Ahead of the 2015 governorship election in Ogun State, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Labour Party (LP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have returned to the drawing board. Correspondent ERNEST NWOKOLO writes on the permutations and issues that will shape the contest.
Ogun State Governor Senator Ibikunle Amosun has been making deft political moves since he came to power, to the discomfiture of the opposition and critics.
Amosun was senator between 2003 and 2007 on the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). But he was sworn-in as the governor on May 29, 2011 on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN). He defeated former administrator of Ekiti State, General Tunji Olurin (rtd) of the (PDP), Gboyega Isiaka of the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), Ogbeni Lanre Banjo of the National Conscience Party (NCP), and Rev. Jide Awosedo of the Labour Party (LP).
Prior to the April 2011 polls, the governor had also contested for the same office in 2007 on the ticket of the All Nigeria Peoples Party(ANPP), but lost to former Governor Gbenga Daniel of (PDP). The legal battles to re-claim the mandate stolen from him failed to yield the desired reult.
opposition parties and critics are not only having sleepless time regarding the pace of transformation in the state by Amosun, but are also confused because of the precarious financial position he inherited from the previous administration.
Daniel left a debt profile of about N49 billion, but Amosun had continued to fault it, saying it was well above that. A foretaste of what Amosun’s administration has in stock for the state was the expansion of the Totoro – Sokori Road to six – lanes and, particularly, the construction of the first flyover in the state at Ibara, Abeokuta, which the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Michael Gbadebo, likened its unveiling to the day “electricity, pipe borne water and railway first came to Abeokuta.” He lauded the governor for changing the “city from the status of 19th century to that of the 21st century.”
Governor Amosun has remained steadfast in turning around the face of Ogun through his five – cardinal programmes that bordered on building of model schools, more roads (expansion and construction), revolution in agriculture, clean and safe environment, return of peace and orderliness, jobs creation, industrialisation and improvement in the healthcare service delivery.
This did not come as a surprise to keen watchers. Commissioner for Environment Mr Adebayo Fari ascribed the feats to purposeful planning, focus and commitment to development by the governor and his team and as the support of the good people Ogun State resulting from “sincerity and credibility” that was brought to bear on governance in the last 25months.
Fari said: “We hit the ground running because we were aware of the huge infrastructural deficit on ground and so, this government is committed to further developing the people and we have been able to bring credibility to governance. That is why the people are in support of us. And because of population expansion, we are futuristic in planning and developing as evidenced in the types of roads and model schools being built in Ogun.”
President Gooluck Jonathan has also commended him. According to Jonathan, who visited the state to flag – off the reconstruction of the two sections of the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway, Governor Amosun “is a hard working governor,” and “has done wonderfully well” in his two years in office.
But Amosun’s most vociferous critics, Mr Ladi Adebutu, who recently joined the Labour Party, thinks differently. Adebutu, who contested for the House of Representatives in the last general election on the ticket of PDP, lost to the ACN candidate. He has not seen anything good in Amosun’s many projects, particularly, the roads and model schools in the state.
To him, they are not only a misplaced priority but also channels through which the governor is plunging the state into needless debt.
Adebutu alleged that the two years of Amosun administration has put the state in a debt trap of N200bn via loan facility. but he could not explain when and how the loan was obtained and what institution granted it when pressed by reporters to substantiate his claims.
Finance Commissioner Mrs Kemi Adeosun debunked the allegation. She dismissed the N200 billion loan as “internet loan,” which the Ogun state government never obtained. She said it is not even possible for anybody to borrow that kind of money.
“The N200 billion on the internet; maybe it is an internet loan. We didn’t take N200 billion from anybody. It is not even possible for anybody to borrow N200 billion I don’t know where they got the N200 billion”.
She explained that of the N16.6 billion bank loans approved by the House of Assembly this year, adding that Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s had only taken N7 billion out of that amount.
According to her, the state inherited a debt profile of N87 billion as at May 2011, but following the “financial re-engineering efforts” of Amosun’s team, the debt figure as at December 2012 has “reduced marginally to N61.640 billion.”
These achievements did not come about without some levels of pains to the people. Homes, shops, religious houses, offices and even burial sites were compelled to give way to the rebuilding mission in Ogun.
Amosun has acknowledged this momentary setbacks and sufferings severally and had commended the people for their patience and understanding, knowing that one can’t make an omelette without breaking an egg. He had equally assured of alternative arrangements being put in place for traders who lost their shops to roads expansion projects.
This, analysts further contend, would also complement the earlier gains when over 21,000 children of secondary school age, who hitherto were compelled to drop out of school, because their parents and guardians, could not afford to send them to private ones.
The immediate past administration ceded some public schools in the state to the original missionary owners, but later found their way back to school when Amosun reversed the policy and returned such schools back to the state.
The recent tour of the three senatorial districts was a test case for Governor Amosun. Although it was designed to enable the stakeholders have on the spot assessment of the projects being executed by him in the last eight months, it turned out also to be another eye opener to the political reality that, contrary to insinuations and speculations in some quarters, the governor and his government projects are not only well received, but also quite popular with the people.
In Ogun West, leaders of thought and traditional rulers in the zone, including the renowned historian, Prof. Anthony Asiwaju and the Olola of Ilara Kingdom, Oba Samuel Alade Adeluyi, lauded him for opening the area for the 110km Ilara road construction as well as construction of model schools for the children.
Oba Adeluyi and Prof. Asiwaju , noted that their communities, which were almost marooned from each other and from the rest of the state, would henceforth, be able to inter-connect with one another effectively through Ilara – Ijoun – Egua – Oja Odan – Ilase road that stretched over four local government councils in the zone.
The monarch called on his people to back Amosun with their “support and prayer” to ensure continuity of the transformation.
The youths of the area endorsed Amosun. Observers said the youth might have reckoned that the good job being carried out by the governor should continue because the basis for the their yearnings for the slot in 2015 is the development of the area, which is being met by Amosun.
The youth leader, Yomi Olojeloju, noted that they are not unmindful of the reality that Yewa/Awori people are yet to produce a governor since the birth of the state, but said the aberation was self-inflicted.
Olojeloju said: ”We must reciprocate this unparalled gesture by supporting Amosun to continue beyond 2015 and we, in collaboration with other senatorial districts, have talked to ourselves concerning Ogun West for governor project. For now, any individual or group of people nursing or canvasing gubernatorial ambition in Ogun West are seen by us as being egoistic and self-centered because there is no basis for such at the moment.
“We are very conscious of the fact that we have not produced the governor, but several opportunities to occupy the seat had come our way, but going through the records of past political activities, we discovered that we have always been architects of our own misfortunes.
“For now,we seem not to have the needed unity among ourselves, which can see us through such a gigantic electoral contest. And if God in his wisdom, gave us the incumbent governor, who has been performing well, even beyond our imagination, we should therefore commend and support him.”
Analysts said that the endorsement and accolades that trailed the tour of the three senatorial districts by the governor gave the opposition and critics away as ones not only crying more than the bereaved. They said majority of the residents are not swayed by the criticism of the governor, whose giant footsteps they see daily.
Amosun himself recently said his critics were doing so because they can’t give the state what they do not have and that their criticisms proceeded from ignorance.
The governor told reporters in Ilaro that his critics and detractors had thought that his administration would run into a financial cul-de-sac and collapse, following the massive capital intensive projects being pursued.
According to him, no financial institution would want to deal with Ogun State in respect of credit facility, but following the administration’s financial re – engineering strategy, it was getting short term borrowing to execute long term projects.
Amosun said:”With what we met on ground when we came on board, nobody would want to touch us with the longest of poles over credit facility, we have to take the bull by the horn, it is a cross we have to carry it and so we are borrowing short term and spending it long term.
“ It is hard and tortuous but that is the fact we met otherwise we (the government) will collapse. That is what they think will happen, because they believe that there is no way out but with the benevolence of God, the support of our people and our professional calling have stood us out in good stead. It is not only the roads, we have very good health centres we built.”
Expectedly, in the political annals of the state, there is no gainsaying the fact that many still remain quite grateful to the founding fathers for laying the solid foundation upon which subsequent generation of leaders are building to keep Ogun on the path of greatness, however, pundits are saying given the pace at which Amosun is transforming the state, he may go down in history at the end of the day as the builder of modern Ogun State.
Amosun told the people in Ogun West: ”We know that governor comes and governor goes and we also know that it is by what we do that we will be remembered for.”
But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state thinks otherwise. The PDP Chairman in the state, Mr. Adedayo Bayo said:”Amosun’s government is nothing to write home about, the people know it, the teachers know it, the students know it, he is not performing, this is an administration that is thinking of only white elephant projects.
“He is not thinking of the communities. You may come to our place in Ogun East Senatorial District. We have nine local government areas, but we are not feeling the impact of his government.
“They are not functioning because all allocations coming to them are being utilised by the state, that is why there is no developmental projects at the grass-root. When we think of development at the state level, nothing is done except destruction.
“Amosun is going about destroying people’s property and is not doing the right thing for the people, he is not thinking about our healthcare and education save white elephant projects where he can have billions and billions of naira to put in his pocket.”
But whether these criticisms will affect the outcome of 2015 election, only time can tell.
