By Juliet Nnoje, Abeokuta
A political group, ‘The Egba Agenda 2027 Crusaders’ has again reiterated why an Egba Indigene should be the next governor of Ogun State come 2027.
The group while addressing a World Press Conference at Iwe Iroyin Press Center, Abeokuta said the Egba cannot wait another 16 years before becoming the governor.
Addressing the Press, the Group State Coordinator, Hon Fesomade Gbadebo, urged politicians of Egba extraction to come together and work towards ensuring that Ogun Central Senatorial District produces the next governor of the state in 2027.
The group argued that since the creation of the state in 1976, civilian administrations had been rotated between Egba and Ijebu Divisions, emphasizing that 2027 is the turn of Egba to produce the next governor.
“Since its creation in 1976, our state has witnessed many political dispensations leading to successive transmission of executive power from one executive to another. Our focus is on the democratic transfer of power.
‘Going by the 1999 arrangements delineating Ogun State into three Senatorial Districts – Ogun Central(Egba), Ogun East(Ijebu and Remo) and Ogun West(Yewa /Awori), five civilian governors have governed the state in successions. They are late Bisi Onabanjo (1979 – 1983), Aremo Segun Osoba (1992/93) and (1999 – 2003), Otunba Gbenga Daniel (2003 – 2011), Senator Ibikunle Amosun(2011- 2019) and Prince Dapo Abiodun (2019 – 2023). Governor Abiodun is now in his Six year of the second term in office as Governor of Ogun State.
“A careful examination shows that late Bisi Onabanjo, Senator Gbenga Daniel and Prince Dapo Abiodun hail from the Ogun East extraction of the state while the duo of Aremo Osoba and Senator Ibikunle Amosun are from the Ogun Central. The third leg of the tripod, which is Ogun West, is yet to produce a governor for the state. This development, unfortunate though, has given rise to cries of marginalization, injustice and alienation over the years by the people of the Yewa – Awori people.
‘And these cries have become more strident and justified as the 2027 election year beckons.
In a democracy, power is a game of contest. And power is taken and not given. You plan, work, strategize and make necessary and legitimate sacrifices to take power. That is the gospel truth in political power games and its dynamics.
Much as we wish our brothers in Ogun West well in their long quest to produce a governor for the state if possible in 2027, we must not shy away from the reality that we of the Egba extraction of Ogun State also want to produce a successor – Governor to Prince Dapo Abiodun.
Egba people cannot wait for the next 16 years or more before returning to the Governorship Seat of Ogun State. If power goes to the West in 2027, it may not leave the zone until 2035 and the likely destination after 2035 is the East. Where would that leave us in the scheme of things? Is it that the Yewa Awori zone has not had chances to produce a Governor in the past? Ogun West had such opportunities but all ended like the case of one scoring own goals almost all the time.
Since 1979 till 2023, a concatenation of factors, including inherent division that often saw them clustering their chances with multiple aspirants and candidates when presenting a single person at a time would have made the difference, wrangling among political gladiators in the state at every election circle, interference from party in power at the Centre, and inability to correctly read and aligns with the prevailing political climate in any given dispensation as well as paucity of candidate from the zone with deep pocket and statewide acceptance have conspired to rob the zone of the opportunity to actualise its long quest to produce a Governor.
Ogun West had the best chance to produce a governor in 2011 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) but a fierce wrangling and disagreement among the gladiators at the time on who from Ogun West should fly the party’s ticket threw PDP in the state in disarray and balkanised it into PDP and PPN.
The Coordinator, however, urged political players in Egbaland to close ranks and work together for the shift of the governorship seat to Ogun Central.
“The senatorial district is reputed for having astute and consummate politicians who are equipped to lead the state. Egbaland is not bereft of sagacious politicians, out of which one can be put forward to succeed the incumbent governor.
“As a group formed to sensitize the people of Egbaland on the need to unite and work towards clinching the governorship in 2027, our members will work with different political parties in the bid to ensure they feature Egba persons as their governorship candidates.
“While we are not averse to anybody out of Ogun Central coming out in 2027, our group wishes to unequivocally declare that our members will mobilize massively across the state to make ‘Egba Lokan 2027’ project a success,”.
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