ADEBAYO Shittu, minister of Communications, has expressed confidence that he would succeed Governor Abiola Ajimobi as governor of Oyo State in 2019.

Shittu made the declaration when he spoke with newsmen in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, after a meeting with members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, from Egbeda Local Government and Ajorosun Local Council Development Area.

According to the minister, he would take from Ajimobi to improve on the good work already started by his administration.

Shittu claimed to be the most experienced of all the aspirants, having held several public offices and learnt politics from the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the former Yoruba leader.

Flaunting his credential, the minister said: “I was a member of the State House of Assembly in 1979 and two-time commissioner in the state. I have also contested the governorship seat in the state twice before I became a minister.

“These are experiences you cannot buy. Oyo is advanced and sophisticated to be handled by inexperienced administrators.’’

Shittu said he was not intimidated by the ongoing re-alignment in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, saying the party was a non-starter at the state and federal level.

He stated that no fewer than 38 road contractors had abandoned work across the country two years before President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office.

The minister stated that the development had contributed largely to unemployment as several workers, including labourers, bricklayers and iron benders were laid-off.

He also accused the PDP administration of negligence and incompetence in handling the Boko Haram at inception, saying it was responsible for the magnitude of the current security challenges facing the country.

“Boko Haram would have overrun the country if not for Buhari’s emergence.

“The Buhari administration on assumption of office had evolved several efficient and effective strategies at reducing the threat drastically,’’ he said.

On the call for restructuring, the minister said that the APC was already collating views of Nigerians so as to ensure the people chart a new course for the future.

He said that the outcome would subsequently be presented to the National Assembly.

The minister said that the National Assembly was the only constitutionally recognised institution vested with the powers to amend the Constitution.

–   Sept.  18, 2017 @ 14:08 GMT /