Written By Victor Akinwumi
Last Week Thursday, August 24, 2023, marked a watershed in the history of Ado Central Local Council Development Area of Ekiti State. That day was significant because the Chairman of the metropolitan council, Engr Toyin Ojo commissioned some landmark projects that signposted the laying of a solid foundation for the fledging LCDA.
It was a unique day when critical stakeholders in the LCDA and beyond gathered to endorse Engr Ojo for a second term in the local government election slated for December, 2023.
This political action couldn’t be said to be based on selfishness, but to further fortify the LCDA economically and administratively, because governance is a serious business and can’t be committed into the hands of callow and neophyte in the field of administration.
By action, policies and display of administrative acumen, no one can underestimate the fact that Engr Ojo is blazing the trail in the Council. He is laying a rocky foundation for the LCDA created under the administration of Dr. Kayode Fayemi to thrive and deliver on the mandate of providing good governance for those at the grassroots.
The inauguration of an edifice to provide comfort for the officers of the Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, confirmed how visionary his administration has been to elevate the bar of governance at the third tier of government.
Within this short period, other projects built and policies initiated by Hon. Ojo included; a befitting council Secretariat, provision of boreholes, construction of several culverts and bridges across the council area and empowerment programmes for youths, widows, aged and people living with disabilities.
It is not an overstatement to say that this season of politicking is gradually tilting Ekiti towards becoming a huge rumour mill, where all manners of fallacious statements were being dished out to demarket a prospective contestant and confuse the system.
Some social media goons can’t but come after Hon Ojo, being a sellable product , who enjoys vast and solid support. His case can’t be an exemption under this context, but the public should be able to discern the activities of these people and discountenance their odious and inapposite actions.
The barrage of endorsements that had dogged the yet to be declared second term ambition of the LCDA Chairman, had been sending jitters round the spines of opposition, and those not comfortable with his style of governance. The party members gave the endorsements at separate meetings held in wards 4, 5, 8 and 12 in Ado Ekiti, on Thursday, marking the commissioning ceremony and the familiarisation tour of the Chairman and his team to the council area.
Since this position was taken, those rattled by the action of the stakeholders, had drawn out their daggers and resorted to brickbatting, blackmail and name-calling. Putting it in a succinct fashion, opinions they say are free, but facts are ever sacred. Whatever position they canvassed can’t change public and APC stakeholders’ perception of the Chairman .
Engr Ojo is an uncommon leader in so many respects. The grassroots and ebullient politician, is not just a leader, he is an accessible one. He has a down -to -earth approach to issues that border on grassroots politicking and administration, hence, his soaring popularity among the highly sophisticated residents of the LCDA.
Without being exaggerrative, Engr. Ojo’s acceptability has resonated positivities across the length and breadth of the metropolis. His unusual style of governance, has gained tractions far and wide. This accounted for the unanimous endorsement of Engr Ojo as a sole candidate by APC bigwigs for the December forthcoming electoral battle.
Within the last one and half years he assumed office,Hon Ojo had been able to prove his mettle as an outstanding politician. He has shown qualitative leadership in the area of inclusivity and respect for tradition. He has exhibited intellectualism and clairvoyance, not for arrogance, but to add panache to governance.
In his stint on the Ado Ekiti LCDA driver’s seat, the APC chieftain has been able to display high sense of deftness and shrewdness that vividly defined him as someone who is well groomed for grassroots governance.
His relationship with the locals is strong and superb. His delivery sense is unique and unsurpassable . Little wonder, the endorsement by critical stakeholders in the LCDA, who stoutly believed he is the best man for the job at this fledging time of the LCDA’s political evolution.
Before the endorsement that signed the death knell of the opposition, there had been some social media stunts to the effect that stakeholders had decided against him. But the open display of support by these stalwarts had shamed the armchair critics who perceived politics as a war of attrition and do or die affair.
Leading the pack was the Chairman of APC in Ado Ekiti Local Government, Hon. Michael Akinleye. He minced no words in his overt support for Engr Ojo to fly the party’s flag in Ado Central. He premised this on the impressive performance the Chairman has put up in two years. This showed that his action wasn’t financially-induced.
He regaled the teeming party supporters who besieged the commissioning event about how Engr Ojo suffered for the party. Besides that, he openly canvassed a second term ticket for him on the pedestal of his scintillating performance that had attracted wide applause from the people.
Akinleye’s position was greeted with wide applause, which buttressed the fact that the entire party architecture was behind such open declaration.
Damning the consequences of whatever the skeptics would say, Akinleye eulogised the Chairman, describing him as a visionary leader, who has touched many lives within a few months of his administration.
Akinleye, said the landmark projects executed by Engr Ojo in the last two years of his administration loudly attested to the fact that he has justified his qualification for a second term ticket.
He called on other members of the party to support the move by the leaders of the APC in the council area to return Engr Ojo to realise his quest to engineer more development in the council.
“Engineer Toyin Ojo always makes himself available for members of the party for any dialogue relating to the development of the council area and its citizenry. I implore our people to choose good work over non performance. He has only spent one and half years in office, I am sure that his second term will help in turning our LCDA around”.
In his remarks, a member of the party from ward 5, Kajola area of the LCDA, Mr Kayode Orilabawaye, said the giant strides made by Engr Toyin Ojo, have endeared him to members of the party and these had propelled them to support him for a second term.
He particularly mentioned that the channelization of drainages across the local council and construction of culverts in his street at Kajola in Ado-Ekiti, prompted them to drum more support for the Chairman, urging him to re-contest for a second term.
“If we are to mention his achievements one after the other, time will not permit us. All I want to say is to advise our members to support him and ensure the success of his administration.
Beyond politics, the Chairman of the Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC), Justice Cornelius Akintayo, commended the Chairman for building and donating an edifice to the commission. He said the gesture would propel the Commission to deliver a free, fair and credible local government election in the State this year.
Akintayo said the SIEC is targeting one -man -one- vote and to provide an enabling environment, which will allow every eligible voter and political party fulfil their electoral rights ahead of the December 2023 council poll. He said the gesture displayed by Hon Ojo portrayed that of a leader that was desirous of having a strong and functional local government system.
As a humble man, who knows the right way to reciprocate good gestures, Engr Ojo, explained that the endorsements for a second term by the leaders and other members of the APC in the LCDA, would further spur him to do more for his people. He added that his second coming would be an opportunity to improve on his current accomplishments.
He solicited support of the people of the area, irrespective of their political parties to assist the commission in ensuring the success of the forthcoming council elections.
He explained that development at the rural areas is not about political party, but the people, noting that the best way to rightly assess the performance of the government at the state level was to look at the performance at the grassroots.
Ojo reiterated his readiness to continue to prioritize the needs and welfare of the people of the council area irrespective of their political parties and religious beliefs. He equally promised that his administration would continue to strive and provide more security and safeguard the lives and property of the residents of the State.
The Ekiti people have acknowledged the kernel and significance of continuity in governance in what Governor Biodun Oyebanji has been able to do within this short time. This must be allowed to percolate down to the local government level, particularly in Ado Central that symbolises the epicentre of governance in Ado Ekiti capital city.