On Ogun 2023 guber race

As the 2023 general elections beckon, political gladiators, regardless of affiliations, are not taking any chances, as they are oiling and perfecting their strategies with renewed horse-trading to break new grounds and consolidate old camps preparatory to the polls.

This is the season that has provided ample opportunities for the politicians, whether popular or unpopular aspirants, who have chosen under different platforms to go back to their constituents to rejig their campaign organisations and foot soldiers in a bid to outdo their opponents in the political contest of either acquiring or retaining power.

The Gateway State is interestingly warming up too, signalling the beginning of another season for aspirants to jostle for various elective political offices. Come to think of it, given the present political landscape where the present administration of Prince Dapo Abiodun has raised the bar of governance, the All Progressives Congress (APC) holds sway and it remains a party to beat in the state.

The rift in the leadership of the party has unfortunately provided political jobbers a leeway to cash in on the crack to sell a dummy to the aggrieved chieftains to either form a new party as they did sometime in late 2018 by floating the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) or dissolve into one of the existing parties in order to contest for the various political offices.

It is intriguing that the contention over the preferred governorship choice preparatory to the 2023 general elections is currently unsettling the Amosun camp, as the APM candidate in the March 9, 2019 gubernatorial poll, Honourable Abdulkabir Adekunle Akinlade, is bickering over plots by his godfather to dump and replace him with the current Senator representing Ogun East District at the National Assembly, Lekan Mustapha, in a calculated attempt to slug it out squarely with the incumbent Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, in the 2023 elections.

To a large extent, the alignment and realignment of forces that had taken place within the APC family in the last one year are strong indicators to determine the political equation of where the pendulum will swing in the 2023 polls. Boot-licking and sycophancy, which are the end-products of conspiracy, have given way to the modicum of decorum among the bigwigs that have pitched tent with the ruling party in the state.

With the recent release of the time-table by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the permutation may not be the same in the state any longer, because of the giant strides the current APC-led administration of Prince Dapo Abiodun has made within two years upon his assumption of office. The projects are evident in many parts of the three senatorial districts, and have changed the narratives for good.

Any other contender no matter their clouts or financial muscles would have a mountain to climb to make a new statement that would challenge what the incumbent Governor Dapo Abiodun has already etched in gold in the hearts of the good people of Ogun State.

The Dapo Abiodun administration has demystified the myth of distrust in governance and reinforced confidence and trust in the ability of the government to touch the lives of the people of the state with welfarist programmes and projects anchored on five developmental pillars, with the acronym ISEYA (Infrastructure, Social Well-being and Welfare, Education, Youth Empowerment and Job Creation and Agriculture).

Governor Abiodun has cast a brand image for himself as a promise-keeping Governor whose landmark achievements in different economic-driven sectors have propelled rapid growth and development of the state in the last 31 months of his stewardship. On its way to power in 2019, the administration promised to make life better for the people of the state, revamp the economy, enhance the political space and widen the frontiers of trade and investment.

Any secret alliance or gang-up against the candidacy of Prince Dapo Abiodun in the 2023 gubernatorial election under any guise is destined to hit the brick wall. Governor Dapo Abiodun is the toast of the Ogun political firmament. He has deservedly been receiving a pat on the back for the giant strides he has made within a short period of two years in office. He has initiated and executed some laudable projects and programmes with prudent management of state’s resources.

Coming on board is the recent light-up project stretching from Abeokuta to Sagamu Interchange, while others are Kobape Housing Estate, renovated June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, King’s Court Housing project, Ijebu-Ode/Epe road, 42-kilometre Abeokuta/Isiun/Sagamu road, Gateway City Gate, Sagamu, among other lofty projects that the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) is billed to commission soon.

John Adejobi, Abeokuta.

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents

In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.