Engineer Raufu Aderemi Olaniyan, a former General of the Oyo state Road Maintenance Agency OYSTROMA has said he dumped the Accord Party for the All Progressives congress based on the demand by his people
Olaniyan an indigene of igboho in Oorelope local government area of the state while responding to questions from journalists at the South West Group Online Publishers SWEGOP in Ibadan today said his people demanded that he joined the progressives’ line for the betterment of the community and the state at large.
“ For some time , APC leaders and elders in my local government have pestering me to come into their fold , at times the party chairman in my local government do come to my house with branded bus to discuss with me not minding what other party members will say and they did this continuously till I gave my words and finally joined the party”
Reacting to the view that his aspiration, combined with that of a host of other party men, is over-bloating the pool of aspirants, Olaniyan said it does not matter. “Are the up to 1000? Even if aspirants are up to 1000, the political space is wide enough for everyone. What will determine every aspirant’s chance is his or her marketability and what he is bringing to the table”.
“I have not officially declared that I want to contest but even if I declare, my chances are bright. Irrespective of the strong forces you may be looking at, an underdog can still spring upsets. Like I said earlier, what would determine the chance of any aspirant is his qualification and some other parameters”.
Speaking on his relationship with Accord Party leader, Senator Rasheed Ladoja Olaniyan,who used to be a major stakeholder in the Accord party pointed out that his leaving the party had nothing to do with the leader of the party.
“There is no problem between me and Ladoja, as we are sited here if he comes in I will prostrate to greet him because he is an elderly person and a leader so there is no dispute between us, in fact the other time when somebody was saying rubbish about him in my house I ban her from entering my compound again and told my security not to allow her into the house any longer “
Responding to a question about agricultural development, Olaniyan, a renowned farmer from Oke-Ogun zone, said that the major problem with agricultural produce in the zone noted for its rich natural and agricultural endowment, is the lack of processing industries for the produce.
He said what the zone needs is an abundance of processing structures so that wastage would be reduced. “That is part of plans for the zone and the state at large” he said.
