The Deputy Senate Leader in the National Assembly, Senator Lola Ashiru says he sees nothing wrong or bad in any politician campaigning for 2027 from this moment.
Though, he said he would, however, not be involved in such a campaign.
The Lawmaker expressed these views during a chat with newsmen at Offa, his country home in Kwara State.
“Everybody has the right to aspire or pursue their ambition. You’re talking about 2027, there is nothing wrong or bad in aspiring even for 2031. Any politician campaigning for 2027 is not taking anything from you and he’s not distorting your work. So, if people start planning for 2027, to me it’s all well and good. But for me, I’ll not do it. If you decide to do it, it means you have a lot of resources to spend” he said.
According to him, the demand for governorship positions has increased tremendously in the whole nation and it is becoming more competitive than before.
While speaking on Kwara state politics for the year 2027, Ashiru said he had the feeling that good candidates would emerge and the state would vote for a very credible candidate from his party, the All Progressive Congress (APC).
No consideration for zoning
On Zoning, Senator Ashiru representing Kwara South Senatorial District in the National Assembly disclosed that such arrangement will not be considered in the 2027 governorship race in the state.
The Lawmaker who is also a stalwart of APC said the governorship position in the state, would be contested among all the three zones during the next election.
He added that zoning arrangements had never been a consideration in the selection of governorship candidates in the state.
While acknowledging that there has been agitation on where the next governorship candidate should come from come 2027 in the APC, (considering the fact that both the Kwara South and Kwara Central have occupied the seat in the last 25 years), Ashiru said “Governorship is never zoned in Kwara state. Anybody who wants to become a governor must be prepared to work hard and campaign hard to convince the electorate to vote for him or her.
“You can’t tell me to vote for you if you don’t come to me. If any of the governorship aspirants come to me, I will ask him what’s on the table for my community. This is about negotiation, bargaining, and politics.
“Positions are never zoned. There’s nowhere we’ve zoned the position of governorship.
“Even the last election that was won by Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq was not zoned to Ilorin. It was contested by almost all politicians that were ready to contest. All the zones contested and because the people see Abdulrazaq as a person who can deliver dividends of democracy, they all aggregated towards him and voted for him. So also was his first term. It was not a zoned ticket. It was contested and he won because he was more prepared than others.
“When you look at the time of Lawal, his governorship was contested too. So, what I’m saying is that we’re not in a regime of zoning because we want the best in any case. We want people who are well-prepared and equipped to serve the people”.
Senator Ashiru, who said that Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq had done well at spreading the dividends of democracy to all parts of the state, added that Kwara South district deserves more.
“There are so many things people of Kwara South are not happy about. There are so many positions that should be acceded to us. Even though our governor has done very well for the people of Kwara South, every zone would always ask for more. After Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, I feel that the next governor must sit with us and tell us what he has to offer us. When we have that, we give him our votes whether he’s from Ilorin, Omu Aran, Kaiama or Baruten, whichever one or Lafiagi”.
Emmanuel Ukoh
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