Lasun Yussuff will lead APC to victory —Aide

Professor Aderemi Ajala is the Special Adviser on Constituency Relations to the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives on Constituency, Rt. Honourable Lasun Yussuff. He speaks on his boss’ preparation for the governorship election in Osun State.

IT is being said that the Deputy Speaker and Governor Rauf Aregbesola are in a running battle and this is said to be a critical issue capable of determining the fate of the party in the election. What do you have to say on this?

To put things in the right perspective, Hon. Lasun Yussuff is not in any battle with the governor. I have pointed it out many times that the two of them are friends; the bond of their friendship cannot be severed. Their friendship was cultivated long before now; they have a lot of things in common and they have done a lot of things for each other. So, it is unfounded that Hon. Lasun Yussuff is in a running battle with the governor.

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But the feelers from the state have it that the two of them will struggle for the soul of the party until they finish it off.

Those feelers are mere political insinuations from people who think they have to create an impression of a crisis so as to be seen as relevant in the party. Let me also tell you that though the interests of the governor and that of the Deputy Speaker may not be the same, none of them has said they do not pursue the same objective on 2018 governorship election. Do not forget that Hon. Lasun Yussuff is the only one who has declared his intention to run for the governorship in 2018. He is the only one in APC who has embarked on a consultation to all the local governments in the state. He is the only one that is visible; with branded vehicles bearing the symbol of the APC. No other person has done that. So, it is difficult to say that the governor has an interest that is different from Lasun Yussuff, because as far as I am concerned, the Deputy Speaker is the only one who has shown interest publicly and he is even the biggest contender for that seat.

But does he stand the chance of winning the party’s ticket?

By the special grace of God, Hon. Lasun Yussuff will win the ticket of the APC, because he is a man of the people.

Despite the polarisation in the party?

I have told you that what you regard as polarisation is just a matter of interest. But when the chips are down, when everyone interested in contesting the governorship election on the APC platform eventually goes public with their intention, the people will line up behind Lasun Yussuff. Party members would know how many people are interested and each of them would weigh themselves and they will see that Hon. Lasun Yussuff has the heaviest political weight and influence; then everyone will fall in line. But as of now, it is only Hon. Lasun Yussuff that the people see and I believe he will get the ticket and lead the party to victory.

But what does he intend to do differently for Osun State if he becomes the governor?

Governor Aregbesola has worked to the best of his ability, but governance is a continuum and no government can do all there is to do. So, Hon. Lasun Yussuff intends to take a stock of all that Aregbesola has done in eight years and he will retain efforts, policies and projects that are compatible with his vision for the development of Osun State. Those that are not compatible with the development of the state will be reviewed and readjusted.