>
The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Oyo State, Engr Oluseyi Makinde, has listed poor performance of political office holders in the state as well as the need to address unemployment for the youths as HS reasons for joining the race.
Maknde disclosed this at a round-table programme at the Press Centre, Iyaganku, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital at the weekend. The programme was organized by the state.s chapter of League of Veteran Journalists.
He said: “As much as I have made it as a decision not to criticize the former administrations in the state, I have observed that the past governments underachieved in the course of my interaction with our people politically in the last 13 years and this informed my decision to join the race.
“The concern of everybody in our society today should be that how do we face the biggest threat confronting us-grinding poverty, add it to the population of our youth, who would discount the future if they are not taken into consideration.”
Earlier, the Chairman of the league, Mr Kola Animasaun, said the programme was conceptualized to provide a platform for all governorship candidates in the state to intimate the electorate with the programmes they intend to execute if they are elected.
Animasaun called for domestication of the peace accord signed in Abuja last month by the presidential candidates of the various political parties. He said the same accord should be extended to all the states of the federation among the various governorship candidates.
The veteran journalist explained that the idea became imperative in view of the pockets of violence in some of the states during ongoing electioneering campaigns.
He equally asked the security agents to maintain highest degree of impartiality in the discharge of their duties to ensure a level-playing field for all the contestants.