Associates and friends of Vice-Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) South- West, Dr. Eddy Olafeso, on Friday gathered in Lagos to raise funds for his governorship ambition in Ondo State, come 2020, as the party chieftain said his decision to contest the seat was to give back to the society as one the beneficiaries of free and compulsory education programme of the sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
The associates and friends, including Engr Deji Doherty, Otunba Femi Carrena, Mr. Ayo Fadaka, Pastor Bunmi Jenyo, Ambassador Kole Omololu, Hon. (Dr.) Ojomo, Dotun Babayemi, Barrister Enikuomoehin, Mr. Bolaji Ogunseye, among others, lauded Olafeso, expressing their confidence in his ability to rescue the state if giving the opportunity to serve as the next governor.
Speaking at the event, tagged: “An Evening with Eddy and Friends: Ondo 2020,” which took place at Raddison Hotel, Ikeja GRA, the chairman, Committee of Friends, Pastor Jenyo, while recalling the political journey of the governorship aspirant to have started in 2002, culminating in his becoming the information commissioner under late Governor Olusegun Agagu, declared that Olafeso was well experienced and educated to govern Ondo State and take it out of poverty.
According to Jenyo, who said he had the opportunity of working with Olafeso, now more of a brother to him, added that the fundraising was a “demonstration of solidarity,” enjoining everyone to be part of the movement, which he said had since begun.
While assuring the people of Ondo of better governance as the state was richly blessed with lots of resources not to make it rely on dole-outs from the Federation Account to survive, Jenyo prayed: “By His (God) grace next year, he (Olafeso) would become governor of Ondo State.”
Also speaking, another associate, Barrister Enikuomoehin, described the governorship aspirant as a man of his words and someone who would make people to be independent rather than depending on others for survival, saying such was the kind of leader he preferred to follow.
“Here is a man who says what he means, I don’t follow the person who cannot lead me,” he said, adding that Olafeso was not only focused but equally cerebral and well educated.
Jenyo, noted that Olafeso had competent hands across the state who he could hire to make him deliver on his mandate if voted the next governor of the state, saying for this to happen everybody seated in the gathering must set to work immediately.
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Olafeso, in his response, said Ondo State needed a visionary leader at this particular time to enable her to realise the dream of the founding fathers.
The PDP chieftain said his resolve to contest the governorship seat in the state, come 2020 was to give back to the society what he had benefitted, even as he glowing tribute to the sage, Chief Awolowo for providing free education, which he noted enabled him and other eight children of his father acquire various academic qualifications as of today.
According to him, it was Chief Awolowo that pull his family out of poverty through free education programme introduced then in the old Western Region, saying that without such opportunity there was no way his father as a government worker with the meagre salary he earned would have been able to train all his nine children.
“Why I got involved in governorship race? I need to give back to the society what I had benefitted,” he said, expressing worries that the same Ondo State which benefitted from education programme of the sage now had children dropping out of schools.
“We had the largest plantation of palm kernel, everything has turned to ashes. The state is poor, no road, no light generally in the southern part of the state for many years now, the state of hospital is also poor. There are too many things to talk about, not tonight,” he lamented.
“Our thinking that we have to wait for Federal Government to bring allocation is a lazy way to governance,” he declared, urging the people of Ondo to join hands with him to enable him to transform the state by voting him as next governor of the state.