By DAPO FALADE
Dr Olusola Ayandele, a former governorship aspirant in the 2019 elections, has alleged that his people in Oyo South Senatorial District have been denied the benefits of good governance by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led administration in the state.
This was as he declared his interest to contest on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), adding that he is in the race to give the people of his senatorial district meaningful development and quality representation.
He also said the Oyo APC Reconciliation Committee, under the leadership of former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, is on the right track in the bid to bring about true reconciliation and unity in the party ahead of the 2023 elections.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with PeesReporters, Friday evening, he accused the incumbent representative of the district in the Senate, Senator Kola Balogun, of the PDP, of poor performance.
He said Balogun is one of the worst senators ever to represent the district at the Senate, saying it would amount to an abuse of word by ascribing performance to the serving senator.
“I think you are abusing the word, performance, by ascribing it to the present occupant of the seat. I don’t know about you, but I live here in Oyo State and if you are talking about performance, there is nothing like that in my senatorial district.
“With the present occupant of the seat, for me, it would have been better for us not to even have a representation in the Senate now; it is that bad. Nothing has been achieved; we have not been that lucky with some of our senatorial representatives.
“The present occupant of that seat will rank as one of the worst. I mean, forget about the fact that he belongs to the PDP; the truth of the matter is that he is just one of the worst,” he said.
He said his decision to jettison his governorship ambition for a senatorial contest was borne out of a genuine desire to serve the people of his senatorial district.
“Service: that is the most important thing. If you are trying to serve your people, if you try it from one perspective alone, then you may not be able to extend it, if that position is not available, either because of geographical calculations or otherwise.
“Oyo South Senatorial District is so dear to me that I am willing to come down from being a governor to becoming a senator so long as it affords me the opportunity to serve. It is not an individual or personal thing; it is because of a true desire to serve my people,” he said.
He declared that he would be a better alternative to the sitting senator, having been a former public servant, a former teacher and now an entrepreneur.
“Without sounding immodest, I was a public servant; I was a teacher and now I am an entrepreneur. I am involved with a company that is employing over 3,000 individuals, the hub of which is in Oyo State.
“In terms of employment,without being in government, I have been instrumental to getting citizens of the state into gainful employments.
“Some empowerment are being done. When you think about what really does the people of Oyo South want, you will be talking about security, economic emancipation and education.
“I have operated at the federal level before now and I know how to get some of these things to benefit our people in Oyo South.
“I have a foundation now; the Olusola Ayandele Foundation. Basically, we are premising our service on infrastructure, security, education and empowerment.
“If you put all these four together, we believe that we will able to emancipate our people from shackles of economic slavery,” he said.
He said he has consulted widely with major stakeholders and leaders of the party across the nine local government areas that make up the senatorial district, including party chairmen, women and youth leaders.
Speaking on the ongoing reconciliation process in Oyo APC, Ayandele said the committee, headed by Chief Alao-Akala is doing a yeoman’s job in the task of bringing all the aggrieved leaders and members of the party back.
He said the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi made a wise decision in putting up the reconciliation committee, with Alao-Akala as the leader because, according to him, “the result is positive as there is now unity and cohesion in the party”.
He said the effort at reconciliation became essential in the quest to move the party forward and ensure that it comes back into reckoning ahead of the 2023 elections.
“You can see the lamentation of our people now. They now know that really, “a ti wo one chance” with the present administration in the state. There is the need for us to take the government back. So, we are consulting,” he added.
He dispelled insinuations that the party is more divided as some of its prominent members, including former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, did not recognise the Alao-Akala-led leadership.
“On the contrary, when the former Minister of Communications made that assertion, I guess some things were not open to him because I gathered that, within three or four days after making that assertion, he was in Ogbomoso to see the former governor, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, and whatever misgiving he may have had were thrashed out. That is why you can see that he is singing a new song now.
“The issue is that, at least, for now, Governor Alao-Akala is the highest ranked elected officer in Oyo APC and I don’t think the issue of leadership is actually the problem, right now.
“The worst case scenario is that we will have a collegiate in terms of resolving leadership issue. Even if you say it is a collegiate, someone is still going to be up there.
“So I want to believe that the party’s heirarchy has a way of resolving issues and that is exactly what will be done,” he said.
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