Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, senatorial candidate for Oyo central district, Chief Oyebisi Ilaka has boasted again that the trio of incumbent Sen. Monsurat Sunmonu of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Oloye Teslim Folarin of the All Progressives Congress, APC and Hon. Temitope Olatoye Sugar of the Action Democratic Party, ADP, are no match for him as the 2019 election is concerned.
OYO INSIGHT had reported how the duo of Sunmonu and Sugar, who currently represents Akinyele/Lagelu federal constituency, defected from the APC.
In an interview with The Nation, Ilaka, who is the Ladilu of Oyo, said he was confident of victory.
“You need to bear in mind that, the last two elections, I scored double the votes the PDP candidate had scored on each outing. Teslim Folarin, when he even contested for governor on the platform of PDP in 2015, and I contested on the platform of Accord Party, I scored more votes than him. So these are facts that are available generally. The records of those two – the serving senator in the Oyo Central district and his predecessor are abysmal. And that will be put to scrutiny by the people of Oyo Central Senatorial district. So I think I have come to the poll with precisions and projections. And I am connected with our people over a long period of time. I am well known to my people. My brand is stronger because I am with the people and it is what they want that they get. These put me in good stead to win at the polls.”
He, however, disagreed when asked about the general perception that people are unwilling to vote PDP because the party largely performed woefully for 16 years.
According to him, “Well, post-2015, a lot of people felt the party (PDP) which had challenges had been retooled. The problem we had, had to do with that of internal democracy. But from the various primary elections we have had across the country, with little or no acrimony, you’ll be convinced that the party is back and stronger. The challenge we had was the issue of internal democracy, and that has been resolved. What do they mean by saying that for 15 years PDP didn’t do anything? Everybody knows that it is patent falsehood. One of the achievements of the PDP is that we brought up strong institutions. EFCC, ICPC came through PDP, and it goes on like that. The PDP brought to the fore, different mechanisms of running our economy. It is unlike APC that does not believe in the rule of law.”
If elected senator, Ilaka said, “I will push for restructuring.”
Hear him: “This presidential system in my own view is too expensive. The money we spend on both the executive arm and the national assembly can actually create a lot of schools, hospitals and the stuff. I won’t say I have a solution to the restructuring thing really. But I will propose we go back to the regional system whereby we will have regional parliament and a national parliament. Those regions would have their own independent strategies for development, and grow at their own pace. A region can emerge as the food basket of the nation while another as the nation’s technological giant; it’s nobler than this idea of going cap-in-hand to the central to collect monthly handouts.”
He also spoke on his emergence as PDp candidate and his programme for his senatorial district.
“This time round, it’s been a little bit of a journey, Our leaders called us and said why not come together and decide on a candidate. So, the party came together. At that point in time, I had gone round the 11 local governments that make up the senatorial district. Some people left in the process to other parties but those of us that resolved to remain in the PDP promised to unite. We talked to each other, that in order to avoid all forms of acrimony, we had to observe the principle of true internal democracy. Coming up to the primaries-because this is a normal game as everybody knows it, the other aspirants reached an understanding with me and that was it. So I became the party’s candidate.
“We want to give people more money for their sweat, in their rural and urban areas. Creating wealth for these people would be something that I will pursue with all passion. We will also promote technological knowhow to the advantage of our teeming young population. People will vote on the basis of who is presenting the best candidate and they know me very well, and have confidence in me. Besides, I will go the senate to legislate on things that will attract development to our teeming youthful population, especially as we have in Oyo Central District. I will also push for the restructuring of the Nigerian state, in concert with people of like minds.”
