Lasun Yussuff has been enmeshed in the contestation of his All Progressives Congress (APC) membership.
The House election had thrown the South-West APC leaders into confusion, leading to comments that Lasun was not in APC and that he betrayed the party, a development that culminated into the attempted alienation of Lasun Yussuff from the party for about three years or so. Within this period, the Deputy Speaker chose to remain in the party to fight his course.
On June 7, 2018, exactly three years after he became the Deputy Speaker, Lasun Yussuff publicly declared his intention to contest in the 2018 Osun state governorship election, during the intra-party consultation for the governorship election primary organised by the Osun State chapter of the APC.
The event was attended by APC gladiators including all the state executive council members, local government party officials such as the chairmen, women and youth leaders, some party elders and all legislative aides in the office of the Deputy Speaker. Also in attendance was a large crowd of party members drawn from across the state. While a similar occasion had earlier been witnessed during the meeting with the APC state executives on May 22, 2018, the June 7 event was a bigger opportunity Lasun Yussuff needed to prove himself as the beautiful bride and pride of the APC.
Using the opportunity of the gathering, the Deputy Speaker narrated his ordeal in the APC, noting that no one had been vilified by the party in the last three year than he had been. That vilification, he said, came as a result of his emergence as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, though he won the position through an election held among the House of Representatives’ members.
How his victory could have drawn so much hostility, however, still remains a complexity that nobody has been able to explain, other than statements that another person ought to have been the Deputy Speaker and not Lasun. While Lasun believed that there were many House of Representatives members from the South-West who were capable of holding that position, no single nomination was instituted by the region’s leaders before the election and that made the contest a free one. The Deputy Speaker stated that he had challenged anybody to come out with a clear evidence of meetings held where a single nomination was conceded in APC. While Lasun was aware of the intention of Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila to contest for the Speakership of the House of Representatives, the latter had no priority ahead of other colleagues in the contest for the Speakership of the House. More so, the South-West leaders did not call the contestants from the region for dialogue and/or consensus, a development that made the contest open. At the conclusion of that election in the House, Lasun became the Deputy Speaker and the intimidation and accusation games began, with calls made for his resignation. He became ostracised and alienated from the party.
While speaking at the party secretariat in Osogbo, however, Lasun Yussuff explained that in the three years of the political hostility against him, he relied on God and had to show exemplary leadership in the party and in the House. With these, he said, he was able to survive the tempestuous political period and the evidence of that survival could be seen in the ovations and huge welcome he was given by a multitude of APC members at the event.
The Deputy Speaker explained that in the three years of his travail, he demonstrated that he “is a determined, committed and loyal member of APC,” adding that if he could face such political tribulations and still remain in the party, he has demonstrated successfully the quality of a strong party manager.
He, however, surprised party members and leaders in attendance when he appreciated them for making him to face the furnace and refining him to become a golden damsel, who could now launch his interest to contest the governorship election in the APC.
For Lasun Yussuff, the belief that he is the most qualified among the governorship contestants, having successfully faced four national elections and won to the credit of the ACN and APC in Osun State between 2007 and 2015, remains a golden factor, as this is a feat which no other contestant has achieved. With his experiences, Lasun Yussuff, without a doubt, remains the only candidate in Osun APC that can win the governorship election for the party.
But the Deputy Speaker is not a man to fool himself, and this was demonstrated when he observed that “all is not yet well for APC in Osun,” promising that when he is eventually elected as the governor, he would restore party supremacy and retool the reward system in the party in such a way that equitable distribution of rewards will be guaranteed through the party structure during his governorship tenure.
As part of his programmes, Lasun Yussuf promised to run a government that will promote sustainable livelihood driven by knowledge, agriculture and innovative skill building, adding that healthcare serious, engagement in productive agricultural enterprise, building of economically-viable infrastructures, women empowerment, productive and vocational education and provision of strong welfare and security for the people of Osun would also be given great attention.
According to Lasun Yussuff, the present government headed by his friend, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, “has tremendously done well in many areas of development interventions,” noting that what needed to be done “is to compliment his effort and maintain the legacy by critically reviewing the government projects and retaining the most active and relevant ones, modifying those that have not worked to optimum requirement and establishing new innovative programmes.”
Demonstrating that he is a strong party man, the Deputy Speaker showed uncommon familiarity and relationship with many critical party stakeholders in Osun State APC, many of who he assisted and supported to be appointed to political offices. He, therefore, called on all of them to reciprocate now by giving him their support.
Professor Ajala is the Special Adviser (Constituency Relations) in the Office of the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Abuja.
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