National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prof. WALE OLADIPO, talks to Special Correspondent, IDU JUDE, on developments in Osun State ahead of the August 9 governorship election in the state…
What is your reaction to alleged violence in Ile-Ife where Osun PDP governorship candidate hails from?
Prof. Wale OladipoI want to condemn, in its entirety, the spate of violence that the APC has unleashed on Ile-Ife in the past few days. They have been looting shops, burning shops, maiming people, running around with dangerous weapons. I am calling on the police, the civil defence and other security agencies to quickly wade in and arrest those who are maiming people. Ife is known for peace, and we will continue to preach peace. However, we will not allow people, particularly the All Progressives Congress (APC), who are pained from their inglorious performance in Ekiti. Having seen the kind of support our candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, is enjoying, they are jittery and they are trying to do everything to ensure that this election doesn’t hold. They know that what befell them in Ekiti is about to befall them again in Osun. Therefore, they are perpetrating violence.
I make bold to say that come August 9, Omisore of the PDP will convincingly defeat Governor Rauf Aregbesola (APC). We believe in one-man-one-vote; one-youth-one-vote, and such can only be realised in a peaceful environment. They were stopped on their tracks when they tried to perpetrate violence in Ekiti during the elections. I am calling on the federal authorities to also provide the same level of security during the forth-coming election in Osun.
APC is a minority in Ife. Omisore is from Ife. I am from Ife. We know the political colouration of Ile-Ife. Go and find out; every governor that has won a clean election in that state usually gets at least 30 per cent of his votes from Ife. The APC people are conscious of this. They have been rejected by Ife people; so they want to create a scenario that is similar to how Aregbesola came in through the back door.
You will recollect that the entire votes of Ile-Ife were cancelled by the Court of Appeal for Aregbesola to have majority of votes. I think they are trying to play the same scenario, creating problem in Ife; so that there will be no voting in Ife.
There are insinuations from the opposition that the replacement of the Osun Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Ambassador Rufus Akeju, is to pave way for PDP to win the governorship election in the state…
A court of competent jurisdiction questioned the neutrality of Akeju, yet the APC people were just defending. Why must you be particular about a REC conducting elections, unless you have a deal with him? If Akeju is moved and another person is brought in, why should they cry? Do they have an arrangement with Akeju? Akeju is not complaining. Why is Lai Mohammed complaining? The credibility of an election depends on the neutrality of the electoral umpire. It was obvious that Akeju could not be neutral. He was an aide to Bola Tinubu and was representing him at public functions. The court said he should not conduct the 2011 elections which they claimed they won with a landslide when he eventually conducted it. They want him to conduct elections again? No, INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) has done the right thing and I don’t think the APC is questioning the neutrality and integrity of the new man Segun Agbaje that was brought to Osun to conduct this election. Why should they cry unless they have something to hide? As for us, we want a clean, free and fair election in Osun, and with every sense of responsibility, I am confident that the PDP will win hands down.
People are tired of all these imported politicians. The economy of Osun is now comatose. I have small businesses in Osun. They are no longer thriving because all services are outsold to Lagos; all contractors are from Lagos. That was what Ekiti people have rejected and that is what the good people of Osun are going to reject come August 9. Only a neutral umpire can mid-wife that, and that is what INEC is doing. We are not complaining. If they complain, that is their problem.
Your candidate, Iyiola Omisore, is accused of being afraid of his own past. How is this going to impact on his chances?
You will recollect that this present governor that is running his mouth now once said that immediately PDP presents Omisore, he will go and sleep. Why is he now having sleepless nights? Why is he now in need of sleeping pills when we have done what he asked us to do? Why is it that he is agitated? Why is he being jittery?
Let him show a single picture of any wounded person following Omisore. Omisore is followed by lawful security officers like any other candidate. He has nothing to be afraid of. Omisore is on ground. He knows the terrain of Osun. He is visiting from village to village, ward to ward. If he is visiting a village, only people from that village are allowed to meet with him. We don’t rent crowd, we don’t need area boys from under the bridge in Lagos before we campaign in Osun. We have been there for long, we know the terrain, we know their needs, we share their pains. So, Omisore is not afraid of anybody. Why is Aregbesola suddenly sleepless? When we produced Ayo Fayose, you would recall that (Kayode) Fayemi started shouting, questioning why PDP should put up Fayose. You know the result. It is going to be the same sort of result. I am telling you confidently because we know the terrain. (Rauf) Aregbesola is at loggerheads with civil servants. Higher institutions in Osun have been on strike for six months now. Local government workers don’t get paid, teachers are not paid. The highest ranking traditional ruler in Yoruba land is domiciled in Osun, the Ooni of Ife. Aregbesola has not deemed it fit to call a meeting of the traditional council since he became the governor of that state. How can such a man hope to win election in Osun? He can say anything, but I am telling you that the PDP will win and will win convincingly, just like we did in Ekiti. We are serious about it. We want to liberate the South West. We want to be in the mainstream of Nigerian politics. We want to return there. We were chased out of it by the judiciary. We are on our way back. Fayose is the governor-elect of Ekiti. I am assuring you that by the special grace of God, come August 9, Omisore will be the governor-elect of Osun State. That will be preparatory to the battle in Oyo, Ogun and Lagos next year. By the special grace of God, for the presidential election, I am convinced the PDP candidate will also win.
There has been an issue between you and Olagunsoye Oyinlola over your endorsement by the South West caucus of the PDP to fill in the slot of National Secretary zoned to the zone. What are you doing to accommodate all?
We are talking, Oyinlola is my big brother. Luckily, I am a prince. He is also a prince. So I am sure he will not do anything to jeopardise the chances of the PDP. On the issue of national secretary, I have enough brain in my head to know better than to comment on something that is before the court of this country. However, I thank the South West leaders for the confidence they reposed in me, and I promise not to betray that trust. Luckily, under my watch, we have won Ekiti. Under my watch, by the grace of God, we will win Osun, and under my watch, by the special grace of God, the South West will give solid votes that will ensure that the transformation agenda of Mr. President continues beyond 2015.
Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, was quoted to have said in a recent interview that militarisation of Ekiti helped PDP win at the poll, expressing fears that if the same kind of security forces are mobilised for Osun, it might also favour the PDP. He also insisted that the president should detach himself from funding of PDP candidates in elections. What is your reaction to this?
First and foremost, as the national secretary of this party, I make bold to say that the presidency doesn’t in any way get involved in funding our campaigns. I make bold to say that PDP is a grassroots party. This is the only party you find in every village in this country, and we have legitimate means of raising funds for our needs. It is a party that is not dominated by a single individual; a party that is people-oriented and that will always get people to contribute to campaign funds legitimately. That is what we have been doing. I really pity Amaechi.
I think he is in a state of complete confusion and I won’t blame him. He has seen the futility of the political steps he has taken. He is unpopular in Rivers State. Under his nose, the president is waxing stronger. Our members there, led by our deputy national chairman, are mobilising the people. The people are following him. They are deserting Amaechi. It is natural for Amaechi to start running his mouth. On militarisation of elections, of course, those who want to use violence to win will always complain about the presence of security agents. But if you have absolutely nothing to do with violence, you have nothing to fear. In fact, the law says soldiers cannot stay in the polling unit, and they were not there. They were just in other areas to stop people from moving weapons, illicit money and thugs across borders. Why are they concerned? They used the judiciary in the past to take away states. They want to use violence this time, thinking that the federal government will just fold its arms and they will start killing and maiming people. The number one duty of a responsible government is to provide security and that is what this government is doing. The same level of security was provided in Anambra State, and we lost. We lost in Ondo as well. The problem with APC is that if they win, the election is clean and there is no problem; but when they lose, they start talking rubbish. Amaechi should simply retrace his steps, go back and beg those who made him. People like Dr. Peter Odili made him. I know him very well. He was Speaker, Rivers House of Assembly, for eight good years. Later, he became governor. They should learn to thank God.
There are insinuations that former President Olusegun Obasanjo will not campaign for Jonathan in 2015 because of a single term pact between them. What is your take on this?
The president has not declared his candidature. So we will cross that bridge when we get there. The transformation agenda is capable of taking this country to the next level. On a personal note, I want him to continue beyond 2015. But it is the prerogative of the president to decide if he is going to run or not. For those of us in the South West, we have met and said he should run. If he runs, I will be so happy, and I am sure that Obasanjo will be happy too. God has been merciful to him. He is my father. I am sure he is PDP to the core. God has been gracious to him to be President for eight years. He is a father to all of us in South West PDP. I am sure that what we, his children, want is what he will do. We are in complete harmony with this president. We love him, and he loves us.