All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Oyo State, Barrister Akeem Agbaje, says the call for power shift in 2027 can only succeed if there is an agreed rotational arrangement among all zones in the state.
Agbaje stated this while speaking on the Political Circuit programme on Fresh FM 105.9, Ibadan.
He said that while the demand for power shift to other zones was legitimate, it would require planning and broad consultations to achieve.
‘We need to be realistic about this agitation and I have always looked at it from two perspectives. The first one is that everybody, every zone, is entitled to contest to be governor. And I am not aware of any provision of the Constitution that prevents anybody from any zone of the state from aspiring or to contest.
‘The second perspective is that people think that because Ibadan has the number, that is why we take advantage to perpetuate ourselves in the governorship position and lord it over every other zone.
‘I think historically, that is not correct. Ibadan had been one of the largest populated cities since the thirties. Ibadan had been the regional capital since the thirties. And Ibadan did not get a meaning post until 1979, and that post was the Chief Judge. Every other post, despite the population of Ibadan, was occupied by people from other zones.
‘The governor was from Osun; deputy was from Osun. SSG, Head of Service were from Osun. Opposition Leader was from Ogbomoso. Ibadan only got Chief Judge, and being Chief Judge was based on seniority. So, the conception that Ibadan dominates because of its population is not historically correct. Ibadan had always had the population.
‘But in 1983, the consciousness came with ‘Omo wa ni e je o se’. But Ibadan did not just say ‘Omo wa ni e je o se’; they worked diligently, assiduously towards it until it was achieved. So, my take is that everybody; every zone is entitled to be governor of Oyo state.
‘There must be a defined approach to it. You can’t say, oh, we are entitled, we are entitled. You have to develop a process. The zone with the clearest agitation is Oke Ogun. And I tell them, though they don’t like it, that you have 10 local governments; Ogbomoso has 3 local governments. But Ogbomoso has presented senator for you consecutively. So, there has to be a conscious, deliberate effort by Oke Ogun zone to achieve this beautiful goal of presenting somebody that can win to become governor of Oyo state. They all have to work together. Ibadan alone has not presented a candidate. Ibadan works with other zones. So, we all have to work together.
‘But the easiest solution for me, is to let us have a rotational policy which will give everybody sense of belonging. But I think it is too early, not because I am an aspirant. It involves a lot of work. Ibadan worked very hard to become governor in 1983. Osun was dominating us, but we worked at it and to the glory of God, we got it,’ he said.
Agbaje also spoke on why the APC lost the 2023 governorship election and the recent House of Representatives by-election in Ibadan North, blaming the outcome on decisions made at the party’s national level.
He said, ‘Oyo APC lost the recent House of Representatives by-election to the PDP because, the leadership at Abuja imposed a candidate who was not a choice of the party in the state, on the party. For me, Abuja is our problem. Whatever data, whatever parameter they used, they feel they could impose candidate on us and win the election. I have told all that care that it can never happen in Oyo state. I can’t think of any other state that people will vote today in favour of a party, and two weeks later, violently vote against that same party. And Abuja still refuses to realize that we are different and we will always be different.
‘They came and imposed a candidate, and they thought they would win that election. Oyo state people have seen that message in 2019. They have seen the same message in 2023. So, Abuja has to learn that they should leave us alone to pick our own candidate. If we pick a candidate by ourselves, we know how we will make the candidate win the election.’