Why It Will Be Easy To Dislodge Aregbesola – Hon Oke
Having obtained your expression of interest form from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State to contest for the governorship election, how would you feel if your party decides to impose a candidate for the election?
Let me assure that the Electoral Act 2010 as amended specifically states how a political party should elect its candidates for elections and that is the Quran and Bible of the process of picking a candidate for elections. It must be democratic, free and fair. There is no room for imposition. If there is agreed consensus among the candidates, so be it. But the party which I belong to, the PDP does not as a matter of habit impose candidates. I have contested several elections under this party, including the one into the Parliament and there has never been imposition and where there is consensus, you will find out that it is a true consensus arrangement. Let me also state clearly that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria does not permit independent candidacy. A candidate must at all times be sponsored by a political party. A candidate can only contest through a political party and that party is also expected to conduct a credible primary for its aspirants.
So how prepared are you for this process?
I am fully prepared for the primary election. This is the second time I would be touring all the 30 local governments including the area councils in Osun State. I am the only candidate that is busy meeting all the stakeholders, potential delegates and party leaders. They have had opportunities to hear me and I have heard them. I am doing my public declaration on February 4. It is a date with history.
How would you accommodate the two other gubernatorial aspirants if you eventually emerge as the candidate of the PDP at the end of the primary election?
The two other aspirants are my elder brothers. Senator Iyiola Omisore is my elder brother so also is Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi. We are members of the same family in the PDP. I know that within the heart of Senator Omisore, he wouldn’t mind to be a father figure in the politics of Osun State. We need the two of them to be counselors to younger generation of Nigerians. We are in the same boat to rescue our dear state from precipice.
What are your selling points to the people of Osun State?
My greatest asset is my antecedents of service. The people have tried me and have found me trustworthy of their trust. I have been elected into positions and I performed creditably and it is on record. Let me give you an instance. The joy of any parliamentarian during his or her tenure is to sponsor bills and for the bills to see the light of the day. The three of us remaining in this race are parliamentarians and I challenge them to mention the bills they have been able to sponsor on the floor of the Senate. I sponsored 10 bills and 4 of it received the assent of Mr President to become laws. One of the bills is PENCOM amendment bill which exited the armed forces and paramilitary institutions from the regular and international standard of pensions. Another bill that I sponsored which also received the assent of Mr President is State Security Services and National Intelligence Agency pension board. Let anybody tell me any bill or show us any bill they sponsored. Another achievement I recorded are the institutions that I facilitated to Osun State when I was in the House of Reps. It was during my tenure as chairman House Committee on Defence that an indigene of Osun State became the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Petinrin and he subsequently became the Chief of Defence Staff. We both facilitated the location of Air Force Base in Ipetu Ijesa. I also brought Armed Force Games village to Esa Oke and ditto for the Armed Forces Physical and Health Institute in Ijegun. I was working on Federal College of Education for Ibokun with Professor Ajeyalemi, who was the PA to the then Minister for Education. I represented my people successively and I am happy about it and I can tell you that my people were also excited about my sterling performance. This goes further to say that I am fully prepared sufficiently and efficiently to lead Osun State and manage their assets and resources. I am a young man with a passion for service and I also understand the challenges of governance within the context of contemporary politics.
If you eventually emerge as the candidate of the PDP, there are fears that Osun State is neck deep in heavy debt incurred by the present administration. How do you intend to address this challenge?
I am an analyst, accountant and tax lawyer. Globally, public finance remains the bedrock of governance. With my pedigree, I would exit Osun out of her heavy debt profile. I know the entire window; I have the tools and skills. With the collaboration of the lawmakers that I would be working with, Osun will wriggle out of its current debt burden.
Regardless of the amount being owed?
I am a realist. I don’t tell lies. Right now, I don’t know the exact figure of debt Osun State owes. I am currently conducting an investigation through the Debt Management Office (DMO) and I have also written a letter to the state governor to demand an account of the state. He is currently the governor and I am one of his citizens, who has the right to ask for the finances of the state and I also expect him to publish the same in the newspapers or pamphlets and circulate among the people to know how much we owe as a state.
Has the governor replied your letter and when did you send the letter to him?
He has not replied the letter. I sent the letter last week when the noise and hullabaloo were going about that he has borrowed N670billion. As a financial expert, I think the financial institution would definitely have some basics before granting loan facility to the government. I have a team of experts working with documents, facts and data and possibly a certified audited account of the state government. Let’s see how it goes from there.
Some say your coming from the same Senatorial District with the incumbent Governor Aregbesola may work against your interest in this race. How do you react to that?
That is in fact the biggest asset that I have, that is coming from the same zone with the incumbent governor. We have six local governments in that zone, with highly sophisticated electorate and large number of votes. If we give Aregbesola the laxity, he would take all the votes in that zone and don’t forget, he has his men in various local governments holding one political office or the other and they would fight to keep their jobs. I can tell you that if the PDP gives me the ticket, I would dislodge Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola out of the Government House through the ballot. I have the wherewithal to take on the governor. Humility is not a crime. That I am humble is not a sign of cowardice. I am prepared to send Aregbesola back to Lagos.
If you are declared winner of the governorship election, would you review some of the policies and programmes of Aregbesola’s administration?
Certainly Yes! I will reverse a number of his programmes because they are anti-people. They are also not sustainable. One of the problems of Aregbesola’s government is that he does not think through before embarking on these programmes. For example, how do you promise to provide free school uniforms to pupils only to turn round and compel them to buy uniforms from specific vendors? What is the rational for substituting text books with tablets, which he called Opon imo, in a highly rural state like Osun? If a student loses a tablet, he has lost all his books! Where then do these poor parents have the money to replace them? How has the Aregbesola government keyed into the Agric. transformation programmes of the Federal Government? These are questions for discerning minds. This governor has endangered the local economy by most of his policies and programmes. He simply does not understand the system well. I know him too well. He was my senior at The Polytechnic, Ibadan. Unfortunately, he does not understand Osun State. He has needlessly divided the state along primordial interests and this is unfortunate for a man who claimed to be a socialist. We have to rebuild the fabrics of this state as from November this year when a new government will by the grace of God be inaugurated.
You are a two term member of the House of Representatives. Some people believe that by now, you should rest and not seek elective office again. Is this submission far-fetched?
I did not go into politics in penury. I am a very successful management consultant and strong member of the organized private sector. I have a workforce of over 1,000 people. I went into politics for service and my constituency invested heavily by giving me their mandate to represent them in the parliament. While in the parliament, the government used the tax payers’ money to train and expose me to the process of governance and lawmaking. In advanced democracies, it is such people you allow to hold public office. It would be of total disservice to the people of Osun State if I should quit politics now. My people need me to render quality service to them. Osun people have been disconnected from their resources and I have to bridge the gap. Osun State is endowed with resources and human capacity. But, we have a total dislocation in the art of governance and management of resources.
No comments:
Post a Comment