before the 2015 elections.
He said the decision to defect to Accord in 2015 was largely based on the undeterred of his followers who insisted that they were not recognized in the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
However, he bemoaned the crisis rocking the APC at the federal level and advised part leaders to be careful to avoid falling into a similar pit like the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He said:
“It is very unfortunate that APC has found itself in this melodrama. And a house divided against itself cannot stand. Unfortunately the matter is already in court. Nobody can take it away. We can only hope and pray that the decision of the court will not further polarize the party. But I think that we are in this position today obviously because of political interest of some of the players especially in the National Assembly. I want to say that for the party to remain strong ahead of the elections in 2019, we must endeavour to resolve our differences internally. We must learn and take a cue from the PDP.
PDP is in this crisis today because many of its members and leaders left the party ahead of last year election. They left because they were either not happy with what was going on or because they had some ambitions that were higher. But the reality is that once they are divided, it is not good. When about six governors leave the party, then the party cannot stand. In a way, it is important we learn. I doubt if PDP will ever recover from the damage which this has created before the next election. Even with what is going on we can see more factions here and there. “