2027: I was told to spend N500m before contesting — Accord Party candidate, Olajengbesi

By John Alechenu ABUJA — The Accord Party candidate for Oriade/Obokun Federal Constituency, Pelumi Olajengbesi, has alleged that he was told to be prepared to throw away N500 million before he could be taken seriously as a political contender in Ijesa North. Olajengbesi made the allegation in an open letter addressed to elders and stakeholders of Ijesa North, both at home and abroad, in which he urged the people to resist what he described as an attempt to extend the tenure of the incumbent lawmaker, Wole Oke, to 28 years.

A copy of the letter was made available to Vanguard in Abuja on Thursday. Recounting his first attempt to join the political race, Olajengbesi said he expressed interest in contesting for the House of Representatives in August 2016, when he was 30 years old and had limited financial resources. He alleged that Hon. Niyi Ajifowobaje, whom he described as one of Oke’s prominent political associates at the time, told him that an aspirant in Ijesa North must be prepared to throw N500 million into a river before considering a contest for the Oriade/Obokun seat.

According to him, Ajifowobaje further suggested that an aspirant would need as much as N1 billion to be taken seriously. “I was told to throw away N500 million before running in Ijesa North,” he said. Olajengbesi said he subsequently assembled a group of young people in the constituency on July 11, 2017, to examine the incumbent’s political strengths and identify alternative approaches to representation.

He said the group produced a 16-page report, which he had incorporated into a book he was writing. According to him, the report concluded that money was the major political advantage the incumbent brought to the table, rather than ideas, innovation or inspiration for younger generations. “Money was the only thing he was bringing to the table. No ideas, no innovation, no inspiration, no storytelling, nothing to inspire younger people.

Just money without excellence,” he quoted the report as saying. He said the report also observed that several professionals and educated people in the constituency were dissatisfied with the quality of representation but were reluctant to support a challenger unless they were convinced the person had sufficient financial resources to sustain the contest.

Olajengbesi alleged that the incumbent had cultivated an image of political dominance that made some potential challengers believe they could not compete with his financial strength. He further alleged that Oke once boasted during a private conversation about his election spending and how he had dealt with previous challengers. According to Olajengbesi, Oke allegedly claimed to have paid for the return journeys of some aspirants based abroad and financially settled local contenders.

He declined to identify the individuals allegedly mentioned in the conversation. Olajengbesi also alleged that Oke dismissed the capacity of potential challengers, claiming that nobody in Oriade or Obokun could spend even 20 per cent of what he committed to elections. Vanguard could not independently verify the allegations, and efforts to obtain Oke’s reaction were still ongoing as of press time.

The Accord candidate said Ijesa North had many respected professionals and business people who had stayed away from politics to protect their reputations. He urged them to reconsider their position, arguing that the withdrawal of people of integrity from politics could leave future generations with a system driven largely by money. “I defeated poverty of the mind a long time ago.

I refuse to believe that a young man or woman from Oriade or Obokun must first find a billion naira before anyone will listen to what they have to offer,” he said. He maintained that his campaign was about promoting a different model of political representation in which candidates would be assessed on their records, plans and values rather than their financial capacity.

“When I was 30, a man told me to throw N500 million into a river before I could even think of representing my people. I want the next 30-year-old to be asked a better first question. What will you do for Ijesa North?” he said. Olajengbesi urged the people of the constituency to reclaim what he described as their political mandate at the polls. He concluded: “Ijesa North, rise now.

On election day, let the self-styled landlord find out who truly owns the mandate. Let’s make his money useless so that we can all say again, ‘Owo ti wo igbo.'”