*Says Ogunesan Deserves Commendation*
Hon. Ayoola Makanjuola, former Oyo State commissioner for youth and sports has said that the implementation of the local council development areas (LCDAs) by Governor Abiola Ajimobi is one of the reasons why he decided to defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
In an exclusive chat with Inside Oyo, Makanjuola revealed that it has always been his dream for his hometown- Ago-Are to become the headquarters of ATISBO local government.
According to him: “Initially, when our council was carved out of the old Ifedapo local government, Ago-Are was legally made the headquarters until it was moved to Tede. I was happy when late former governor Lamidi Adesina created LCDAs and proposed Ago-Are as the headquarters of our own LCDA. I was then the chairman of the council. But since 2002, no governor deemed it fit to implement until Governor Ajimobi decided to implement it. It is a bold step.”
“On December 12th, 2016, our leader – Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala told us to join the APC. It was not formally done then,” Makenson, as he is fondly called, who was formally received into the party on Tuesday disclosed.
Cautioning those pointing accusing fingers at the permanent secretary of the Oyo State Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Mrs Olawumi Ogunesan as the brain behind the division within the APC, he said that the woman deserves commendation.
He noted that the Ago-Amodu born civil servant is a blessing to Oke-ogun region of the state.
Hear him: “She has taken many bold steps aimed at bringing development to our region. She is not arrogant and she has always been committed to the upliftment of our people. Apart from this, I have known since our days at the polytechnic. We have been friends since then.”
Asked if he intends to contest as 2019 election beckons, he responded: ”Power belongs to God. I cannot tell you what i want to contest you for. 2019 is still far away. One thing I know is that I cannot become Oyo governor.”
Makenson has been in politics for long. In the old Ifedapo LG (present day Saki West, Saki East, ATISBO), he was a council, supervisory council and vice-chairman of the council. He was also chairman of ATISBO LG, full-time member of the Oyo State Teaching Service Commission and later commissioner under the Alao-Akala administration.
