All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Raheem Tunji Olawuyi (Ajulo Opin) is representing Irepodun/Isin/Ekiti/Oke-Ero Constituency in the House of Representatives. He spoke with EMMANUEL OLADESU on his re-election bid, politics in Kwara State and preparations for next year’s poll.
s your bid for a fresh term in the House of Representatives not a violation of the rotational principle, which your people have already adopted as a convention?
Not at all. Let me give you the background of what obtains in our constituency. There is no standard rotational arrangement. I am from Irepodun local government which happens to be the biggest local government in the constituency. In the last 20 years, my local government has been the occupant of that seat, except for only four years when someone from Isin local government, Hon. Akeem Ayedun, was elected.
It is not because we are trying to dominate. Election is based on numbers. Irepodun local government has the number. Based on this, and in fairness to the smaller local governments, in the last primary, my local government, Irepodun, tried to push for the senatorial seat. Based on arrangement with the party, we were give the House of Representatives ticket. Probably, in subsequent elections, our local government would be given the senatorial seat while other local governing have their fair share of representation in the Green Chamber.
What have you done for your constituency? What are your achievements that will recommend you for a fresh mandate?
Honestly, if I venture into what have been able to do in the last four years, it will take a long time before we end this interview. It has never been so good in my federal constituency. This can be attested to by our political and community leaders. Recently, I held town hall meetings in each of the four local governments. Previously, only one town meeting was held and all of them brought under one roof. For us to showcase what we have been able to do, each local government was given a separate date. I reeled out all my achievements in terms of education, agriculture, sponsoring of bills, intervention for the widows, a lot of community projects.
In my federal constituency, it is unprecedented for a House of Representatives member to have sunk many boreholes, to have graded roads. I run my office as an executive office. I was able to do all these because of my leg work, contacts at the national level. I lobbied projects to my constituency. I have built several schools, ckassrooms; in more than 10 locations in the last four years. I have sponsored some indigent students; paying their school fees. Some people gained admissions into tertiary institutions. We have been able to sort them out. We did widow empowerment.
Currently, I have a bill that is at the last stage and awaiting presidential assent. It is a bill to establish a federal college of education in my constituency. It is most done. As I speak to you, a contractor is on ground for the building of a big stadium, the first of its kind in my local government. So, I have attached of capital projects.
I was surprised at the town hall meeting we held recently where people said I have done a lot in the last three and half years. A lot of our community leaders confirmed that we have not seen it so good. A particular kabiyesi from Oke-Ero local government said he has been on the throne for the past 35 years and he had seen many House if Representatives member and no one among them has done one-quarter of what I have done and they are still counting.
During the APC primary, there were conflicts between you and co-contenders. How have you been able to bring them on board so that they can work for your victory?
Thank you for this Important question. I am a party man. There is one think I allow to sink into my brain. Party supremacy should not be allowed to be overshadowed by individual interests. Those who were aggrieved because of the outcome of the primary, I have been able to talk to them to see the reason why the party has taken the decision. Irrespective of all the people, once the party has taken a decision, we should all come together to respect the position.
An instance was in 2015. I was the only aspirant who obtained the Expression of Interest form for the House of Representatives. But, the party leaders chose the late Princess Funke Adedoyin. They gave her ticket when she did not even show interest in that seat. What can I do? The party had spoken. A lot of people came to me that I should go to another party. I said no. I stood with my party and worked for the success of that honourable member of blessed memory. Unfortunately, we lost three of the local governments in the constituency. My local government, Irepodun local government, because of our size, gave maximum votes to project Funke Adedoyin. Here we are today. Whoever that is angry, including governorship and senatorial aspirants, we try to persuade them. We have to come together for the purpose of winning elections.
What is the assurance that you will be able to beat your PDP challenger at the poll next year?
In politics, when you are facing an election, you don’t underrate any candidate. Honestly, it is one of my cardinal programme that if I am going to win election in my constituency, it will not be based on inducement. Whatever I have been able to do in the last three and half years should be the yardstick to measure my representation. Based on that, my people will vote for me.
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I don’t want to exergerrate my potentials. In the whole of the federal constituency, nobody can match Honourable Ajulo-Opin in an election. Most of them coming up now are all my friends. We have run elections together before. I have defeated them. This is the second time. The third time is coming. By the grace of God,I am still going to return as a House of Assembly member.
How do you react to the growing perception that you and your colleagues belong to a rubber stamp House of Representatives?
It baffles me when I hear from people that we are rubber stamp. Some laws have been amended. Some laws have been enacted in the House that is anti-executive. We are not rubber stamp. We are working harmoniously with the executive. That is not rubber stamp. It is one government. We criticise the executive objectively. It is not every time you fight with the executive. We are supposed to work together. There are three arms of government. We are not rubber stamp. In the electoral act, it was the National Assembly that passed the law that excluded all of us as statutory delegates.
Many Nigerians think the current APC government at the centre should have done better. Would that not affect your chance of winning the election as it happened in Osun State?
There is no perfect human being. There is no perfect government. I won’t score APC hundred percent in all areas. There are still some areas to be attended to, in terms of security and all of that. The economic situation is not limited to Nigeria. There is economic problem worldwide. We just came out of Covid-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, we produce virtually nothing in Nigeria. We depend on importation.
In terms of infrastructure, this government has performed more than previous governments in the last 16 years. We may not realise this until President Buhari leaves. As a student, if you write exams and you are able to score 65, 70, you are good to go. People should be patient with thus government. The next APC government, Inshallah, will build on what President Buhari has done. Things will get better.
The areas we should focus on is our economy and security. In the last few weeks or months, the power sector has improved in terms of generation and distribution. We are getting there.
In the case of Osun, APC lost the state, not because people were angry with the AOC government. It was an internal fracas that we could not resolve. The PDP in Osun knew the election was not theirs. The matter is in court. Some fraud have been discovered in 479 wards. I am very sure the outcome will give us a true picture of what happened in Osun State.
What is the unfinished business you have in the House? What is your agenda for seeking a fresh term?
I have many projects I have not been able to achieve in the House. I got to the House in 2018. I tried to complete the tenure of the late Princess Funke Adedoyin. It was five months. I didn’t gain any experience in that five months because it was election period. So, in 2019, I was elected again. It was my first term in the House. I had to learn the ropes, how things work, submission of motions. I have ale to learn a lot. I was able to sponsor about four bills, several motions, co-sponsored some bills. It is like somebody who has gone to school and learned a lot.
I want to facilitate jobs. It is not the job of the legislator. But, there are things we can use our offices to facilitate. I belong to the Federal Character Committee where we check all federal agencies’ nominal roles. You see the lopsidedness in favour of some regions. We have corrected a lot of things. They have not come to fruition because implementation is slow. I can assure you that the recruitment process would be redressed.
What I have done in terms of empowerment in our constituency, no senatorial candidates have been able to do it. The empowerment I did in April in my federal constituency was massive. I am planning another one.
If I am given an opportunity to return to the House, I will be one of the leaders of the House. It is a lot of benefits to my constituency. We can even take a shot at the leadership of the House.
Why are APC stakeholders in Kwara unable to put their house in order? Why has polarisation persisted in the chapter?
A vehicle can only have one driver at a time, to drive the car. If everybody wants to drive the car at the same time, there will be a lot of chaos. In 2019, there was ‘Otoge’ revolution in Kwara State. Today, you will agree with me that the reason why they cannot resolve the crisis is that everybody wants to be governor in 2023. All the candidates of major political parties in Kwara State are from APC. That is the reason they cannot resolve. All of them wants to be governor. Those who do not want to be governor wants to go to the Senate. It is basically ambition that is fueling those crises.
Relatively now, there is peace in our party. I don’t think there is any stakeholder in the party who does not want the party to win. Those fighting have gone to SDP, PDP, NNPP. They are our people. The good thing is that the coming election is for APC. If those people have gathered in one political party, it would have been a disaster for us. But, they are scattered because of their interests and ambitions. So, APC is a party to beat in next year’s election.
Is it not confounding to you that Governor AbdulRaham AbdulRasaq are not working together in Kwara APC?
They will actually work together, I can assure you. The crisis is being exergerrated. Alhaji Lai is one of our major stakeholders in Kwara APC. He is a Minister of the Federal Republic today. In an election, he will definitely work for his party. Fortunately, Governor AbdulRaham AbdulRasaq is the candidate of the party in Kwara. So, Alhaji Lai will definitely work with me.
How is your Committee on Disaster and Emergency Management responding to the challenges of building collapse and flooding?
At our committee level, we have been able to mobilise NERMA. I just returned from an oversight function in Maiduguri, where we went to see some things, IDP situation. NERMA is underfunded. Government should prepare for disasters and emergencies, and not wait until they happen.
Today, if there is flooding in Lokoja, Kwara and Lagos, NERMA only have capacity to attend to one location. It is not done like that in America. There must be some layers of intervention. It is overwhelming. That why FERMA cannot resolve all these issues. They need to call in NNPC, Juliys Berger. But. We are doing a lot at committee level to increase budgetary allocation to NERMA so that they can expand their capacity. NERMA is only effective in eight or nine states. They are in six geo-political zones. It is incumbent on NERMA to maintain offices in 36 states of the federation.
You are in a vantage to know. Why are federal appointments lopsided?
I have mentioned something like that in terms of job distribution in the country. That is the work of Federal Character, and they are doing a lot. I am a member of the committee. We have engaged the Federal Character Commission. An agency employed 240 staff and close to 50 per cent was from one region. Why? The head of that agency at that time is from that area. So, it is not limited to one region. I have seen the ones that are favourable to the Southeast, Northcentral. But, with proper monitoring and enforcement, it will be corrected. Nigeria is work in progress. We have not got to where we should be. Definitely, things will get better.
How are you consistently adjusting to your status as a Yoruba northerner?
Geographically, I am from the North. But, ethnically, I am a Yoruba man. I think we are coping, so far so good. Sometimes, it is an advantage if something is coming to Northcentral and they are looking for someone from Yoruba, I fit in. If you are in the Southwest, you keep struggling with your brothers in the large Yoruba community. It is cool, honestly. Our forefathers who designed it that way had something good in mind. I don’t think it is discriminatory. So, we are coping.