Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State (right) addressing a mammoth crowd of youths from all the 33 local government areas of the state at a solidarity rally at the Remembrance Arcade, Government House, Ibadan on Wednesday.
…From Dele Ogunyemi, Ibadan…
Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Wednesday literally stood still, as thousands of youths from all the 33 local government areas of the state trooped out of the ancient city, calling on Senator Abiola Ajimobi to contest for the governorship seat for the second term.
The youths, under the aegis of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Youth League, had converged on the popular Mapo Hall from where they marched through Bere, Oje, Gate to the Remembrance Arcade, Government House where they were received by Governor Ajimobi, members of the State Executive Council, party stalwarts and caretaker committee chairmen.
The youths, all dressed in branded T-shirts with various inscriptions and holding brooms, the symbol of APC, unanimously demanded that the governor runs for second term in office.
The spokespersons for the youths, Balogun Abiodun Azeez and Ambali Abiodun, said they were motivated into organizing the rally by the way and manner in which Governor Ajimobi had re-defined governance in the state.
According to them, Oyo State had been in a state of quandary before the emergence of Governor Ajimobi in 2011, due largely to mis-governance and lack of vision by past administrations, a situation which they said had left the state largely under-developed.
Besides, they also commended the governor for what they called his monumental achievements in virtually all the sectors of the economy, particularly the urban renewal programme, education, health care delivery, massive infrastructural development and youth empowerment.
Also, the youths said that the style of leadership of the governor had helped greatly in discovering their potentials and believing in themselves, not only as the leaders of tomorrow but also as veritable instruments for taking the state to greater heights.
They contended that it was only by the governor winning again in 2015 that good governance which he had established could be sustained and the good work he had started consolidated.
The youths, therefore, pledged their continued unalloyed support for the Ajimobi administration, saying they would remain eternally fulfilled if the people of the state could vote en masse for Governor Ajimobi in 2015 for the good work to continue.
In his response, Governor Ajimobi expressed gratitude to the youths for their initiative in organizing the rally to show their solidarity and support to him and his government, stating that he had accepted their request.
“We could see the youths who have come out in their thousands to express their support for our government and who have also demanded and requested that I run for second term. This I have gladly accepted and for which I am running.
“By the 29th of this month (May), we will be three years in office, with good performance, and from that 29th, we shall go all out not only to commission all the projects that we have been able to do, but also to tell the people of Oyo State about our performance and to also tell them that I am running for the office of the Executive Governor for which we shall win, in the name of the Almighty God,’’ the governor said.