A public interest lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, has challenged a member of the House of Representatives, Wole Oke, representing Oriade/Obokun Federal Constituency in Osun State to a public debate.

The debate, according to him, would keep with the best standards in practice for such elections and provide the voting delegates with an opportunity to adjudge or assess each candidate strictly on their individual merits, qualifications and grasps of issues relevant to the constituency.

According to him, contrary to his claim, Oke is not a lawyer and solicitor of the United Kingdom.

“Yes, he is not, and I challenge him to prove me in the negative. If he says otherwise, I challenge him to swear to an affidavit if I will not take him to court in 7 days to test his statement's sanity”, he emphasised.

Olajengbesi, who is running for Oke’s position on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general elections, said the politics of Ijesha North should not be for one man alone because of his money.

The activist, in a statement issued on Saturday in Osogbo, questioned Oke's educational qualification before he became a member of the House of Representatives in 2003 and what else he had acquired “apart from the political degrees that will give him the audacity of all in all.”

The statement reads: “Ijesha North is no doubt blessed with so many prominent Nigerians who have all progressed in their area of expertise. Also, in politics, we have paraded some of the very best especially in the legislative chambers in the nation. There are, nonetheless, so many more who have refused to participate in politics for the simple reason that they consider it much too fiendish and dirty.

“Overtime, in fact, for four consecutive tenures, the legislative ticket of Oriade/Obokun in the House of Representatives has been reposed in Hon. Wole Oke, no doubts by our great party, the PDP who trust his capacity to deliver. It is, however, puzzling to submit that Hon. Wole Oke is the only one fit for the said office in the whole constituency.

“I do not consider myself the most qualified or the only alternative in a constituency blessed with an abundance of acute minded men and women. I do believe, however, that I am pre-eminently qualified to contest a position that should not be treated as the sole proprietorship of anyone. Prospective public officers must be assessed on the basis of their pedigree and subjected to a fair contest for the people's mandate by the public.

“I am incredulous in my observation that in a constituency so richly blessed, that there is no willingness to improve on leadership by providing alternatives so far. I for one refuse to be subjected to a politics of servitude to any man's ego or overriding interest. I contest on the merit of my qualifications and good plans for our people. I have utmost respect for Hon. Wole Oke, I have respect for our party and I will always respect the decision of the leadership of the party, but I will not ‘lick any man's ass' as it is crudely said in local parlance.

“I make bold to say that safe for his money, Hon. Wole Oke can make no greater claim over me. This disparity in financial muscle has over the years been the reason why several intended contestants for said office have conceded their ambition to him. However, it is much too simplistic for a constituency of great intellects and wisdom to make wealth the primary yardstick to measure ability or competence. And that I can be abused by Wole Oke’s media team for using vehicles donated to my campaign is not just a shame, it is more.

“Yes, people are donating their vehicles to us because they believe the ideas we share with them for Oriade/Obokun. That should be applauded not ridiculed. Money politics is bad politics, let’s face real issues henceforth.

“It is in view of this that I hereby humbly challenge Wole Oke to a Public Debate organised by our great party in Oriade/Obokun and televised for general consumption. This is for two reasons namely, to keep with the best standards in practice for such elections and more importantly to provide the voting delegates with an opportunity to adjudge or assess each candidate strictly on their individual merits, qualifications and grasps of issues relevant to our constituency.

“It is hoped that during this much important Public Debate no stones will be left unturned as the listening public will be afforded the opportunity to assess my humble self and Wole Oke on the basis of our individual strengths or inadequacies. I am ready to present to the public my records and antecedents with factual proof and as a precursor to the debate.

“I am young but from a courageous background and I cannot be intimidated. I am no academic pushover nor a pretensive mushroom school-leaver. I have paid my dues in the academia, in the Nigeria society and intend to continually do so.

“How can someone say I came from nowhere and I am a nobody? How can someone say I am a boy? How can Wole Oke say I am just a school leaver in congregation of our electorates? Let’s have the proof tendered in a public face-off!

“I have built my personal life around ideas and principles acquired overtime and expressed in several articles and seminars. I am a public writer and a social commentator of note prior to my advent in politics. I have written several articles on developmental issues in Nigeria and Osun State which has secured me several opportunities to impress my opinions on both local, state and national issues.

“I am a public grant draftsman, and an entrepreneur with established interest in the sound productions industry. My sound facilities have been employed in major programmes nationwide such as a presidential campaign programme. If Wole Okes' doesn’t know me, he must befriend Google. It’s that simple. Who is Wole Oke before his advent into politics?

“Wole Oke’s records indicate that he graduated from my alma mater, University of Abuja (UNIABUJA). In that same University he claimed to have graduated from, I was a one-time Students Union President and I know the nooks and cranny of the system. My question is, what is the quality of Wole Oke’s educational qualification before he became a member of the House of Representatives in 2003? What else has he acquired apart from the political degrees that will give him the audacity of all in all?

“Wole Oke claims he is a lawyer but he is not, he claimed he is a solicitor of the United Kingdom and yet he is not and I challenge him to prove me in the negative. I have access to lists of lawyers in Nigeria and likewise, have facts of the United Kingdom’s bar and bench. If he says otherwise, I challenge him to swear to an affidavit if I will not take him to court in 7 days to test his statement's sanity.

“Please anyone who finds my words defamatory should kindly engage me in a legal suit. If Wole Oke has the entire power in the world and particularly Osun State to determine who gets what and how in politics, I do not want anything from him. Now, if a man who is not a lawyer, claims to be a lawyer what do we make of such a character?

“By age 27, I had toured major cities in the country and abroad in search of more opportunities to develop myself and improve on my knowledge. My aggregate years as a socio-political influencer through the moulding of public opinion has earned me several advisory and consultancy jobs with governments, private firms and individuals.

“I have worked with governors and well-established corporations on the implementation of groundbreaking reforms. Finding new ways to improve the lives of those around me is a passion that has endured with me through the years till date.

“My years as a public speaker and writer has been fruitful with my views severally published in print and new media. Till date, I continue to lend my voice to national and state issues with a view to conveying ideas and policies that best represent the interest of the people. I co-founded; four humanitarian organisations poised to make provisions for the needy and less privileged and a total of seven youths networks across the country. I co- resuscitated the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) becoming its National Youth Leader consequently and yet you don't know me.

“I am by no means the ‘small boy' that Wole Oke’s Media House would have the public think of me, except in the context of ‘ a small boy with a big God'. I do not hype my personal achievements about but take pride in how far I have been able to come over the years. Hon. Wole Oke became a member of the House of Representatives at about my age and juxtaposed next to my pedigree I daresay it is a misinformation to rule out my candidacy so flimsily.

“I throw this challenge for a Public Debate in the interest of all those whose mandate is being contested for in Oriade/Obokun Federal Constituency. The people must enjoy the opportunity to hear the candidates out, assess their grasp of issues that affect them and make their decision on the basis of merit.”

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