By Banji Ayoola
A former envoy and leading Ondo South Senatorial District aspirant, Ambassador Sola Iji, has justified why he should be given the ticket of his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, to contest the senatorial seat of the district in the forthcoming election.
This was contained in a statement on Saturday by the Director General of the Ambassador Sola Iji Campaign Organisation, (ASICO.,) Onibudo ’Wole Iroaye.
The statement said that Iji gave the reasons in Ile Oluji on Wednesday at a meeting he held with Local Government party executives, ward chairmen, ward secretaries and leaders of Ile Oluji/Oke Igbo Local Government, as part of his mobilisation tour to the six Local Government Areas in Ondo South Senatorial District.
Iji, a former State Chairman of AD., AC., and ACN. respectively, told his party executives and leaders in the council: “It was because I was a responsible member of the party that Mr. President, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, sent me to Togo as an Ambassador.
“If you give me the mandate to represent you at the red chamber of the National Assembly, I will not disappoint you. I will ensure that I do my best to promote the prosperity of our people.
“The party does zoning so that there will be justice, equity and fairness. There are six local governments in the South Senatorial District. Five local governments, apart from Ese Odo, have gone to the Senate. Only Ese Odo has not gone to the Senate.
“Equity says that the one who has not gone should be given the chance and it is not equitable to deny such local government that had not done it before. Oun t’o ba to si oju, ki a fun un. Therefore, I want you to support me. I thank you for your patience. E ku ile o.”
He said: “I am here to seek your support in order to get the ticket of our party to the Senate; and we have been in the party together for long.
“I had invested my time in the party to develop it. I can even see here the faces of those who had worked for the party, who are here.
“There are some people who have shown interest in this race, but who are not known in the party. If they get the ticket, we will not be able to access them. Before now, we must have built confidence among us.
“Give your support to me because we have been together for long and we know ourselves.
“If government is going to do anything, it is always done through law. As a lawyer, I have the advantage of networking at the Senate so that we can have the benefit of being at the Senate.”
Iji told the gathering: “Within the next five or six weeks, we must have finished the process of selecting our candidate.
“Hopefully, election into the Senate will be won by APC. You won’t work in vain. If the Senator serving now had been a member of our party, we would have enjoyed the slot.”
He joined the DG to apologise for coming late to the meeting as he recognised all the party leaders, both men and women and the youths.
He said he initially planned to visit the wards; but because of the importance of the leaders, he decided to come to the local government to see them.
His words: “I come to promote my ambition. Ile Oluji/Oke Igbo Local Government had always welcomed me any time I came to them in the past.”
Reacting on behalf of the gathering, the Local Government Party Chairman, Chief Rufus Adefulure, thanked Iji for coming to tell them about his ambition.
His words: “Ambassador Sola Iji is not new to us. When the party was struggling to stand at its formative stage, he was the only one we saw. The party had no money then; but he stood by us. That was the time he was the chairman of the party.
“We have known him for more than 10 years. At a time, he was the Executive Secretary of a tobacco company in Lagos. He is not new to us in Ile Oluji. He was very close to Papa Adesoji like a son when he was alive.
“Ambassador Sola Iji is as constant as the northern star, future focused. The Lord will help you to win and will use you to prosper our people. We will pray for you and we will support you.”
Earlier, while introducing his principal to the gathering, Iroaye described Iji as “a comrade, a noted politician, a leader of leaders and former chairman of AD., AC., and ACN. respectively, a lawyer by profession, whose experience in arbitration and labour law is a force to reckon with, a man who, at a time, was appointed by our national leaders as Caretaker Committee Chairman of Kwara State chapter of ACN when the chapter had crisis.”
He said: “The Lord used him and he resolved the crisis amicably.”
Also, the DG, while inviting his principal to the gathering, described Iji as “a man with the soul of honour.”
At the end of the meeting, Iroaye thanked the party chairman, executives, ward chairmen and secretaries and leaders “for giving us a rousing welcome.” The meeting ended with the grace said in unison.
