Candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in the 2019 Oyo North senatorial district election, Barr. Bayo Lawal has disclosed that he is contesting because attention has not been paid to Oyo North senatorial.
According to Lawal, who was a commissioner during the administration of former governor Lamidi Adesina, Okeogun hasn’t fared better in the last eight years of All Progressives Congress, APC, administration.
The Kisi, Irepo local government born politician, said that the only roads constructed by the Governor Abiola Ajimobi-led government in the zone are the Iseyin to Iseyin road, Ogbomoso to Ogbomoso road and the Saki to Saki road being constructed. “That is the way I can describe them. Road that starts from Iseyin and ends in Iseyin. The length of each is even not up to five kilometres and if you add them together, they total about 15-kilometre roads constructed in eight years of APC administration in Oyo North. No one should be proud of that abysmal performance.”
He continued: “If you look at employment generation, it is zero. It has degenerated to a level that youths roam the streets because no attention is paid to employment generation by the government. This portends security threat in the future. Those are the things we saw, which informed my decision to come out and salvage my senatorial district through quality representation.
“If I were to assess Governor Abiola Ajimobi-led administration viz-a-viz performance in Oyo North, I will give it 10 per cent just because of the Iseyin to Iseyin and Ogbomoso to Ogbomoso road construction. The zone has not been properly recognised by the government.”
On what to be expected if ADC is given a chance in the state, he explained that “We have gone into research and we know that as progressives, there are some basic things of life that must attract the attention of government. They include quality education, healthcare delivery, infrastructure such as roads, security, employment and opportunity for people to actualise their God-given potentials. The state will go back to the era of Chief Awolowo when the clamour was ‘more life aboundant.’ Everybody will be happy.
“There are many reasons why I volunteered to contest for the senatorial seat under the banner of African Democratic Congress (ADC). Oyo North is one senatorial district that is most backward, vilified and most taken for granted. For these reasons, it is incumbent on us to come out and fight for the people of the senatorial district. To tell the powers that be that Oyo North senatorial district must be reckoned with, listen to and be appreciated at federal and state levels.
“Certain things are lacking in Oyo North which happens to be one of the largest senatorial zones in the country. It consists of 13 local governments with three in Ogbomoso zone and 10 in Oke Ogun. The zone lacks institutions of higher learning, good healthcare centres, electricity, with large unemployment ratio, empowerment and industrialisation. We have Ikere Dam unattended to and the International Market in Saki abandoned and wasting away. If you have travelled to the nooks and crannies of the zone, you will see that the road network is nothing to write about due to neglect by the state government over the years.
