Ibadan-born legal luminary, Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN) has visited the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi to intimate him of his intention to contest the governorship seat of Oyo State.
In his remark, Oba Adeyemi said that there may be no solution to brazen impunity, monumental corruption, escalation of poverty of the people as well as unemployment which is characterized by irresponsible leadership in the country, unless political parties brace up and have a rethink on the way they operate.
According to the reverred monarch, “for political parties to live up to their responsibilities and be reckoned with as responsible, certain rules must be enforced to aid pragmatic governance.
“Political parties should be able to organize debates for both the incumbents and new aspirants in order to ensure that credible and dedicated candidates who are really determined to serve the people are given the mandate,” he said, noting that if such steps are adhered to by political parties, it will prevent most aspirants who have no clear-cut and result-oriented programme of actions for the people, but only with the ulterior intentions of looting the treasury and amassing of wealth at the detriment of the teeming impoverished populace.
Advocating the adoption of consensus option in the nomination of party candidates for elections, Alaafin argued that the process would neither weaken party unity and institutionalization nor negatively affect democratic consolidation.
The monarch described Akintola as “a serious minded, upright, highly intelligent and focused person that is needed in governance,” adding that “In this 21st century, the country needs personalities with high cerebral capacity to phantom the much desired development for the well being of all and sundry.
Speaking earlier, the senior advocate who described the monarch as “the most revered traditional ruler in Yorubaland whose intellectual sagacity, sense of devotion and visionary leadership styles is second to none,” said his relationship with Oba Adeyemi started 31 years ago, acknowledging the monarch as a a very
strong gate keeper in the politics of Oyo State that cannot be ignored by any intelligent and right thinking individual or group.
He, however, pledged to tenaciously hold on to the dignity and autonomy of traditional rulers in the state if voted into power, saying that his concern primarily was how to improve the socio-economic lives of the people and ensure transformation of the state to a world class status.
