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| Adeoye |
A good governance advocate, lawyer and chartered accountant, Dr Gbenga Adeoye, has backed Ogun West Senatorial District to produce the next governor of Ogun State in 2027, saying it would be the most equitable outcome under a rotational governorship arrangement.
Adeoye, in an article on rotational presidency and governorship, argued that political parties should adopt a system that rotates power among senatorial districts to promote fairness, peace and unity.
Using Ogun State as an example, he said the state had witnessed a pattern of governorship rotation between Ogun Central and Ogun East, adding that Ogun West should now be given the opportunity to produce the next governor.
He stated, “The Most reasonable, equitable and intelligent thing to do by all political parties is NOT to produce any candidate from Ogun East towards 2027 election. That is the best thing to do.
“Assuming APC is not the national ruling party and a strong candidate like Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, did not emerge from Ogun West, the chance of Ogun Central becoming the next Governor would have been very high as it aligns with two-way rotation that have been ongoing since but a three-way rotation is the most reasonable.”
Adeoye maintained that it would be unfair for any senatorial district to retain power consecutively when other districts have not had the opportunity to produce a governor.
“It is then unreasonable for anyone to rise up from a senatorial district back to back for the purpose of contesting Governorship election,” he said.
The governance advocate noted that Ogun State has three senatorial districts—Ogun Central, Ogun East and Ogun West—and argued that governorship should rotate among them.
“Therefore from now on, this is how to run the affairs of all parties in Nigeria... Ogun Central, followed by Ogun East and then followed by Ogun West. All political Parties must be reasonable to adopt such peaceful system that breeds unity.”
Adeoye traced the political history of Ogun State, saying previous efforts by Ogun West to produce a governor were undermined by divisions among political actors and parties.
He said Ogun West couldn't unite to produce one candidate when it was their turn.
According to him, the inability of Ogun West to produce one united candidate then led to Central taking it back.”l
He argued that opposition to rotational arrangements was misplaced because capable leaders could emerge from any district.
“Some people argue that rotation is not good and that it is an attempt to deny intelligent candidate from a given Senatorial district, I disagree with this view because intelligent, experienced, educated and men and women of good character can also be identified in the district that such rotation favours,” he said.
Adeoye also advocated rotational leadership at the national level, urging political stakeholders to sustain the principle of power rotation between the North and the South.
He said, “Presidential candidacy should be structured in a manner that North and South rotational presidency should be adopted by lovers of peace and unity.”
According to him, “Nigeria as a country must follow the same principle wholeheartedly for the purpose of Unity.”
He added that rotational arrangements should be adopted across all states and geopolitical zones to strengthen inclusion and national cohesion.
Adeoye concluded, “May God bless our country and may God bless our respective states with reasonable, intelligent, patriotic and selfless leaders who will govern for the greater good of the greatest number of people and indeed for all citizens.”
