Osun State Commissioner for Political Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, Taiwo Akeju, tells BOLA BAMIGBOLA about the chances of the All Progressives Congress in the forthcoming governorship poll in the state
How is your party, the All Progressives Congress, preparing for the Osun State governorship poll?
We have been preparing and we are ready; even if the poll will held tomorrow, I can assure you by God’s grace that we are winning the election with a landslide. Our people are ready for us and the achievement of Mr Governor is already speaking for us ahead of the poll.
But are you not wary of the threat posed by the opposition parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party, bearing in mind what happened in 2018, when the party led the APC in first ballot?
Where is the PDP in Osun State? Where are they going to have the votes of 100,000 that ex- commissioner, Kolapo Alimi, said they would win with? Where will he see that kind of votes? Maybe he didn’t know that gone were the days when manipulation could be done during election. There is no way; you cannot manufacture figure again. It is not possible. The PDP is nowhere in Osun State. The soul of the PDP has left them. The remaining ones in the political party are just there probably because they are taking money from their financier.
Remember, just few days ago, more than 10,000 members of the PDP left the party to join the APC. Imagine, Albert Adeogun, a former member of House of Representatives from Ile-Ife that represented Ife Federal Constituency, Asalu also known as Asler from Ejigbo, and Adekunle, who is from Erin Osun, where Alimi hails from, all defected to the APC. What will the PDP campaign with? The PDP is not saying anything to the people as their manifestoes in the campaigns they have held so far.
The people of Osun State are comfortable with Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and what he is doing and what he has done in the past three and half years. I don’t see the PDP winning this governorship election. The party will lose woefully at the poll on July 16. Alimi will lose in his ward and also lose in Irepodun Local Government Area.
The ex-commissioner you just mentioned, Alimi, said the attitude of Governor Oyetola, is not right for good governance. He said good heart and conscience that a good governor must have are clear attributes that the PDP candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke, possesses. Is that not correct and is Adeleke not obviously gaining APC members to his side?
That statement is untrue. I know Ademola Adeleke very well. He is my friend and I won’t deny it. I don’t discuss personal issue or personality. So, I won’t start saying negative things about him. But I know my own candidate, Adegboyega Oyetola, is better than any other person in the race at the moment. We are the ones that made it possible for Senator Ademola’s elder brother, late Alhaji Isiaka Adeleke, to win Osun State governorship election in 1992. He was my boss and we all worked for him.
Oyetola has the right attitude to governance. He is a born administrator and he is clearly one of the finest governors we have in this part of the world. He is cheerful, always serious about his job and ready to assist people. He is the best thing that has happened to Osun State.
He has made good name before coming to governance, having been Chief of Staff for eight years under the former governor, Rauf Aregbesola. He wanted to go back to Lagos to face his business, but he was drafted into the race to be the governor in 2018. I think by the time he wins this coming election, we all have to pray that the next governor that will take over from him from the APC in 2026 will surpass his achievements. He is doing his best for workers, pensioners, aged, royal fathers, students and other residents.
But a group of pensioners in the state also said recently that the state government owed them close to N50bn. What is your take on this?
Don’t believe lies. Oyetola, just few days back, approved the sum of N1.1bn for the payment of pensions, so as to pay arrears of pension left by the former governor, Rauf Aregbesola. Salaries of workers are being paid on time even ahead of the Federal Government, most times.
But are pensioners not being owed in Osun State?
The government does not owe monthly pension. What we have is arrears of contribution to Contributory Pension Scheme that we inherited from the previous government and this administration has, on monthly basis, despite paucity of funds, been apportioning huge amount of money to offset these contributions. Oyetola does not owe salary or pension. Go and check our records. This gesture must be appreciated. Also, for several years now, workers were not promoted. This government did that few months ago. How many states do you see promoting workers in the face of this economic crisis? Remember that many states across the country even owe salaries. Many even thought Osun State would go bankrupt when Oyetola took over in 2018, but to the glory of God, he has been managing the resources very well. Workers in the state are happy with our government and that is why recently, they endorsed the governor for a second term in office.
But the same workers are saying their contemporaries from the governor’s home town were given preferential treatment in terms of promotion and posting. Are you aware of that claim?
Those peddling that rumour should have the fear of God. Let them come out with facts, but as a member of the state cabinet, I can say nothing like that happened. The governor is from Iragbiji and you also live in this state, what is that special thing he did in his home town that other towns were denied? Just look at impact of this government on Osogbo, Ejigbo, Ede, Ada, Ilesa, Igbajo, Ikire, even Ikirun and other places. He is spreading the amenities and no town is favoured ahead of others. Those saying some workers from the governor’s home town got special consideration for promotion or conversion should prove it. I promise to protect whoever that passes such information to me. But I can assure you, nothing like that happened.
Some top civil servant were also said to be displeased that Permanent Secretaries were not appointed. There were also claims that the current Head of Service is due for retirement and yet the government is keeping him even without official announcement of elongation of service. Is that true?
No, I don’t think so. The state Head of Service has integrity, and of course, he has done so well for the workers and the state. He is a progressive human being. Remember, the governor is at liberty to hire and fire. He can hire anybody that he thinks can assist him. More Permanent Secretaries will be appointed very soon. It is a work in progress.
Reversal of some policies of the ex-government was also said to be one of the reasons many APC members, especially those known to be loyal to Aregbesola, were displeased with the current governor, who reportedly saw that step as a direct attack on the ex-governor. How is the current administration managing that before the poll is held?
Oyetola has never for a minute attacked Aregbesola. He has been giving Aregbesola the highest regards as a former governor and as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He directed all of us never to attack Aregbesola. Those behind this claim are people like (Kolapo) Alimi, and they are the ones that caused this so-called crisis between the two men.
Oyetola has never even uttered one word degrading the status of Aregbesola. You can show me proof if you have it that he, (Oyetola) ever insulted his predecessor. He is a decent man. The world can see that.
Reversal of some of Aregbesola’s policies was never an action intended to degrade him or anyone. The reversal was for the progress of Osun State. During the thank-you visit that Oyetola embarked upon after he won the 2018 poll, Aregbesola openly said it that if there was any policy that he thought people of Osun State were not comfortable with, he could reverse it and that was what eventually happened, even though Oyetola didn’t do it on his own volition. He assembled the greatest brains from Osun State and outside. People like Prof Olu Aina, Alani Akinrinade, and others to look at these policies, especially those educational policies. They looked at them and suggested to the government that those policies should be reversed in the interest of the state.
The reversal was never political. No doubt, Oyetola was part of the administration that brought those policies, but he was not the governor. After the policies had been tested and they failed, the right thing to do was to reverse them. Nothing in life, except change is permanent. I was not in Aregbesola’s government; so, I can’t give the reason why it opted for that policy, but I have never seen or heard of a state where all public school pupils wear same uniform in this country. The administration might have reason why it came up with that but the prevailing situation after few years showed that it did not work and the right thing was to reverse it.
Students resume school 7:45am everyday but you would see some roaming the streets around 10am or 11am. If you accost them, how will you be able to identify the school they belong since all schools wear same uniform in the state? Some of them would commit crime and flee. You can’t trace them. But now, just few years after those policies were reversed, we successfully rid public schools of insecurity because we identify each school by its uniform now.
Beside the single uniform, some other policies were reversed and Aregbesola’s men said the reversal was done to further rubbish the ex-governor’s legacies. They said Oyetola did that by hiding behind agitations by old students against school merger and renaming and other policies. How will you react to this?
Don’t listen to them. They are playing politics. We know them. Apart from the old student associations, everyone in this state except those that wanted to play politics with lives of our people wanted the policies to be reversed. You can also see that going by the peace we have around our schools presently now. If any student from St Charles, Osogbo or Ilesa Grammar School is walking outside, you can easily identify and differentiate them through their various uniforms.
Also, the education policy of 4-5-3-4 that Aregbesola introduced did us no good in this state. Other states in Nigeria are using 6-3-3-4. Due to the 4-5-3-4 system, we missed many grants. Funding organisations find it strange and were unwilling to relate with us. Should we choose to please individual at the expense of the state? The welfare of our people comes first. Imagine boys attending girls’ schools because of the merger of schools by Aregbesola. In another 30 to 40 years, those boys may have problem with their certificates. What this government did was not to rubbish anyone but to save the future our children.
What is the government’s involvement in mining along Ilesa/Ife axis, as it has been alleged that the present administration’s dealing with those involved in illegal mining was responsible for its inability to curb their activities?
I am not aware of Osun State Government’s involvement in any shady deal with miners. I am from Ijesa land and I have first hand information. I am also a cabinet member and I know what the governor is doing to stop the degradation of our environment by these miners. But we can do little because mining is on the Exclusive List. The Federal Government controls it. We, from Ijesa land, have been complaining bitterly about insecurity in our land. Mr Governor has no hand in the activities of the illegal miners working there. The Federal Government should be held responsible.
Ministry of Mines came to Osun and we complained about the activities of these miners, it was said that it could be done if the constitution was amended. The matter would be looked into. We sincerely hope the Federal Government will allow us here to deal with the situation by ourselves.
Ex-commissioner Alimi said good conscience remains a major quality a governor must have and that his candidate, Senator Adeleke has it. Is that quality missing in Oyetola?
I won’t dwell on personalities of the two men. Oyetola is a cheerful person. He is not a loud person but very efficient at his work and painstaking. He is my party’s candidate, and he is the best for Osun State. He is doing very well and has the capacity to even raise the bar. I won’t discuss about Ademola Adeleke because he is not my enemy. Political differences should not make us enemies. But Oyetola is the right man for the job; let him continue for another four years.
Can Oyetola defeat Adeleke amidst the disagreement with the camp of ex-governor Aregbesola?
Oyetola will win hands down by God’s grace and with the support of everybody in Osun. There is no division in our party. Nobody has left the APC except Alimi. Others are still with us. And I believe they are all going to work for the party, including Aregbesola himself.
But are you making moves to mend fences with displeased members of your party?
We are at peace with everybody. We want everyone on board to support our candidate so that we can win the election convincingly. There is no crisis in the APC. We don’t have any problem with our members because they will always support and vote for us. We are united now more than before.
