By PETER ANOSIKE

A chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Apena Ward, Oshodi-Isolo Federal Constituency 2, Engr Tope Noah, has said that the only way the party could win the House of Representatives seat for the constituency is to give an Igbo man the party ticket.

Speaking in an interview, the construction and project engineer with Reiz Conglomerates said that the reason for that is because the Igbos make up over 80 per cent of the population of the federal constituency.

According to him, if that is not done, candidates from other political parties would continue to win elections in the constituency and negligence of development in the area would continue.

He also spoke on other relevant issues.

Excerpt:

You are a Yoruba and yet suggesting that APC ticket for Oshodi–Isolo Federal Constituency 2 should be given to an Igbo man?

Yes, I am a Yoruba man but emotion and sentiment don’t win election. Politics is a game of numbers and in Oshodi-Isolo Federal Constituency, Igbos have the numbers. In fact, they constitute over 80 percent of the population of the federal constituency. They dominate Ago, Okota Ajao Estate and Ejigbo axis. Where you would get Yoruba people are around Ire-Akari and some parts of Isolo. That is the reason why All Progressives Congress has been losing the House of Representatives Seat in Oshodi-Isolo Federal Constituency. Even as I speak, the person representing the constituency is an Igbo man from Labour Party. Between 2015 and 2019, it was an Igbo man in Peoples Democratic Party that represented us and because this people are not from the ruling party in the state, they don’t make adequate representation. Like I said at the beginning, politics is a game of numbers and Igbos have the numbers in the federal constituency. That is why I said that if our great party, the APC, wants to win the House of Representatives election in Oshodi-Isolo Federal Constituency 2, an Igbo man should be given the ticket. The statistics is there. Figures don’t lie. You cannot be doing the same thing and be expecting a different result. So, we should look beyond ethnicity and sentiment and focus on reality.

Do you have any Igbo man in mind?

I have a very credible Igbo man in the person of Prince Nixon Okwara who I know if he is given the ticket, will win the election for the All Progressives Congress. Prince Okwara is somebody who if his name is mentioned, credibility, honesty and viability will come to mind. He is a de-tribalized Nigeria and a very matured politician. He is a very good party man and there is nothing like bigotry in him, very decent.

What is your reason for supporting his ambition to represent Oshodi-Isolo Federal Constituency 2?

Well, I have done my SWOT analysis and found out that his aspiration is a very viable project. I know that right now there are five people aspiring to represent the constituency in the National Assembly, Prince Okwara and four other Yoruba people and I want to tell you without mincing words that he is the best of them all. He has done so much for the party in the constituency and even beyond. He has assisted the party at the national in so many ways. A lot of people have benefitted from his generosity. With regard to leadership quality, when he was the chairman of Greenfield Estate, along Ago Palace Way, Greenfield Estate won the best Community Development Association in the whole of Lagos State. That was in 2014. So he is somebody who has been tested in various capacities and he delivered in all of them. Prince Okwara practices open door policy and inclusivity. So we are lucky to have such a man of timber and caliber in our party and aspiring to represent us in the National Assembly.

Beyond winning the House of Reps election, what other things do you think that his ticket will contribute to the party?

If Prince Okwara gets the APC House of Representatives ticket, apart from winning the election, it will rub off on all the other elections in the state and even national. He is very influential among his people. So if he gets the ticket, his brothers and sisters who I have said constitute over 80 percent of the population in Oshodi-Isolo would vote for our great party in the presidential, Senate, governorship and even State House of Assembly elections. It will be like using one stone to kill, not just two birds but so many birds, because his ticket will give them sense of belonging and they would reciprocate by continuously voting for our party. So, his ticket will help to galvanize votes for other elections. That Is the reason why I strongly believe that he is the best to represent us. What our people need is infrastructural development. We need help in de-flooding our community, help in our drainage system and support for our pregnant women, boreholes, pipe borne water and other amenities that will better the life of our constituents and Prince Okwara has done a lot of this in his private capacity as the chairman of Greenfield estate and chairman Ago-Okota landlords association.

What advice do you have for the people of Oshodi-Isolo Federal Constituency 2?

I want to start with our political leader, Baba Henry Ajumole. I want to plead that he should look beyond ethnicity and sentiment and use his influence and concede this ticket to Prince Nixon Okwara. Let’s the best man be given the ticket. This is very strategic. This will help our great party to win the federal House of Reps and other elections like the presidential, gubernatorial and even State House of Assembly, because like I said before, it will give our Igbo brothers and sisters sense of belonging. Prince Okwara is popular and widely accepted in the constituency. Recently I was at APC Stakeholders meeting in Baba Rufai’s house and I used the opportunity to interact with my fellow Yoruba people and each and every one of them had something good to say about Prince Okwara. I am therefore, using this opportunity to appeal my fellow Yoruba brothers and sisters to queue behind Prince Okwara. He is the one that the cap fits. Candidates are going to emerge through direct primaries, let us all vote for him so that he will win the ticket.”