Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
As the campaign for the elections into the National Assembly kicked off last Sunday, House of Representatives candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Abeokuta North/Odeda/Obafemi-Owode federal constituency, in Ogun State, Olumide Osoba, has urged the electorate to do critical appraisal of candidates based on their political antecedents.
Osoba, who represented the federal constituency between 2011 and 2015, also called for issues-based and factual campaigns by candidates, rather than embarking on unnecessary shenanigans capable of heating up the polity, ahead of the 2019 general elections.
The APC House of Representatives candidate said these, on Thursday, in a statement he personally signed and made available to newsmen in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
According to the statement, the jostling for the political position should not be seen as a do-or-die affair and charged candidates of various political parties, to sell themselves to the electorate in enlightened and civilised manners.
He added that as a representative of the federal constituency between 2011 and 2015, he was able to facilitate over 60 infrastructural projects and carried out several empowerment programmes, which he claimed lapsed with his representation in 2015.
Osoba, however, implored the electorate not to be deceived by the antics of other candidates, but vote for him in 2019 in order for the federal constituency to enjoy quality representation and real dividends of democracy, as it enjoyed during his four years in the Green Chamber.
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“I am very much delighted for the opportunity I had in representing my constituency at the Lower Chamber of the National Assembly between 2011 and 2015.
“I am happy that I can boldly beat my chest, to point at and identify well over 60 infrastructural projects I was directly involved and facilitated to my Federal Constituency.
“It is most unfortunate, shortly after my representation lapsed within that time-frame of four years, no meaningful progress, translating to physical projects, has been facilitated to the Federal Constituency but rather, stomach infrastructure has been the order of the day.
“As the campaigns commence, a critical appraisal of an individual candidate needs to be done by the very enlightened, exposed and sophisticated electorate of Abeokuta North/Obafemi Owode/Odeda Federal Constituency, by keeping in mind the horrid representation they have experienced in the last four years and also, so that they don’t fall prey of the antics of a misfit,” Osoba submitted.