Ayo Fadaka, Ondo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Director of Publicity, speaks with Special Correspondent, JULIUS ALABI, on President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and the 2016 governorship election in the state, among other issues.
Some weeks ago, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration marked its 100 days in office. How would you rate the performance of the administration so far?
The Buhari government can be likened to a kite that is consistently refusing to fly. As far as I am concerned, it continues to fail to justify its mandate. One would expect that a man who has doggedly pursued the ambition to become president for many years would have hit the ground running, but what do we have? A President under whose guidance Boko Haram operatives that had been chased by the administration of Goodluck Jonathan from our borders now operate blatantly not only within our borders, but in our cities! When ex-President Jonathan was visiting the neighbouring countries to set up alliances against Boko Haram, the All Progressives Congress (APC) criticised him endlessly, accusing him of being “clueless”. But what has Buhari done? Exactly the same thing!
Where is the “change” they so flippantly promised to make happen?
The only visible agenda it seems to have now is the corruption battle. We shall wait to see how it will be implemented. We want to see who will be tried for corruption and who the sacred cows will be. We are waiting and watching!
A government is propelled by policies it propounds. And as we speak, Buhari’s government has not propounded any policy to guide its actions. So we only have a vacuous government in place now. God will save Nigeria.
Considering the crisis your party (PDP) is facing, how prepared is it for Ondo 2016 governorship election?
It is an absolute misnomer to think or even declare that the PDP in Ondo State is in disarray. It is not true in any manner but a mere wish and desire of our opponents which of course will continue to remain a pipe dream. An APC victory will always remain a mirage in this state, as its new contradistinctions will constitute an albatross on its neck. APC will continue to remain a kite that will not fly in this state. This is even irrespective of the fact that it scored good votes during the national elections in March. The variable responsible for that fact is simply no longer there. Permit me to say that the number of votes the APC scored in Ondo is not in any manner a reflection of its spread and potency here, but because many of our people were sucked in by the “change” mantra that propelled Buhari to power. But it is going to be a different ball game in the gubernatorial election, as APC will again kiss the dust here.
With the exit of former PDP bigwigs like Olusola Oke, Victor Olabimtan, Femi Agagu and Benson Enikuomehin, how do you think PDP will survive in the election?
Olusola Oke remains my good friend and so is Victor Olabintan and Femi Agagu, both of whom I consider as big brothers. I have said before that it was painful for the party to lose these gentlemen to APC. This is because they were foundation members of the party. But we have since put their exit behind us and continue to remain cocksure that they do not possess the capacity to injure the interest of PDP in the state. The support base of these gentlemen that conferred on them the ability to effect serious political actions remains in PDP. So, with due respect to all of them, they remain mere flag poles that will merely flutter in the air. I however want to reiterate my earlier call on them to return from their sojourn to this wonderland called APC, (as) their kith and kin in PDP will forgive their miscalculation and reintegrate them. I remember that I also said that there remains another group that defected alongside them. Those ones have joined about six political parties since 1999; they cannot in any manner be regarded as any asset at all. Therefore, I am confident that we will win the governorship election in this state next year. This is grounded on the fact that we possess the political structures that will give us victory across the landscape of this state.
You were an avowed critic of Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s administration when he was in Labour Party (LP). Now you are on the same page as PDP members. How would you now assess his administration?
I am a member of the PDP and Mr. Governor was in the Labour Party. You would recall that there existed a bitter rivalry between PDP and LP since its creation because it became the only foe of our party and it succeeded in chasing us out of government. Therefore, it was normal for me and my party to be totally and absolutely opposed to LP for this reason. However, we are now members of the same party. All old acrimonies have since given way to a new spirit of camaraderie since we now share a common political destiny.
As to the achievements of his government, we all know that he has succeeded in introducing some dimensions to the provision of basic amenities and infrastructure in the state, the many markets he built came with a new vision. They are unique and a beauty to behold. The mega schools continue to remain unique. It is being copied by other states. In the health sector, there are innovations too. The Mother and Child Hospital Scheme took the maternity concept to a higher realm with a view to guaranteeing the health of mother and child and probably eliminate child mortality and also ensure that our women survive childbirth. Statistics have shown that women from neighbouring states controlled by the APC have been crossing the border to take advantage of this initiative.
From observation, APC is waxing stronger by the day and set to wrest power from the PDP. With the party already forming government at the centre, what are PDP’s chances?
APC waxing stronger in this state? I don’t know the indices on which your assumptions are predicated. Maybe you take the defection of notable former members of our party like Oke, Olabintan and Agagu as one of such indices. I will quickly ask you what effect they had on the House of Assembly elections in their respective constituencies, save for Olabintan. In any case, I maintain and seriously too that the APC has not grown to a level that it will seriously challenge the PDP in Ondo to a duel. People must also realise that the profile of the APC that gave it the presidency is crumbling very fast, as it is obvious that the Buhari presidency cannot fulfil its electoral promises. Today everybody is poking fun at Mr. President who is now commonly referred to as “Baba Go Slow”. Before the gubernatorial election in this state, the precarious balance that currently obtains in the APC would have tripped and its crisis must have escalated beyond comprehension.
People in the state are complaining of harsh policies of the state government, especially on new licence for motorcycle operators, Kaadi Igbeayo, Vehicle Emission Levy and several others. Will that not count against PDP’s administration during election?
We have to understand the underlying factors responsible for the actions of government on okada riders. However, before I delve into that, it is important to underscore the fact that governments of Lagos and Edo states have previously banned or restricted the operations of okada in their respective states for reasons they considered in the interest of their states, and heaven did not fall. Those states are controlled by the APC, hence I cannot understand the need for hypocrisy of the APC in this state over the same issue that they had executed and perfected where they reign. Now it is important to examine the reasons for the actions taken on the okada operators. Government noted that people simply ride their okada across the state borders to operate here without licence and also use the same okada to commit crime. There are reported cases of kidnap occasioned by the use of unregistered okada, and several robbery issues. Government therefore reasoned that in the interest of the security of the people of the state, all okada riders must obtain licence which is just legal. There arose a bedlam. I think all right-thinking people must ordinarily support the government’s position. Why must a set of people refuse to obey the law and some people are supporting them? What kind of leadership are they trying to provide?
On the issue of emission testing, I must say it is a new development and it is not an action restricted to Ondo, as Edo is implementing it in a more stringent manner. I understand the policy is a national programme and other states will soon begin implementation. Some have opined that government is using it to raise money, but that is not true. As for Kaadi Igbeaayo, government says that from its statistics, people not resident in the state are taking advantage of its programmes for the people of the state and this is because these APC states that border us do not provide welfarist programmes for their citizens. It is on record that hordes of people from Osun and Edo have benefitted from the Abiye programme of Ondo State Government. Even people come from Lagos to take advantage too. Therefore, government is insisting that if anyone desires to take advantage of its programmes, he/she must show evidence that he or she is resident here. Kaadi Igbeayo is therefore important for you to possess.