A former Vice-chancellor at Oduduwa University, Ile-Ife, Professor Williams Olu-Aderounmu, has called on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo state to present a candidate that can pass the integrity test and adjudged to have been above board in positions of responsibility they held in the past for the forthcoming governorship election in the state
Professor Olu-Aderounmu, who stressed the need for a candidate with no blemish as the next governor of the state, stated this while delivering a public lecture with the theme ‘Ondo State and the dynamics of party politics’ organised by the Progressive stakeholders of APC in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
According to him, presenting a candidate with questionable character as a governorship candidate may spell doom for the ruling APC in the state, and the party might lose relevance and lose the election to the opposition party if they fail to pick a candidate of proven integrity as the party flagbearer.
According to him, the party needed to put in place definite orientation programmes to correct the value system that has been battered in recent times in the state and said, “Unless good materials are identified, selected, and identified, whether they have money or not, APC will lose elections at all levels in the future.
“APC must, as a matter of policy, look for people with integrity, community or local acceptability, education, good past records, popularity of candidates with the NLC, teachers, civil servants, students, and market women. Relying only on the naira or dollar would no longer, in the long run, be acceptable to voters.
“It is no longer news that the national economy is in shambles in spite of the country being blessed with one of the largest daily outputs of crude petroleum in the world. I am even told now that the country has collected revenues for crude oil not yet supplied.
“It is that bad. To Compound the problems, our National infrastructure of transportation energy communication, water and power is in ruins Our health and educational facilities have decayed, and even the administration bureaucracy has become non-functional.”
Olu-Aderounmu also accused the executive arm of government in the ondo state of not encouraging full separation of powers, saying, “Lack of true separation of powers is the issue of the non-existence of autonomy for both the legislature and the judiciary, which without doubt required the serious attention of all stakeholders.
“What is happening in Ondo State bears a resemblance to what we have at the national level, but the sad aspect is that Ondo State, which had always been at the forefront of educational, economic, and political affairs in Nigeria, has regrettably gone down.
“It can also be said that our legislators are not forceful enough to compete aggressively with other legislators in the country; Ekiti State has undoubtedly performed better.
“I hope we have not been sending our tenth eleven to represent us at local, state, and national levels.”
The chairman of the Progressive stakeholders and former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Afe Olowookere, said the theme of the lecture was carefully chosen to “provide compendious ground through which issues pertaining to governance and good governance, democracy and democratic values, stewardship and accountability, leadership and leadership responsibilities, administration and management of political parties, rewards systems, and due patronage in democracy shall be critically examined and exhaustively discussed with the aim of effecting a paradigm shift in all of the topical areas identified above for a better Ondo State.
“Politics and Party Politics are no doubt dynamic because they have a milieu: Socio-Economic, Technological Cultural, etc.
The understanding of the dynamism of these concepts and the ability to manage them well will in no small measure bring about a convivial atmosphere where good governance thrives, leadership potentials are identified, democracy and democratic values are deeply entrenched, stewardship accountability is made culture and promoted, an impartial rewards system and due patronage are well established, and healthy administration and purposeful management of the political party are encouraged and sustained.”
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