You have Barrister Akeem Agbaje a true born-blue blood citizen of Oyo state whose Godly desire is to bring to his people service of unequaled dimension. This 2019 All Progressives Congress APC governorship aspirant Akeem Agbaje Esq. in the past 2-years has been having wide consultations, talking to various groups in his political party APC with the hindsight of reviewed factors that made his party unable to win the governorship election in Oyo state which has Engr. Makinde as winner as executive Governor. and now he has spoken several times especially in an interview conducted by a Veteran journalist Sam Omatseye of Platform Big Talk with Akeem Agbaje as he said “Historically Oyo state politics is likely about interests, we rarely do party loyalty that is the voting populace we vote on sentimental attachment on particular candidate as it might not be that the person is the best candidate but the interest of the people is that ‘this is the person that they want’ and they close down on that decision basically.” On the issue of Oyo state not having governors who complete more than two terms in office apart from late Governor Ajimobi, he said “In Oyo state the incumbency factor is not a critical factor in an election as the election is there for the taking if the tide is in favour. It is more about getting the incumbent replaced like in the last election it was all about change in personality than who will bring more value from the opposition party will bring to the table’ And when asked about what he meant by change in personality as geo-political zoning factor is one among many other complex factors in an election for a Governor of Oyo state he said “ My guess was about whoever that is in government as some parameters are constant as in the prevailing sentiment which has evolved over time is that for you to win governorship election in Oyo state you must be an Ibadan man. If you take aside the candidate coming from Ibadan, then the sentiment factor comes in.” On how Ibadan politicians woke up to dominate ascendency to Government House Ibadan …how the sentiment factor evolved, Akeem Agbaje responded quickly saying “It evolved over time I think it was accidental—and it must not be the most ideal situation but that is the prevalent situation now. It is about numbers by the end of the day. The numbers are quite significant We have not had a candidate from Ibadan in a major party for a very long time. If you look at it from the Old Oyo state, we had particularly in 1979 Bola Ige won the election and his deputy Afolabi they were from the same Local Government which is the same zone Osun, which is the present Osun state, and his Secretary To-state Government -SSG was from Osun state. So, at that time people were not bothered where you come from. At the course of Chief Bola Ige’s tenure he admonished Ibadan people that they don’t have competent sons as their people were mostly butchers, traders and taxi drivers. So, that awoke the sentiment that we are talking about of Ibadan people who said if you said that we don’t have, we have. So, they brought in Dr. Omololo Oluloyo, a renowned Mathematician. The slogan was “he is our son let him do it.” That was when it started in 1983 unfortunately, after that we never had a major candidate from outside Ibadan apart from Alao Akala from Ogbomosho, we call it an historical accident.”
ON Bola Ige’s assertion in one of his meetings in his days as Governor of old Oyo state, in which he said that “who neglected Ibadan”- Akeem Agbaje Esq. “Numbers are quite significant, if you look at geo-political structures the other zones, the numbers collectively they are not up to the numbers we have in Ibadan to start with. Then, the unity that is required to even put up the kind of challenge we are talking about. The truth is that it has not prevented anybody from other zones from aspiring as it is never that there’s a kind of rule that says they should not aspire like Alao Akala tried it and he was successful when he attempted it.
Given his work antecedents, Barrister Akeem Agbaje believes that his lost to the APC flag bearer in 2019 Governorship election in Oyo state cannot be repeated as he and some APC stakeholders are now talking and getting ready for the next electoral battle come 2023. In this regard he is telling whoever that cares to listen to him that the errors of lack of party cohesion denied his party a smooth ride to Government House Ibadan. Yes, his record as former Chairman of Nigerian Bar Association -NBA has elevated his visibility among the elites including his pedigree having come from a family that produced his father who served the good people of Western region very well.
This very erudite lawyer has been elected as Chairman of Nigerian bar association NBA Ibadan branch from 2016 to 2018 with over 1,000 lawyers that he led successfully executed projects that alleviated. Given the fact that in his electoral ward 3 of Ibadan North west Local Government Area. Akeem Agbaje is a loyal and committed member of the APC in Ward 3, Ibadan North West Local Government. The moment he could not get the gubernatorial ticket of APC in Oyo state in 2019, he quickly rallied round the eventual winner and supported his party’s activities till that election proper was conducted. Now, he wants to create much impact by offering himself for service to his people by first of all participating in APC gubernatorial Primary election if that option is viable or via any other legitimate party procedure through which a candidate for Oyo state APC will emerge.
In his chosen legal practice for more than three decades, he has been able to display commitment as immediately after his NYSC programme, he joined the law firm of Agbaje, Agbaje & Co in 1992 as a junior Counsel. The firm of Agbaje and Agbaje & Co. was established in 1946 by Chief Abdul Mojeed Folarin Agbaje, who was later joined in the firm by his two younger siblings that include Abdul Ganiyu Olatunji Agbaje who later became a Judge that rose to the highest rank, retiring as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and Yekini Aderibigbe Agbaje who also rose to the pinnacle of the legal profession when he was appointed as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 1989. Akeem Agbaje is currently the Managing Partner of the firm. He has been a lead Counsel for many complex commercial transactions, including Alternative Dispute Resolution, ADR proceedings, Land and Chieftaincy related disputes.
The ebullient lawyer, Akeem Agbaje is always serious with human capital development so much so that in the 33 local Government Areas of Oyo state he has assisted about 5,000 citizens to live a better life with skills and economic empowerment to their credit.
He is humble and unassuming with much of his humanitarian activities tailored towards helping to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-not in the society.