Akoko North West Constituency One Must Be Allowed To Complete BTO Tenure At The Green Chamber – Elder(Hon) Ayodele Akande FCA
Elder Ayodele Samson Akande FCA, is the immediate past Chairman of Akoko North West Local Government, Okeagbe Akoko, area of Ondo State. He spoke with the publisher of the Focus Magazine on national issues and others. Excerpts.
How is your party, All Progressives Congress (APC) preparing for the early next year bye- election in Akoko North East and Akoko North West Federal constituency?
Thank you for this beautiful question. As it is popularly called, off- cycle election, I can say that we are preparing rigorously. The very moment that God elevated the former elected member in person of Hon. Bunmi Tunji-Ojo as the minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the seat became vacant. And since he left the position, technically someone must occupy the position. He worked well when he was in the position in his first term as a member of the Federal House of Representatives. From this, we have no any doubt in our minds to look for someone to replace him, and such person would be able to continue from wherever he stopped. And the process of doing that, the people in the constituency put heads together and say what can we do that the constituency retain the position?
We sat down as a family to discuss the constituency that to produce the next candidate.
Have you been able to get a candidate who is going to replace the former candidate?
Definitely, base on the popular demand and opinion of our leaders, we are looking for the right candidate. When we talk about zoning in our federal constituency, we have two positions we are vying for. The Senate is in Akoko North East while the second which is House of Representatives is from the Akoko North West. When you come to Akoko North West, we have two constituencies. Going into the memory lane, the Akoko North West constituency two had occupied the position for three terms while the constituency one occupied it for one term which is Hon (Dr) Bunmi Tunji-Ojo. And our people said we must allow the constituency to finish their term. So constituency two had done it for three terms and they must allow constituency one to complete their term. So, it will be two against three. Constituency one should produce replacement for Hon (Dr) Bunmi Tunji-Ojo at the green chamber, that’s where we are now. So, the candidate for the Federal House of Representatives must come from constituency one. In constituency one, we have six wards. Ward one and ward two just recently produced member of the Ondo State House of Assembly and we also have a serving Commissioner there. In ward three, we have the present honourable minister. He represent the people of Ondo State and Nigeria not only ward three from Okeagbe. Ward four don’t have any representative except the immediate past local government boss. That was the reason of saying that ward four should produce the next replacement for honourable Bunmi Tunji-Ojo. Oyin / Oge ward had not produced any candidate before and that was the reason we said they have to produce the next candidate. In ward five, we have the party Chairman and the current Caretaker Chairman is from there. Ward ten which is the last ward from the constituency is the one that produced the current member, House of Assembly . So, we are now looking for the balance of equation among the various wards. We are now looking for ward four to produce the next candidate. And the people choice is honourable IFE EHINDERO.
In constituency two from Akoko North West, they are now saying that they wanted to impose a candidate on them, that the position must come from their area. What is your thought on it?
I have said it on the course of our interview that constituency two had done House of Representatives for three terms at different occasions. We in the constituency one have sixth wards, while constituency two have four wards. In term of voting pattern, we are more than them. When we talk of numerical strength, we are more than them. There is no time they can say that its their turn to produce the next candidate.
When you see the performance of Hon Bunmi Tunji-Ojo as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, what can you say about his achievements so far?
His performances are there for people to see. Not only from his Federal Constituency, but throughout Ondo State and Nigeria, . He is one of the best performing minister in the President Bola Tinubu led government. He is a rallying point to his other colleagues. They come to seek advice from him.
There was crisis in the Executive arm of government in Ondo State due to health challenge of Mr. Governor. But the crisis has been settled through our president. What do you have to say?
It is very unfortunate because our able governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu SAN, did not bargain for sickness but we are praying for him so that God will give him sound health. Nobody pray for the crisis because the governor loves the state. He is Mr talk and do. If not because of his illness, there wouldn’t have been the need for any external influence in the state . It has happened and there is nothing we can do. Now that the Deputy governor is now the Acting Governor, he has come on board. We thanked our president for his quick intervention on the matter. I want to advise all the stakeholders to support the acting governor so that the people of Ondo State can live in peace and the state can move forward.
The LCDAS which was being put in place has been stopped to perform due to court order. How do you view it?
In this area, I don’t want to say anything about it. It is an in house matter. What I know is that opposition parties cannot dictate for us. As a party in power, we will go to the drawing board and put our house in order. Its our own affairs.
Recently, you celebrated your thanksgiving to God for allowing you to complete your tenure as the Executive Chairman of Akoko North West Local Government area of Ondo State. What informed it?
At every point in time , I must always thank my God. Everyday as a living soul, I must give Him thanksgiving for all what He has been doing in my life. I came to the local government as a caretaker before I was elected as the executive chairman of the council. It is for me to appreciate God and Mr governor for giving me the opportunity to serve. Also, to appreciate my good people of Akoko North West Local Government for their support and cooperation with me. Also to thank all the traditional rulers, the political associates, the market women, the youths, and all the people who cooperated with me during my tenure. While serving my people, I didn’t record any calamity. My tenure was peaceful and witnessed a lot of achievements. So I want to use the opportunity to thank them and my God. That was the reason I came up with the Thanksgiving.
We are all political animals, what is your next ambition?
My next ambition is in the hands of God. I have told you before that I want to thank God for allowing me to complete my tenure with my wife and family. I wanted to return to the cooperate world to forge ahead. For now, I don’t have any political ambition, but what I have now is about my profession.
