Dear Delegates.
I have chosen to write this open letter to you because in a few days time, the destiny of our state would be in your hands, or more appropriately, your thumb. What you choose to do with this opportunity fate has placed with you would possibly decide the fortune of our dear state.
Your decision would possibly mean whether we turn the tide against instability, poverty and the social malaise that may stare us in the face if we allow the opposition to take advantage of the situation and stage a come back or continue to make the kind of progress that would lead to sustainable growth and development for the state or continue on the slippery slope towards an unstable future of deepening poverty, social disharmony, insanity and uncertainties.
As you might know, the prognosis for our dear state is bad. After eight years in power, our state government has done a lot of things wrong, and these are enough and therefore there are calls for a new type of leadership that will build on this foundation especially with investments in some basic infrastructures and the social investment schemes in the state which will place the old and vulnerable at the heart of government policies and actions.
But truth to tell, these have not been enough despite the efforts of our outgoing government. The ratio of poverty is increasing and at a point if we allow it to continue at this rate, our state may be regarded as one of the capital of poverty of the country. It is shocking that with the abundant endowment placed before us by God, Kogi state ranked among the top states in the country with more desperately poor people with the poverty net getting wider.
The numbers of our out-of-school children is also growing. At the last count, there were about 600,000 children who were not in school or learning any valuable trade or vocational skills, which would come in handy. The prospects of these children looks bleak, and it is almost certain that they would not be able to compete with their peers in future. Sadder still, this situation may worsen the already desperate security situation in our state in future. Our state also face the challenge of ethic and religious division, which has hampered our efforts at forging a United front to confront our problems.
So, dear delegates, you can see that things do not look very good for state even though the present administration has done its utmost best. That is why the next primary election to elect the candidate to bear the flag of our party for the gubernatorial election is important and your role to elect the candidate is critical.
Whoever you choose to lead the charge of our party, I believe, is likely going to win the governorship election because, despite the enormous challenges that presently confronts us, the majority of our people still trust our party over the opposition to correct once and for all the historical challenges we presently face.
It is therefore important that you make the right decision, by selecting the person with the right character, ambiance, temperance, skillset, experience, and importantly, outlook to lead our charge in the next guber election in the state. And that person should be Distinguished Senator Smart Adeyemi (DSSA). He is a man respected across the length and breadth of this country not just for his eloquence and achievements in public office, but for his vision, empathy, and ability to reach out across the divides in the state.
Of all the aspirants currently running for the GUBERNATORIAL seat of the state, Distinguished Senator Smart Adeyemi represents the best hope for our state. He has been sharpened by the hands of fate and provided with sufficient political experience, compassion and skillset for such a time like this. Rarely do governorship aspirants come fully formed as he.
A moderate, Smart Adeyemi does not exhibit any form of religious extremism and ethnic bigotry. He is at home with both the Christians and Moslems, and tolerance could be said to be his middle name. At this point in our state when issues of inclusion and marginalization are at the centre of our politics and the source of sectarian conflicts, we need a unifier, a broad-minded leader who through his words and actions can bring everyone together and heal the sounds of division, hate, and bigotry.
Nothing can endanger the future of this state at this point in time more than electing a known or cryptic religious bigots whose agenda appears to be to promote one denomination or religion over another. Neither can we elect a wolf in sheep’s clothing with a subterranean agenda to promote one ethnicity over another.
As a senator, Smart Adeyemi has severally advocated and moved motions as well as spoken in support of the implementation of a wide range of policies that have boosted the economic growth and developments in the country. These policies have incentivize many private companies to set up multi-million naira businesses all over the country and thus creates jobs for thousands of unemployed job seekers and the larger economic growth of the country, this he will also as governor replicate in the state.
Distinguished Senator Smart Adeyemi is a tireless worker. Those who are close to him are aware of his prodigious work ethics. He is physically fit, mentally sharp, old enough to be familiar with the challenges of the state but young enough to confront them with sufficient energy and dynamism.
Beyond his temperance and character, Senator Smart Adeyemi’s knowledge and pedigree in economic management is excellent. He has many times advocated for a small government and reduction in the numbers of government agencies, among others to free up funds to embark on governments social security schemes and welfare of the people. This means he has the courage to do what in the long term is beneficial for the people of the state while ensuring that there is no loss even in the short term.
Dear delegates. Senator Smart Adeyemi is a party man to the tilt. He is not an emergency progressive but rather has been associated with liberal ideals from his youth as a student leader and later as the President of the Nigerian union of journalist (NUJ) and as a democratic activist. He is a foundational member of the APC and worked tirelessly to deliver victory to our party in 2019 and recently, the Presidential election victory of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023.
He is a man of high convictions and ideals. He is also a rewarder of party men and women who supports him. In the Kogi West senatorial district which he currently represents in the senate, it is still been said that it is mystifying how he managed to get everyone who worked for his victory compensated through one form of help or another. He is not one. to use local parlance, who would use and dump anyone.
My dear party man and woman, history beckons on you to do the right thing for our party and the state. Think of the future of our state. Think of your children and the kind of state you would want bequeath to them. Distinguished Senator Smart Adeyemi is the right choice for our party and our sure foot forward to win the guber election at this time. He is from the western senatorial zone of the state who because of equity, fairness and justice should produce the next governor of the state. He is not pursuing the governorship seat of the state as a bucket list, an item to be ticked as a lifetime dream, but an opportunity to reset the state and put it on the path of sustainable growth and development.
Dear delegates, vote Distinguished Senator Smart Adeyemi (DSSA) for the sake of our Kogi state.
– Usman Ozomata wrote from Lokoja.
