Date: 2018-08-24

An aspirant for Kwara Central Senatorial District on the platform of the APC, Dr. Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe, has said he is contesting for the position to help in the restoration of Ilorin's value and heritage which have been eroded in the last 15 years.

Oloriegbe, who said this during an interview with our correspondent in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, added that the people of the ancient town had lost their Islamic value and heritage.

He said Kwara State as a whole and Ilorin in particular has not had leaders who understood its value and heritage in the last 15 years.

"Ilorin used to be a hard working environment in the past. But everything has changed in the last 15 years as a result of lack of meaningful development in the society. Kwara State is ranked number five in terms of revenue generation in Nigeria. But there is nothing to show for the revenue being generated.

"I am not contesting to get money because I have worked within and outside Nigeria in the last 30 years and I have what can sustain me comfortably. But I am leaving my comfort zone to go to uncomfortable zone of politics for the sake of my people," Oloriegbe said.

Speaking on the choice of the APC as platform to contest, he said he believed in the party's manifesto and President Muhammadu Buhari.

Oloriegbe added that he had been a progressive all his life, having served under late Muhammed Lawal as majority leader of the State House of Assembly.

Oloriegbe expressed optimism that the APC would win the 2019 elections, adding that the recent defection had not affected the party's fortune.