Afenifere’s Secretary General, Ebiseni Joins Ondo Guber Race
Fidelis David in Akure
The Secretary General of Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Sola Ebiseni, has declared his intention to contest for the Ondo State governorship election slated for November 16, 2024.
Ebiseni, a lawyer and former Commissioner for Environment and Mineral Resources in the coastal state while declaring his intention to contest for the governorship seat in Akure, said he has a comparative advantage in the knowledge of the state and the geopolitical distribution of its natural resources compared to other candidates vying for the seat.
According to him, the diversification of the economy of the state from over-reliance on the federation account was the only means of getting out of the woods and must be prioritised.
Basically, the PDP chieftain said he enormously has comparative advantage in the knowledge of the state in the area of oil and gas, forestry resources, economic crops, solid minerals among others which could bring succour and relief to the people of the state.
His words: “This year’s governorship election is going to be a defining moment for the state. If you follow the trajectory of governance from the Ajasin era, our state, has had a rare privilege of being governed by governors who are not only intellectually suave, grounded in their chosen carriers, thoroughly-bred and groomed in the ideology of the Awolowo school of thought which defines our Welfarist programmes with which our people and politics have been identified.
“Besides, Ondo people are proud and having produced Ajasin, Adefarati, Agagu, Mimiko and Akeredolu, who were and are men who gave our state delightful corporate image in the comity of governors must always strive, like one of the leaders of the party told me when I visited him on consultations, to maintain such standards.
“Development of our state also requires being fully acquainted with the territory and the people. Such knowledge affords the new manager the opportunity of the location of resources, creates wealth therefrom and fairly allocate same without undue concentration in one or few places,” he stressed.
According to him, “from serving as an elected Local Government Chairman, to being Commissioner three times in the strategic Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, we have comparative advantage in the knowledge of the state and the geopolitical distribution of its natural resources.
“These include oil and gas, forestry resources, economic crops, solid minerals etc.
“Diversification of the economy of the state from over-reliance on the federation account is the only means of getting out of the woods and must be prioritised. There is a creative way of developing our resources within the provisions of the constitution.
“Certain social services which sets our state apart ideologically and which have been discontinued or totally abandoned must be resuscitated.”
Equally, Ebiseni said quality and affordable education and health services including the Mother and Child hospitals would be fairly extended across zones in the state if elected.
“It is a cheap petit-bourgeois mind-set to argue that the state cannot afford such existential programmes. I was privileged to be part of the team that accomplished this for the state.”
On the state of the nation, Ebiseni who was a delegate at the 2014 National Conference said the Federal Government must restructure the country and enthrone true federalism as it was originally entrenched in the 1960 and 1963 constitutions to end the nation’s problem of grappling with double-digit inflation, foreign currency shortages, a weakening naira, widespread insecurity and crude oil theft.
