2019: Akinlade Emerges Ogun APC Governorship Candidate
The leaders of Ogun state chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday presented before the party, a member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Abdul-Kadir Adekunle Akinlade as its candidate for the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
The state’s chairman of the party, Chief Derin Adebiyi presented Akinlade to other members of the party during a meeting held at the party’s state secretariat located on Abiola Way in Abeokuta, the state capital.
Presenting the party’s candidate, Adebiyi explained that the party settled for Akinlade who emerged as the consensus candidate of the Yewa-Awori people of Ogun West Senatorial district where the APC gubernatorial ticket had been zoned to.
He explained that the Yewa Council of Elders under the chairmanship of Alhaji Mohammed Olagbayi had screened all the 11 aspirants before settling for Akinlade.
A graduate of Political Science from the Lagos State University (LASU) and native of Agosasa village in the Ipokia Local Government area of Ogun West Senatorial district, Akinlade is a serving member of the House of Representatives, representing Egbado South-Ipokia Federal constituency.
Meanwhile, politicians from the Ijebu/Remo province of Ogun East Senatorial district have however, rejected the emergence of Akinlade as the sole governorship candidate of the party in the forthcoming general elections.
In a press statement issued and signed by Head of Media of the Ijebu-Remo Governorship agenda, Tayo Mabeweje, the APC politicians called for the conduct of a direct primaries to determine who becomes the party’s flag-bearer in the election.
Mabeweje in the statement emphasised that the choice of Akinlade did not represent the voices of every members of the party in the state, hence it has prepared ground for the party to go into contest with Otunba Bimbo Ashiru who had since November 2017 emerged as their own consensus candidate from Ogun East Senatorial district of the party.
“Since its creation in February 1976, the bipolar nature of Ogun geo-politics was well established in the Egba/Egbado and Ijebu/Remo dichotomy reflecting in historical as well as political institutions and practices”.
According to the group it is only fair and equitable that the Ijebu/Remo zone produces the next governor as by 2019, the old Egba Province would have been in the governorship saddle of the state for eight unbroken years Senator Ibikunle Amosun’s rule.
“We believe that, in keeping with the principles of rotation and fairness, the governorship should revert to Ijebu Province.
“Our position is not in any way an affront to His Excellency, Senator Ibikunle Amosun if anything, we acknowledge the giant strides of his administration in the last seven years in setting standard for infrastructure development and fully identify with his Mission To Rebuild Ogun State (MITROS)”.
As at the time of filling this report, it was learnt that another meeting of the APC politicians and stalwarts of the party from the Ijebu provincial division of the state was still on-going at Sagamu township of the state to finalise their stance on the choice of Akinlade.
