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A former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Chief Adebayo Adelabu, has explained why he is just joining politics despite nursing the ambition since 1999.
Adelabu, a Oyo state governorship aspirant, was a guest on Southwest Political Circuit, a popular radio talk show on Fresh FM, Ibadan.
He explained that the nature of politics in the state, before Governor Abiola Ajimobi took over, scared him away.
According to him, “hooliganism, brigandage and other forms of violence were the order of the day. But Ajimobi has changed all that.”
“We know how this state was seven years ago,” he said. “People like us would not join politics in that condition. Even though I have had my ambition since 1999, I waited for the appropriate time to come into politics. Even in 2010, I never saw that it was right to join politics because it was dangerous.”
Reacting to a statement credited to a PDP governorship aspirant, Seyi Makinde, who said that other aspirants promising to continue in Ajimobi’s stride were campaigning to perpetuate negative governance, Adelabu said such a statement was insincere and beclouded by vile opposition.
READ: I’ve nothing to copy from Ajimobi, Seyi Makinde tells APC
According to Adelabu, Ajimobi has succeeded in laying a solid foundation for future development of the state just the way Asiwaju Bola Tinubu did when he was Lagos state governor between 1999 and 2007.
His words: “In infrastructure, the quality of roads constructed by Ajimobi compares with the quality of roads abroad. You can not compare the quality with the previous administration. The restructuring in education, the reform in the health sector, great improvement in the state’s economy, in tourism, night life and improvement in people’s businesses etc have attracted the right talent and professionals to politics today. You can only build on what Ajimobi has done. Governor Ajimobi is sincerely the architect of modern Oyo State. What am I doing in politics today if Ajimobi has not made the terrain positively attractive? We will just build on what he has done. Foundation is the most difficult aspect of a building, and Ajimobi has done that. We are seeing the impact of that foundation. Tinubu did it in Lagos. Fasola and Ambrose built on it. So, anybody that says Governor Ajimobi’s performance is not commendable, sincerely, needs his head examined or be given glasses to see what Governor Ajimobi has done in the last seven years.”
The governorship aspirant pleged to continue his family’s legacy of intellectual governance.