Declare State Of Emergency On Infrastructure in Ogun West - Dr. Kunle Salako Advise Govt.

A former Commissioner in Ogun State, Dr. Isiaq Kunle Salako has called on the incoming APC government in Ogun State and at the Federal level in Abuja to declare a state of emergency on the state of infrastructure in Ogun West. 

Dr. Salako who is also the Director General of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola Yayi Campaign Organization (YAYICO) made the call while appearing on a radio current affairs programme, Citizens Forum on Rockcity FM to discuss the topic, Ogun West: After 2023 polls what next.

According to him, the number of votes delivered by Ogun West in the 2023 general elections for APC should dictate what is next. He explained that what is expected by the people of Ogun West is a change from the way they have been enjoying dividends of democracy in terms of infrastructure, in terms of appointments in terms of intervention in critical sectors within the senatorial district.

"Today if you look at the infrastructural state of Ogun State, the worst are in Ogun West. Our roads are the worst, our schools are the worst, our hospitals are the worst till date our people are the poorest", Dr Salako stressed..  

The former Commissioner further explained that In times past they used to blame the lack of government attention in Ogun West on the fact that Ogun West did not vote the ruling government or did not vote in a particular way. "Now we have not only voted, our votes have been decisive".

"So I think the first thing any government needs to do, the incoming government in Abuja and in Okemosan is to declare a state of emergency in the infrastructural.needs of Ogun West Senatorial District".

Speaking further, "Ogun West has suffered neglect over the years and when interventions are made they are suboptimal. What is next and expected should be Ogun West enjoying maximum advantage from the votes it delivered to the ruling party at the Federal and state level".

Backing up his position, Dr Salako said that there has been political transformation in Ogun between 2019 and 2023 that has seen the people of the senatorial district moving from a mixture of conservative and progressive to become fully progressives looking at the change in voting pattern.

In 2019 according to him, APC could not win a single local government area and managed to win only one assembly seat in Ogun West. Four years later APC won all all local government areas and all state assembly seats.

In 2019 Dr. Salako said that the senatorial candidate of the APC won in Ogun with the difference of 13,000 votes. In 2023 the Senator-elect, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, FCA Yayi who is of the APC won with almost 60,000 votes.

In the gubernatorial election, Dr Salako revealed that over a hundred thousand out of the 276,000 votes the incumbent Governor, Prince Dr. Dapo Abiodun - MFR  returned for second term with came from the good people of Ogun West Senatorial District.

In the Presidential election, close to 115,000 votes out of the 340, 000 votes delivered for APC's Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Ogun State was from Ogun West, Dr Salako added.

The YAYICO Director General stressed that ahead of any other consideration, the political class in Ogun West believe that the first thing is for the people of Ogun West to enjoy the dividends of their votes in the 2023 general elections in terms of the kind of attention that Ogun West will receive from the Federal Government of Nigeria and from Ogun State Government.

He added that if the people of Ogun West enjoy the dividends of their decisive votes of 2023, it will be easier to pull them out in 2027 to vote again. That he described as the fulcrum to climb going forward into 2027 general elections. "If after 2023 we are not able to help our people who voted APC, you cannot come up in 2027 to say you have another candidate"