The race to the Agodi Government House, Oyo State seat of power, come 2019 is becoming more interesting by the day.
There have been ongoing schemings and alignment of forces within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in making sure that their favourable candidate gets Gov. Abiola Ajimobi’s nod. His approval obviously matters, being the leader of the party in the state and as a principal actor, he is one of those who decide who gets what in the coming election as far as APC is concerned.
This has become a tradition in the political circle for a serving governor to shop for a suitable candidate at the expiration of his tenure, to continue from where he stops.
Senator Isiaq Abiola Ajimobi’s case won’t be in any way different. Already, a serious search for who takes over from him come 2019 has commenced. In fact, we exclusively gathered that some names being mentioned so far have not been given serious consideration by Ajimobi, due to feedbacks he has gotten.
That explains why the search may go beyond the scope of the governor’s aides; as some of his close associates may be considered too. This search, according to those in the know, will produce a well acceptable, sellable candidate that can deliver during and after election.
It also becomes necessary for such candidate to be well scrutinised and certified by the party leaders. This is in order to be able to carry on with the unprecedented legacies the Ajimobi’s led government has laid. The ideal candidate, apart from having good credentials, must be a people-oriented person with an indisputable pedigree; impeccable character and credible antecedents.
Such candidate no doubt must be a good listener, who is an upright and fearless go-getter person.
However, some of Ajimobi’s aides whose names have featured on the list of those who have signified their interest, include the Hon. Commissioner for Lands, Isaac Omodewu; Dr. Azees Adeduntan, the Hon. Commissioner for Health; Hon. Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matter, Bimbo Kolade and Hon. Commissioner for Finance, Bimbo Adekanmbi.
Outside Ajimobi’s caucus, we have the likes of former Chief of Staff, Adeolu Akande; former Commission for Finance in the state, Zaccheaus Adelabu; Deputy Governor of CBN, Bayo Adelabu; the senator, representing Oyo North, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari and a lawmaker at the state House of Assembly, Honourable Temitope Olatoye aka Sugar.
Also on the list are a legal luminary, Barr. Niyi Akintola (SAN); another prominent lawyer, Barr. Ahmed Raji (SAN); APC Secretary in the state, Mojeed Olaoya and Engr. Remi Olaniyan, who recently decamped to APC.
