By Damilola Kushimo
Alhaji Kehinde Ojuri has emerged as the chairman of Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) Estate Residents Association, Ile-iwe metta, Isolo Local Council Development Area (LCDA).
Ojuri was declared winner by the electoral committee led by Elder Samuel Agosu having got the highest number of votes.
In the keenly contested election, Ojuri got 148 votes which represent 77.5 per cent of the total 191 votes to beat his two contenders.
In the chairmanship category, Chief Ekeh Conleth got 23 votes to emerge the runner up while Mr. Adeola Akinyele got 15 votes.
For the Vice Presidential position, Mrs. Gbemisola Odusola beat her lone competitor, Mr. Ifedigbo Arjnzero to win with 141 votes to 28 while other categories were won unopposed producing Mr. Salaudeen as General Secretary; Mr. Hussein Kareem as Assistant General Secretary; Mr. Kehinde Abubakare as Financial Secretary, Alhaja Abiola Adeoshun as Treasurer and Miss Oluwatosin Oshinkayode as Public Relations Officers.
The election was held to chose a 7-man executive to take over from the caretaker committee which had been in place since January.
The new executive is to serve as the second decision making body in the estate to direct the affairs of the association for the next two years while the Board of Trustee remains the first decision making body.
Describing the electioneering process, the second vice chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT), Alhaji Ridwan Suenu who was among the electoral observers affirmed that it was the best election held in the estate so far, charging the newly elected executives to toe the steps of their predecessors and always put the people’s will before them.
The chairperson of the Community Development Association (CDA), Mrs. Afusat Oliyide, pleaded for synergy between the Residents’ Association and CDA to be sustained in order to give the estate a edge over other communities and facilitate greater development.
She, however, implored the new ERA executives to live up to positive expectations and do all to foster unity and love the enclosed community is known for.
Oliyide explained that the emergence of a Yoruba person as chairman over his non-Yoruba contenders was not tribe motivated, emphasising that the electorate made their choices based on the popularity of the contestants.
“As you can see, the estate is dominated by the Yorubas though, we have non-Yorubas but everyone was given the fair chance to exercise their franchise regardless of the tribe and during the election, people came out to vote. The electorate made their choices and as you can see all aspirants came to the fields to test their popularity.”
Speaking, the newly elected chairman, Ojuri noted that his previous years in service as the youth president in the estate gave him the edge over other contestants as he promised to address the issue of security and other challenges in the community.
His words: “The result shows that I am a man of the people, my people know me and that is why the result is like that. I am promising them that I won’t let them down. They know what they’ve seen in me to vote for me and I’m promising that before any decision is taken by the executives, opinions of residents will be considered, there will be accountability and I will let them know what their money is being used for.”
The inauguration is scheduled to hold next weekend within the estate.
