NNPP, the beautiful bride in waiting in Oyo

As the drumbeats of 2023 politics begin to play, one of the states of the federation that will be interesting to watch is the titanic contest ahead for the governorship seat of Oyo State.

While hailing Oba Balogun for his contributions to the country’s political development since his entry into the game in 1983 when Oba Balogun contested the old Oyo State governorship election under the banner of the defunct Nigeria People’s Party after defecting from the Peoples Redemption Party, Kwankwaso said the coming into existence of the NNPP which is an off-shoot of the old NPP during the reign of Oba Balogun is a divine arrangement.

And the person to watch out for to actualise this dream change in Oyo State is Joshua, who some weeks back also defected from the PDP to join the race to occupy Agodi seat in 2023.

Joshua, a COREN Registered engineer, is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineer (FNSE), Nigerian Institute of Highways and Transportation Engineers (FNIHTE), Nigerian Institute of Civil Engineer (FNICE), the current Mogaji of Ojo Ewena Compound, Oke Ofa Babasale, Ibadan and once a Secretary of bilateral meeting of Nigeria/Cameroon Joint Commission on boarder Roads. He was also awarded D.Sc Construction Engineering by the Commonwealth University, Dubai, United Arab Emirate (UAE) in the year 2011.

Immediately after his service year in 1988, he was employed by Federal Civil Service Commission and posted to Federal Ministry of Works and Housing as pupil Engineer. He later became the Chief Maintenance Engineer, Niger State, Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) – an Agency under Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, between the year 2005 and 2009.

Reeling out his programme where he intimated stakeholders in the state of his intention to put himself forward to serve, he said security will be the major plank of his service to Oyo people. As ancillary to tackling the problem of insecurity will be youths employment that will be enhanced.
   
He said: “There is going to be job opportunity, especially through agriculture and skills development. The key is to take as many people off the streets and get them engaged gainfully. That way, crime and vices will reduce.”

On his experience that qualifies him to serve, POJ said: “I have served this nation as an engineer working as a federal government engineer in the last 30 years working in many states and delivering projects, so, I know what people want…Definitely, when I become governor of Oyo State, I will reorganise the civil service first, nobody will lose job but there will be value and quality output from public service.”

Giving an insight into the intrigues within the PDP making many staunch party men leave in droves, he said the incumbent governor is running the party in the state like his private company.

“Politics can never be a one-man show. Today, whoever the governor wants is the person taking charge. If he says he will not give you form, you will not get it; the only people that are probably loyal to him are the ones that are collecting nomination forms but that is not supposed to be in a democracy. We should allow people to choose whoever they want, you allow people to show they are also party members, everybody should be given equal opportunity, if it now comes to where you have been voted out, you yourself will know that yes you have tried your best to convince party members.

“So, since PDP has turned out to be a one man business, dictatorship has taken over, I and other like-minded individuals had to look for where there is freedom, where we can exercise our rights, where there is progress, where there is equal opportunity, whether you are old or young.”
Azeez wrote from Ibadan.