TheCable

Samson Oyebode, youth leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Osun central, says he is confident that his party will win the September 22 gubernatorial election in the state.

According to Oyebode, the “landmark achievements and monumental legacies” of the administration of Rauf Aregbesola, the incumbent governor,  will speak for the party.

This, he said, would be the yardstick upon which the slogan of continuity and consolidation will be built.

“That we have 27 aspirants jostling to succeed him is enough testament to tell anyone, we have done excellently well, we have taken Osun higher than the pedestrian level we met it in year 2010, we are counting on the good people of Osun state to reciprocate this gesture,” Oyebode said.

Reacting to the allegation that most of the cabinet members are Lagos based politicians, Oyebode said: “Let us take Gboyega Oyetola as an example to debunk the wrong insinuation they have been peddling around, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola was the first politician who invited the governor, Rauf Aregbesola to the Iragbiji Day celebration in year 2004, after which he hosted him in his Iragbiji country home which he built about two decades ago.

“I can boldly tell you that even before the advent of the Aregbesola administration, Oyetola spent more days in Osun than he spends in Lagos, anybody saying anything contrary is deceitful and shying away from the truth, he and others were all part of the 2007 political struggle and the ordeals that followed to reclaim the stolen mandate.

“I can also tell you in confidence that incumbent chief of staff to Governor Rauf Aregbesola is a silent philanthropist, grassroots politician, community leader and one who holds the party in the state in high esteem through his financial commitment and thorough-bred discipleship.

“For the avoidance of doubt, when I was the chairman of the Alliance for Democracy in our local government, Oyetola bought the only party bus of 18seater in year 2000 and the first public address system for us then, what distinguished him from other politician is that he is not a noise maker.

“What if I tell you that as a revered community leader in Iragbiji, he has sponsored well above 200 indigent students to tertiary institution who today are all doing wonderfully well in their different endeavours, that shows he has always been part of the human and educational development in the state.

“At times, when I hear people say, Oyetola is the not qualified to contest in Osun, I laughed it off as he has a rich wealth of experience and expertise, having served meritoriously both in the private sector for well above thirty years and public sector as the chief of staff to the governor which is seen and adjudged to be the engine room of the administration with good track records, he has deep understanding about government business, human and financial administration, budgeting system and above all, he is a core party man, however, the party leadership both at the state and federal level will determine who flies the party ticket.

“If you carefully profile through the array of all our aspirants and their astonishing credentials, all of them are qualified and competent to step into the big shoes of Aregbesola.”