The deputy governor of Osun State, Chief (Mrs) Olusola Obada, recently declared her intention to represent the Osun East Senatorial District in the state in 2011. Tunde Oyekola writes on the issues thrown up by her ambition.

AS the 2011 general election draws near, many political office holders are working on their next move, primarily where they would find themselves after their various tenures allowed by the 1999 Constitution expires.

These politicians include the governors and their deputies, whose tenure of office will expire on May 29, 2011 after spending two terms of eight yers in office.Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, the incumbent governor of Osun State and his deputy, Erelu Olusola Obada, are among those whose tenure of two terms will expire by May, 2011. The two political office holders have decided to go to the Senate, Nigeria’s upper legislative chamber, to represent their people after May 29, 2011.

Prince Oyinlola, on July 29, 2010, at his home town, Okuku, in Odo–Otin local government area of the state, launched his campaign with fanfare and spread the dividends of democracy with the distribution of 30 cars, some buses, motorcycles, grinding machines, deep freezers, etc, to the people of the 10 local government areas that constitute the Osun Central Senatorial District, which he intends to represent in 2011.

Similarly, on Wednesday, September 1, 2010, Obada, the deputy governor of the state, also went to the PDP state secretariat, Osogbo, to indicate her interest in contesting the Osun East Senatorial District seat, comprising of the Ife/Ijesa zone.

Accompanied by thousands of supporters who were mostly women, Obada stormed the PDP state headquarters to tell the party executives, led by Alhaji Ademola Rasaq Oyelowo, of her intention to vie for the Osun East Senatorial seat (Ife/Ijesa zone) of the state in the 2011 general election. She lauded the party  executives for the  way they had been steering the ship of the party since 2003 when the PDP took over the control of the state and stated that she had absolute confidence in the leadership of Alhaji Ademola Rasaq and the state  working committee of the party.

She said: “The present executive of our great party in the state, under the able leadership of Alhaji Ademola Rasaq, should be commended because running a party with a large number of people for the past seven years without any rancour requires high integrity, honesty and good understanding which God has endowed him with as a leader.”

Obada said that she had been watching the goings-on in the party, adding that, though she was aware of the party directive that anybody who had the intention to contest in 2011 should make his intention known since October last year, she had ‘’to tarry and watch the happenings in our party, especially in the Ijesa area, so as not to jeopardise the aspirations of my people, especially in the governorship race.

“But after watching the situation, and  having made wide consultations with various segments of the party, today, I have come to the party secretariat to meet the party executives to make my intention known. ‘’

She, however, insisted that her aspiration would only see the light of the day if the Ijesa people failed to secure the governorship ticket for the 2011 election in the state. She said: ‘’If the governorship ticket does not come to Ijesa, then, I will be interested in going to the Senate to represent the people of  the Ife/Ijesa senatorial district. I don’t want to be accused of working against my people and that informed my late declaration,” she said.

Speaking to newsmen shortly after the declaration, Erelu Obada said: ‘’If the governorship goes to Ijesa, automatically, the Senate position would  not go to Ijesa. I needed to do this to ensure that my people understood perfectly what I was talking about because if I showed intention much earlier on, my people might have accused me of building road blocks in the way of Ijesa citizens to attain the governorship seat.

On why she wanted to go to the Senate, the deputy governor said: “I think I would be able to contribute my own quota to the legislative process of this great nation. I am a lawyer by profession and my natural job  is to make laws and to also oversee some functions. I believe I will thrive and do a lot for my senatorial district and I think I will be an asset to them”.

On the facilities  she would to bring her senatorial district, she said “Every area needs many things, I think that in Osun State, our focus is on the Oyinlola administration,  which has been trying to develop the industrial base of the state and I think that would also be one of my main priorities, which is to see what investment I can bring to the state, among so many other things. I believe that if we can found more industries, then the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) would increase for the state.”

Speaking on what she intended to achieve for women in the Senate, she said,  “Ever since I started my political career about 11 years ago, I have always been interacting one on one with all these women, I am a quintessential grass-roots mobilizer and these women have been with me throughout the seven years that I have spent in government.

There are so many programmes one can institute for women to better their lots. It can be through micro credit loans, the millennium development goals (MDGs), small and medium scale enterprises and any other programme. When I get there, of course I would know the opportunity that are available for the women.’’