A House of Representatives member from Oyo State, Honourable Temitope Olatoye, had advocated a shift of the governorship of the state to Oyo Central Senatorial District in 2019, saying it is the only district that has yet to produce the governor since the beginning of the Fourth Republic.
Olatoye, who is popularly called Sugar and represents Lagelu/Akinyele Federal Constituency, spoke recently on Political Circuit, a political programme on Fresh F.M, a privately owned radio station in Ibadan, adding a new twist to the power rotation discourse in the state.
The lawmaker said the governorship of the state had been rotating between Oyo South and Oyo North Senatorial Districts for almost 20 years since the advent of the Fourth Republic, stressing that it must be the turn of Oyo Central in 2019 in the interest of justice and fairness.
Olatoye, who chairs the House Committee on Urban and Regional Planning, explained that the late Chief Kolapo Ishola from Akinyele which is part of Oyo Central district, spent 22 months as governor in the aborted Third Republic.
“The governorship of every state is rotated among its three districts. Alhaji Lam Adesina was governor from 1999 to 2003 and came from Oyo South; Senator Rashidi Ladoja 2003-2007, also from Oyo South; Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, 2007 to 2011, plus 11 months from Ladoja’s tenure, hails from Oyo North. And now, Governor Abiola Ajimobi who is also from is doing eight years.
“The governorship seat must not continue to be the exclusive right of Oyo South and Oyo North district because they don’t solely own the state. It is the turn of Oyo Central with 11 out of the 33 local government councils. We have what it takes in Oyo Central to govern the state and even do so well.
“Oyo North comprises 13 local governments namely the 10 local governments from Oke Ogun and three from Ogbomosho. Therefore, Oyo North has taken a shot at the governorship for five out of the 20 years in the Fourth Republic.
“If some people are saying it is the turn of Oke Ogun, they should be reminded that Ibarapa and Oyo people have not produced the governor too. This is the Fourth Republic. Chief Kolapo Ishola became governor in 1991 and spent just 22 months in office before the military struck and took over the reins of government.
“We can’t disregard the 11 months of Alao-Akala because Dr Omololu Olunloyo, who was governor in the Second Republic, spent just three months in office and is today one of the ex-governors.
“Alao-Akala’s governorship though was for the whole of the state, he nonetheless represented Oyo North Senatorial District and did one and almost a half terms. Oyo South after Ajimobi’s tenure expires will have done almost 16 years,” he said.
On what he did with his N65 million share of the N10.6 billion zonal intervention fund in the 2016 budget for all South-West lawmakers, Olatoye said he nominated the rehabilitation of 10 primary schools and sinking of 24 boreholes, lamenting that only three schools and four boreholes were approved and executed by the Federal Government agencies in charge.
“One of the schools is at Alape village, another one at Arikuyeri, Iyana Offa, which has since been inaugurated and the last one at Aromakinde.But on my own, I have done more than 60 boreholes from my personal purse,” he said.
