Ondo Guber 2024: We see a candidate in Jimoh Ibrahim not an aspirant – Hon Banji Ben Okunomo
One of the well respected leaders in Ondo South and a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Hon. Banji Ben Okunomo (BBO) has thrown his weight behind Barr. Jimoh Ibrahim, CFR (JI) saying he is the only Aspirant that has demonstrated the capacity to become the next Governor of Ondo State.
In an interview with topshotnews, BBO said what Ondo State people yearn for now is a Governor who is sensitive to the needs of the people and ready to put smiles on their faces.
Hon. Banji Okunomo who said for a number of people both within and outside the party who have had the opportunity to interface with Sen. Jimoh Ibrahim, what they all see is a candidate and not an aspirant.
BBO, a first class Law Graduate, he also made first class in law school, he’s a former Governorship aspirant further stressed that Sen. Ibrahim has all the qualities that stand him out as a candidate ready to win not just the primaries but the General Election for the APC.
“As a former Governorship aspirant, I have gone through the nitty gritty of political contest and I have come to realize that whoever wants to be Governor in this State must posses certain qualities and those qualities I can see them clearly in Sen. Ibrahim. That also explains why I had to subsume my own aspiration to work with him”, he added saying in this digital age, the people need someone that will do things uniquely and differently.
“Since the creation of Ondo State in 1976, we are yet to have a Governor that can run the affairs of Government distinctive from others; the running of governmental affairs is same way which is why Ondo State has remained Civil servants’ State with no investors, no economic boom with attendant high unemployment rate of the teeming graduates. The persistent reliance of previous and present Governments of the State on meagre allocations from the Federation accounts without any creative addition for Wealth is an abberation that must be nipped in the bud”
“Right now in the State we need a Governor that can think outside the box , it can no longer be business as usual. We need a Governor that can bring something new on board to relieve the agonies of the suffering masses.The Governor we need is one that is sophisticated in ideas, sound and well educated as well as sufficient in knowledge which encompasses agenda and programs that can meet the burning desires and needs of the people at this auspicious time. Without being immodest, the one l have seen with all these qualities is Senator Ibrahim”.
On the chances of Sen. Ibrahim clinching the party’s ticket, BBO said winning primary election is for those who prepare for it and that Sen. Ibrahim’s Governorship aspiration is neither contingent nor accidental but one that has been systematically conceptualized and implemented with precision. He has been connecting with the people through mapped out strategies that will help not only to win primaries but the General Election which is the ultimate concern of APC as a party.
“APC can not afford to incubate someone who will turn out to be just a candidate of primary election and not one who can win General election. Sen. Jimoh Ibrahim has been working across the length and breadth of Ondo State making resources available to the people at the grassroots, reaching out with gifts and all kinds of empowerment packages for the poor, the downtrodden and the needy.
l am particularly stimulated by his incredible performances at the Red Chamber of the National Assembly especially the sponsorship of the Bitumen Development Commission bill which has undergone second reading and now at Committee stage.These are pointers to the fact that the man is well prepared for the task ahead of him when he becomes the Governor of our State.He will win not just the primaries but the General Election seamlessly for the APC in the Election. It needs be reiterated that Senator Ibrahim is the oldest in the ongoing Governorship contest in Ondo State. He vied for the position at age 35 in 2003 and demonstrated stunning capacity then. I can assure you, he will win at the primaries”, he further stressed.
While describing Sen. Ibrahim as the pride of APC, BBO said APC members cannot afford to toy with this kind of person in the next election as the party has made its stance known that there won’t be automatic ticket for any aspirant.
