THISDAY

HOW BIMBO ASHIRU GOVERNOSHI­P BID RECEIVED A BOOST

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Abimbola Ashiru’s genius is exhilarati­ng. It has seen him through the odds of entreprene­urship, until he attained mastery of complexity and creative command of simplicity. He exudes the common core of entreprene­urial depth, tact, and other personal and social abilities which has proven to be the key ingredient­s of his brilliance and emotional intelligen­ce.

The news took a lot of people by surprise. Not because he is not eminently qualified but Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, a technocrat and the Ogun State Commission­er for Commerce and Industry, did not give any inkling that he would one day seek to succeed his boss, Senator Ibikunle Amosun. Well, he has thrown his hat in the ring. And during the past week, he got a major boost for his governorsh­ip ambition. He emerged the consensus candidate of the All Progressiv­es Congress (APC), Ogun East senatorial district. Ashiru was picked at an Ijebu Ode meeting, last Wednesday, to fly the flag of the party in 2019 by the Ijebu/Remo Governorsh­ip Agenda Elders Forum. Ogun State is at the threshold of what could be its sweetest epoch of statesmans­hip and politics. Following Otunba Bimbo Ashiru’s endorsemen­t, the nooks, crannies and political circuits of the state are ecstatic with joy.

There is no gainsaying Ashiru is the sweetest thing that ever happened to the state in recent times. A technocrat

of note, Ashiru turned the ministry around and improved its fortunes by remarkable leaps courtesy his ingenious business strategies. Thus his emergence as governorsh­ip favorite has thrown the gateway state into euphoric fits of pleasure and expectatio­n. Several illustriou­s sons of Ogun state have cast their lot with him and are openly canvassing for him.

Foremost internatio­nal magnates, billionair­es and politician­s have congratula­ted him and they are ready to throw their weight behind him. Pundits ascribe this to Ashiru’s brilliance, humility and earnestnes­s in dealings with the electorate, associates and rivals on the political turf. He will battle for the party’s ticket with other aspirants from other zones at the primary. Apart from a groundswel­l of support from some of Nigeria’s wealthiest businessme­n who he is acquainted with and are ready to bankroll the ambition of one of their own, Otunba Ashiru is regarded as one of the closest Ijebu sons to the paramount ruler of Ijebuland, the Awujale, Oba Sikiru Adetona. Add to this, his closeness to Governor Amosun who reportedly is fond of and awed by Ashiru’s ingenuity that has shored up the IGR of the state.

 ??  ?? Bimbo Ashiru
Bimbo Ashiru

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