The Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Buruji Kashamu, on Monday received royal blessing from the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo.
Kashamu, who represents Ogun East Senatorial District at the National Assembly, paid a visit to the monarch at his palace in Ake, Abeokuta.
During the visit, Kashamu vowed to guarantee full Local Government financial autonomy if elected on March 2 gubernatorial election in the state.
The lawmaker argued that lack of resource control by council chairmen has been the bane of underdevelopment at the grassroots in Nigeria.
He also promised to raise thousands of business women across the state as part of “stomach infrastructure scheme” to fight poverty.
The governorship candidate pointed out that he won’t disparage the outgoing governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun to seek vote rather he vowed to “surpass achievements of all governments in the state.”
His words
“I am not running for governorship to steal money in government. But, I am thankful to God for what he has done for me.
“First, I want to pledge that my own government will be the last government that would hijack Local Government funds. I will sign undertaken in that regard. The problems we have seen in many states in the country is that Local Government administrations are not allowed to manage their allocations directly in a way that would guarantee development at the grassroots.
“I pledge that, my own government will never, be it four years or eight years, sit on LG allocations for a second. I will allow the funds to flow down into the LG accounts for the chairmen to decide on how to use it for the development of their areas.”
I thank the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo and his chiefs for the warm reception accorded me and my team when I visited today with my running mate and a son of the soil, Dr. Reuben Abati.
— Sen. Buruji Kashamu (@Sen_Kashamu) January 28, 2019
In his response, Oba Gbadebo urged Kashamu to walk the talk if emerged as governor in the interest of the state.
