The unfolding conversation around the 2027 Kwara State House of Assembly ticket for Share/Oke-Ode State Constituency in Ifelodun Local Government under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has become one that can no longer be ignored by community stakeholders and lovers of justice across our constituency.
As committed constituents and sympathisers who have laboured for the growth of the progressive ideology at all levels, we consider it necessary to place the facts before the public and, more importantly, before the leadership of the APC, so that decisions taken in the days ahead will be guided not by fleeting interests or narrow calculations, but by history, equity, competence and electoral wisdom.
Since the creation of our constituency and the commencement of democratic representation at the Kwara State House of Assembly more than three decades ago, the office of Member representing Share/Oke-Ode State Constituency has rotated among all wards, communities and political tendencies within the constituency, except Oke-Ode ward 1.
One painful and undeniable fact remains constant: Oke-Ode 1 has never had the opportunity of producing the representative of the constituency at the Kwara State House of Assembly.
This historical exclusion is not a matter of sentiment; it is a verifiable political reality that has persisted from inception till date.
At a time when our people are becoming more politically conscious and more invested in justice, this long-standing imbalance deserves urgent redress.
It is against this background that the rumoured list of preferred candidates making the rounds, purportedly ceding the APC House of Assembly ticket to Oro-Ago, has generated widespread concern among party faithful and community stakeholders in Oke-Ode and beyond.
While every town within the constituency is held in high regard and remain committed to the unity of our people, it is important to state without equivocation that ceding the ticket to Oro-Ago at this critical time would be politically unjustifiable, morally indefensible and strategically dangerous for the APC.
Oro-Ago, by every fair political assessment, has not been absent from the sharing of political opportunities within our constituency and local government structure since the advent of Otoge and before.
Indeed under Otoge, Oro-Ago has had the privilege of occupying highly significant positions, including the office of Deputy Governor of Kwara State and the Vice-Chairmanship of the Local Government Council, which it occupies simultaneously at present.
These are not minor concessions in the political history of our area. By contrast, Oke-Ode township, despite its size, political relevance, population strength and contribution to the electoral fortunes of the APC, has continued to wait endlessly for its turn at the State Assembly seat.
It must be reemphasised for records purposes that the Otoge administration has always neglected Oke-Ode in terms of appointment, dividends of democracy and deserved recognition, even the only government establishment in the community, School of Nursing, have been relocated indefinitely.
To ignore this reality and proceed to allocate the ticket elsewhere would amount to deepening an already obvious injustice and sending a very dangerous signal to a community that has remained consistently loyal to the party.
The case for Oke-Ode becomes even stronger when one recalls the role the town has played in difficult political moments. Even though one of Oke-Ode’s sons, Chief Aro Yahyha, was serving as Commissioner for Works under the immediate past administration, the town stood firmly and voted massively against the Saraki political dynasty at a time when doing so required unusual courage, conviction and sacrifice.
That was not a small political statement. It was a clear demonstration that the people of Oke-Ode were willing to stand with the progressive cause and with the APC project, even when there were no immediate guarantees of reward or compensation.
Sadly, the party has not reciprocated this overwhelming support with commensurate political recognition for the last 7 years and still counting.
This is why the present rumours are not only disturbing but profoundly disappointing. Out of the four aspirants of Oke-Ode origin who indicated interest in the House of Assembly seat, one of them reportedly emerged first from the party’s primaries.
He, according to reports, distinguished himself as a credible, sellable and grassroots candidate. Yet, rather than rewarding performance, loyalty and popular acceptability, the rumoured arrangement suggests that none of the Oke-Ode aspirants is considered worthy of the ticket, while a candidate who reportedly came a distant fifth is being positioned for the party’s nod.
Such an outcome, if true, would be difficult to defend before the people and even harder to market during the election proper.
The APC must understand that the politics of Share/Oke-Ode State Constituency has evolved beyond imposition, convenience and backroom arrangements.
The people are watching. The communities are counting. The youths are mobilised. The elders are observant. More importantly, the opposition is not asleep.
With the leading opposition party already showing tactical sophistication by picking both its House of Assembly candidate and Deputy Governorship candidate from the Share District, it would amount to political self-sabotage for the APC to ignore the delicate balancing required to maintain broad-based support across the constituency.
To deny Oke-Ode township the Assembly ticket under these circumstances would not merely create disaffection; it could trigger a serious electoral backlash capable of costing the APC the seat outright.
Let it be stated clearly that this warning is not a threat but a patriotic intervention. Those who understand the mood on the ground know that the Assembly aspiration in Oke-Ode has moved far beyond the confines of partisan ambition.
It is no longer about one individual seeking office for personal glory; it has now become a community agenda rooted in fairness, inclusion and historical correction.
The people of Oke-Ode township believe, with good reason, that their time has come.
Any decision that appears to mock this aspiration or sideline it in favour of expediency will be interpreted not merely as a political choice, but as a deliberate slight against a community that has paid its dues in loyalty, sacrifice and electoral commitment.
We, therefore, respectfully call on the leadership of the APC at the local, state and national levels to have a change of heart.
The party must re-examine the optics, reassess the political consequences and return to the path of justice, fairness and strategic wisdom.
This is the time to reward loyalty, not punish it; to heal old grievances, not deepen them; to build bridges, not create avoidable fractures within the constituency.
If the APC truly seeks victory in Share/Oke-Ode State Constituency in 2027, then it must field a strong, credible and broadly acceptable candidate from Oke-Ode township, where the cry for representation has become overwhelming and where the aspiration for the State Assembly has become a collective cause of the people.
History will judge the choices made in this season. The APC still has the opportunity to write its name on the side of fairness, inclusion and political intelligence.
We urge the party not to squander that opportunity. Let justice be done to Oke-Ode township. Let merit be rewarded. Let loyalty be acknowledged. And let the ticket of the APC for Share/Oke-Ode State Constituency be given to a candidate from Oke-Ode township who can unite the constituency, energise the grassroots and lead the party to victory at the polls.
*Alhaji AbdulWasiu Ibrahim Balogun is the
Convener, Concerned Oke-Ode Community Stakeholders.
