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A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, has declared interest to contest for the Kwara South senatorial seat in 2023.
Oyedepo, a lawyer, made his intention known on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin.
“I want to pick the Senate seat of the Kwara South senatorial district. I want to displace people who are there now, especially, the one from the south, Sen. Lola Ashiru.
“I want him to start to pack his load. By the grace of God, I shall win. I am prepared for the contest, fully prepared,” Oyedepo said.
The party chieftain said he was interested in the senate seat to do things better than those that have gone there.
“I have antecedent that I can rely on. I am more qualified than any of them that have been there before,” he said.
Oyedepo, who is also the Chairman of the Governing Council of Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, declared that he has the qualification and experience to serve as a senator.
“I operated in the executive as a commissioner in the state in 1992; I have been a party stalwart and party chairman in two political parties.
“I was the chairman of the Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN), and I made a lot of impact, tremendous impact in that party. Later, I became the chairman of PDP.
“What I use the PDP to achieve is what made people be in the Senate and House of Representatives now.
“If there is anybody that is qualified more than any of them, I am the person.
“Apart from that, I have been in the legislature. I was a member of Kwara House of Assembly from 1999 to 2003; my records are there which I will bring out when the contest begins,” he added.
“I am sure that if you tell them that I am going to the senate, they know that I will do it better than all of them that have gone there from the south.
“Is it knowledge, or how to do things in the senate that they can do better than me?
“I am a lawyer, apart from being in the legislature, from being in the party structure, or being in the executive, I understand the judiciary as a lawyer, I have traversed all other areas.
“Who amongst them that had gone before me or are there now that can boast of such credentials? So, I am going to the senate by the grace of God,” he added.
Oyedepo said that he was one of the few that fought day and night to defeat the Saraki dynasty in Kwara.
“I did not ask for any position, other than to go on working day and night to ensure victory for our party, for the success of the party.
“Today, majority of those in power, either at the senate or at the state level reaped from our efforts. We worked and they reap from our efforts.
“Many of them didn’t do any work other than saying they are part of the party and they won, some of them even said they became senators within 30 days,” he said.
Oyedepo declared that some of them in the party have been working for 18 years to ensure success for the party and freedom for the Kwara people.
He added that before he became the chairman of PDP, he has been attacking the establishment in form of written articles, books, and petitioning the EFCC and ICPC.
“When I became the chairman of PDP, I am the first person to institute radio political broadcast in this state,” he said.
Oyedepo added that radio political broadcast was his initiative which he used to sensitise and mobilise the people of the state to vote out PDP in 2019.
“The radio political broadcast worked and that is why many of them are in the senate now, in the House of Representatives, they are in the executive in Kwara, they are in the legislature in Kwara,” he said.
Oyedepo added that he would roll out his plan as soon as INEC give the go-ahead for the political campaigns.