- Over OGUN Central Senatorial Seat
- As OGUN SSG Joins The Race
The next general elections are about a year away, but the ambition of Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State to return to the Senate after the expiration of his tenure as governor is already generating tension in Ogun Central Senatorial District. and beyond. Senator Lanre Tejuoso, representing Ogun Central at the 8th Senate has hinted about his re-election bid into the National Assembly. just as there are strong indications that Governor Ibikunle Amosun is also interested in the Ogun Central senatorial ticket.
Speaking on the Governor’s ambition in December 23rd, 2017 , the then party chairmam, Tajudeen Lemboye, convened a caucus meeting , during the meeting, he took the people down memory lane, reeling out how Amosun had been caring for party leaders in their moment of needs and urged them to give the governor their loyalty and support. He noted that many things have happened in Ogun APC lately, especially among the executive members, alleging that some of them are hobnobing with the opposition.
Lemboye’s position is that Amosun deserves the respect and support of all stakeholders, because of his track record Since 2011, he has been diligent in working to entrench himself as the godfather of the Egba politics, in the hope of using the numerical strength of the Egbas (Ogun Central) as a bargaining tool or an arbiter of political issue outside Egbaland.
Few weeks after , the governor hinted that he might contest the senatorial seat in 2019. He was said to have dropped the hint at a meeting with members of the Ogun State House of Assembly and their National Assembly counterparts, at the Governor’s Office at Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, the state capital. He was quoted as saying that he is under severe pressure to contest for the seat in 2019.
The seat is occupied at present by Senator Lanre Tejuoso who, incidentally, was at the meeting and was said to have been visibly shocked by the governor’s utterances. Amosun said , “I am under enormous pressure to contest the Senate seat of my senatorial district. I said to myself, I can’t be anything less than number 3 when I go back to the Senate. I might not contest and I might contest. Even Tejuoso might recontest and might not recontest The governor was also reported to have said in Yoruba at the meeting that he was aware of moves by some legislators to undermine his interest and that he would not hesitate to descend on them, if they do not desist from such moves. None of the lawmakers at the meeting spoke.
However, Amosun would have the former Speaker and his father, Chief Alani Bankole, as a factor to contend with in Ogun Central. It is not clear what Bankole’s next move is likely to be. He failed to return to the House of Representatives in 2011 and his recent bid for the party’s governorship ticket has failed.
In February, Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Barr. Taiwo Adeoluwa also made it known during a closed gathering with members of APC that he would be running for Senate to represent Ogun Central where Senator Tejuoso now represents. Senator Lanre Tejuoso was also present during the caucus meeting held at the party’s Secretariat in Abeokuta.
According to a reliable source, the SSG had informed the gathering about his intention to run for Senate at the expiration of Senator Tejuoso’s term. But the serving senator immediately stood up and informed the exco that he’s running for second term which caused rancour between supporters loyal to the duo. But a reliable source hinted that, the party leaders had to abruptly end the meeting to avoid physical contact.
Nothing was heard about the issue as follow up information on the SSG’s declaration or about his ambition until a few weeks ago when it was said that Barrister Adeoluwa is not dropping his ambition. It was said that the only reason he wont push forward is if Governor Amosun is running, then he would have no other choice than to drop his ambition for him as its expected from him considering their decades of relationship and understanding. Those close to Senator Lanre Tejuoso confirmed that the Osile Prince is not dropping the ambition to re-contest election into the Senate come 2019.
