Dipo Odujinrin: We Deserve Commendation for Ijebu Agenda

 

In the quest for Ogun East district to produce the next governorship candidate in 2019, Senator Dipo Odujinrin, a member of the Ijebu Agenda, in this interview with Femi Ogbonnikan, sheds light on the emergence of Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, Ogun State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, as the consensus  candidate and the ensuing controversies

The Ijebu-Remo Agenda has endorsed Bimbo Ashiru as the Ogun East consensus governorship candidate. Is that the end of the group’s assignment?

The Ijebu Agenda is a plan of the whole Ijebu Province, comprising Ijebu and Remo divisions. So, the Ijebu Agenda should also include Ijebu and Remo Agenda. The body was set up to encourage the APC in Ogun State to look in the direction of Ogun East in getting the candidate for the party in 2019. You may recall that earlier, governor Ibikunle Amosun said that he would support only Ogun West candidate. But by the efforts of this body, the Ijebu Agenda, we have succeeded in changing his position and allowing aspirants from Ogun East to come out and show their ambitions to become the governor of Ogun State. It is only that part that has been concluded. The body has come out with a candidate and the body is supporting that candidate. We have presented him officially to the senatorial district of the party in Ogun East. We have also presented him officially to the state party executives at Abeokuta. I am glad to say that, at both fora, we were well received.

 

What other steps have you taken to sell your candidate to the people of Ogun State? 

The first step is to ensure that our candidate wins the nomination of the party during the governorship primary. And we have said that, fair is fair, and the candidate should come from Ijebu Province this time. So, the Egba Province has held the position twice already, and Ijebu Province has also held the position twice already. As you know, Ogun State is a bi-polar state, two Provinces making one state. So, when one Province produces a governor, it goes to another Province. Chief Olabisi Onabanjo was the first governor from Ijebu Province, precisely Ijebu division and it moved to Egba Province with Chief Olusegun Osoba, being the governor, precisely from Egba division. Thereafter, it came back to Ijebu Province under Otunba Gbenga Daniel; Ijebu Province but Remo division. Thereafter, it moved back to Egba Province, at which stage, instead of Yewa division, it went to Egba division. So, having the governor finishing his term in 2019, the position should now come back to Ijebu Province, and it should go to Ijebu division, because Remo has had it before, under Chief Gbenga Daniel. So, we have that publication and we are selling our candidate at the same time. This is the candidate of the Province and this is the candidate the whole leaders are supporting to carry the mantle of the party. I mean, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru.

 

The endorsement exercise has come under attacks. It has been alleged that money changed hands during the exercise.  

It is a misconception to say that money changed hands with members of the group. There was an issue that created that confusion. Even when an aspirant goes to the executives and make his aspiration known and when he is leaving he will give something to the party executives. We are not the party executives. Unfortunately, both the party executives and Ijebu Agenda committee members were meeting in the same house, on different occasions but not at the same meeting. So, when we discovered that rumour going around that money was being given to the Ijebu Agenda committee, we said, “aah, this is a misunderstanding. Let the party executives move away from where we were meeting”. So, the party moved away and we met the aspirants in another location, continuing with our own project of ensuring that the next governor comes from Ogun East senatorial district. It was just a misconception. It was just a pity, which we have already dealt with even before now. At the end of it all, I believe that we would be commended, and not condemned because that is what we deserve. We deserve commendation and not condemnation because, by this effort we have made, we have succeeded in getting the governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, to allow our aspirants to come out. Before it was, “don’t listen to them”. And we have also succeeded in getting the approved candidate to meet with the state executives, which wasn’t possible in the past. So, all these efforts, I believe are paying off, and at the end, they would see us to the promise land, by God’s grace.

Why are there dissenting voices over the endorsement?

It happens in any competitive situation, especially for top positions like the position of the governor, the position of an Oba, because these are high-priced positions. Besides, there were nine people who sought our support. And after the exercise, only one person emerged. And we had earlier got the consent of all the aspirants that whoever was selected would be supported by the remaining eight persons. We got that pledge from all the aspirants, and before we announced the result, all the nine aspirants met us, and each of them spoke to say that they were happy with the way the screening committee carried out its exercise. They said they would abide by the decision of the committee, and they pledged to support whoever was chosen. In fact, one of the aspirants pledged that all his structures in the whole of Ogun State would be transferred to whoever was chosen. So, one was not surprised that in this kind of context, there would be one or two that would renege. But I want to assure you that, at the end of the day, they would all come around to abide by the decision of the leaders of the party in the Ogun East senatorial district.

 

 What will happen to the aggrieved ones among the aspirants that are against the decision of the group?

They are our sons, and we will not overtly sanction them, but we pray that, at the end of the day, they would not go contrary to what the elders have said. I believe that, they know there are still opportunities in the future for their various aspirations and they will not want to spoil their chances in the future; because whatever one does now will affect ones chances in the future. I believe they would come around. But I must commend one of them in particular, who has submitted all his materials to the person chosen and he has been working with the candidate chosen. He is already working with him and he has given him all his structures.

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