The Executive Assistant to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Political matters has dismissed the influence of money in the forthcoming primary election of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo state saying APC ticket is not for sale
Thomas a former commissioner in the state while responding to question from Journalist about his financial strength to compete with aspirants like Joseph Tegbe Bayo Adelabolu and others in the race said it is the qualification for governorship that will make an aspirant to win the governorship ticket and not how fat the purse is.
” It is the qualification for governorship, it is not how fat your purse is , it is how intelligence ,how courageous you are , how experience you are , how politically relevant you are, if you are not , no matter the amount of money you have you will misgovern, when you are coming into government its not your money that you are going to use to run the government”
” In the history of this state, I have not seen a rich man become the governor , the riches have never won the race . This party is not for sale , the governorship is not for sale and I remember that was what the NPN told Mko Abiola in 1983 that the presidency was not for sale , Oyo state governorship is not for sale”.
” If we run a free and fair race, they can’t stand me, the people will take their money but they will vote for me and that is the message because they still have their tutelage, many of this guys have no PVC, many of them have never voted in their lives go and check, they have TVC temporary voters card , many of them are even struggling to claim where they come from, their identity is still being disputed , many of them don’t even know their wards and this are the people that want to become governor? ”
” I am not a rich man in term of physical cash but I am very rich intellectually, I am very rich in term of experience, I am very rich in term of exposure, in term of closeness with my people. See what the people of Akwa Ibom have done, they have abandoned the man that came from zenith bank to become their governor because he doesn’t know who and who to be carried along in the political system. I have been around, most politicians known me and I know them, they wont knock my door before they see me, when I become governor I will run regular political clinic in my constituency people will have access to me on weekly basis and I will be addressing and tackling their issues.”
“We must modernized governance and we must demystified this position it belong to the people , it should not be sold and it should not be bought, they will carry the money but I will carry my experience , I will carry my relationship with the people and exposure with them when and if I get the ticket I know other political party will be trembling because they know there will be an upheaval, an earthquake in other political parties because many people will decamp because of me.”