A former Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Alhaji Lasisi Oluboyo, has attributed friction between governors and their deputies to greed and lust for power on the party of the deputy.
Alhaji Oluboyo said the Nigeria Constitution spelt out roles of a deputy governor.
Oluboyo, who spoke in an interview in Akure, declared his interest to become the next Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State.
Alhaji Oluboyo said it was greed that pushed some deputies to go against their boss, noting that the Nigerian Constitution already spelt out what deputy governors were to do.
His words: “It depends on the way you treat your master, and it depends on the way your master treated you. If your master is good, I don’t want to make any reference. You know in Ondo state, we have deputy governors that had problems with their masters.
“A deputy governor is not a spare tyre. The way I look at extra tyre, it is when the main tire has problem then you replace it. But deputy governor is not like that. When the governor goes for other assignment, the deputy governor steps in.
“In fact, when I was a deputy governor, I attended national meetings with Buhari. My governor had other assignment that was very important. So, I can say the governor and deputy are one.
READ ALSO: Nigerians and lure of Ponzi schemes
“I’m sorry to say this, some deputy governors are over ambitious. They want to be governor. Why don’t they wait till the tenure of the governor ends before they start nursing ambition? The rules are very clear. When the governor is not around, the deputy governor, steps in. The emoluments, the salaries, everything about the deputy governor are clearly stated.
“We are practicing written constitution. I don’t know why we misunderstood all these things. It’s a very clear situation, but greediness and fighting for what is not. If your governor didn’t give you something, that is his style. Otherwise wait for your time. We should have the habit of waiting for our time.”
Alhaji Oluboyo said the dearth of opposition in the state would make the planned coalition against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC not materialise in the state.
He said those spearheading the coalition were politicians who failed to perform when they held various positions as governors and ministers in the country.
He said his interest to become the next state party chairman was because he remained the best among the contestants.
According to him, “I’ve said it earlier that there is no opposition in Ondo State. If somebody is thinking that one party is coming to sweep Ondo State, that person is wasting his time.
“There is nothing bad about it, the coalition. This is democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of association, if two or three party comes together and form coalition, fine. The coalition at the end of the day, can adopt APC, I can assure you with the way they are going. I don’t see any sign of a coalition in Ondo State. Maybe they are doing it on the network. If there’s a real coalition, somebody like me, I would have noticed that. But there is no coalition in Ondo State.
“We, the seasoned politicians are not looking at the coalition. Our focus is on how to better the lots of the citizens. They are not there as far as we are concerned. We are not looking at the coalition.”
Continuing, Oluboyo said: “I’m a frank person. If any coalition is going in Ondo State, I would have noticed it, because I started my politics from the grassroots, and I’m not the politician that stay in the state and don’t know what is going on.
“I go home every Friday. I know what is going on in Akure here. I know what is going on in our State. So, where is the coalition? Maybe they are still warming up, or maybe they are still doing the activities in the inner room. But I want to tell you it will die on arrival.”