Oyo SSG joins governorship race, says Ajimobi has no anointed aspirant

Lekan Alli

Secretary to Oyo State Government, Mr. Lekan Alli, has joined the race to succeed the state Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi in May 2019, as he debunks speculations that his boss has anointed any of the 13 aspirants jostling for the plum office.

The SSG said this when he visited the state secretariat of the party to present his letter of intent to the state Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Akin Oke, in company with family members, associates and supporters, on Tuesday.  

Alli declared that his vast administrative experience and modest participation in the rebuilding effort of the Ajimobi-led administration ignited his interest to succeed his boss in other to sustain the tempo of ongoing developments across the state.

He said that the implementation of the transformation agenda of the administration had raised the bar of governance in the state, thus enthroning peace, as well as security of lives and properties of the citizens.

Alli said, "Governor Ajimobi's passionate implementation of his vision, couched in the restoration, transformation and repositioning agenda, remains the fundamental signposts and pillars of the developmental strides in Oyo State.

"The unprecedented two-term tenure of his administration has raised the bar of governance, thereby attracting a huge number of aspirants offering to continue the great work. We are all witnesses to the historical peace, harmony, safety and security that have been restored in the state.

“These have formed the premise for the massive infrastructural rejuvenation and transformation in the past seven years. These legacies must be sustained and taken to the next level.

"The hallmarks of good governance are safety, socio-economic welfare, poverty alleviation, human capital development, service reforms and reorientation, environmental uplifting, infrastructural growth, industrialization and public engagement, as manifested in today’s Oyo State.

“Let me make it clear that the governor has not anointed any aspirant. Anybody saying anything to that effect is only spreading falsehood. He has assured all of us of a level playing ground and on that we all stand.”    

The SSG said that he decided to throw his hat into the ring in order to consolidate on the repositioning of agriculture value chain, as the basis of the state’s industrialization, as well as to enhance the fortunes of education in the state.
He said he was also poised to further Ajimobi’s repositioning agenda in health, human capital, industry, commerce, youth development, sports redevelopment, engagement and empowerment of women, as Alli said that the vision of a 25-year organic development master-plan initiated by Ajimobi was unprecedented; adding that such plan required execution rooted upon transparency, commitment and professionalism.
The aspirant added that Ajimobi had passionately implemented his vision, couched in the restoration, transformation and repositioning agenda, which he said remained the fundamental signposts and pillars of development in the state.
Responding, the APC chairman saluted the courage and interest of Alli in aspiring to succeed his boss, stressing that he was eminently qualified to occupy the office.

Oke disclosed that 13 governorship hopefuls had so far signified interest to fly the APC governorship ticket by February 2019, assuring the contestants of a level playing ground during the party’s primaries.

Alli, who hails from Oja-Oba in Ibadan, succeeded Alhaji Waheed Olajide as SSG towards the end of Ajimobi's first term in 2015 and was reappointed into the same position during the second term of the governor following what Ajimobi said were his sterling qualities.