Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Chief Tunde Temionu spoke with reporters on preparations by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the Osun State governorship election and how to ensure a credible poll.
WHAT is the chance of Governor Aregbesola in the governorship election?
If performance is the the main issue, then, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has no problem. He has the support of the grassroots and the elite in Osun. Bu,t if it is going to be another election based on high-tech rigging, then, one must be very careful because it is not possible to be smarter than the person who laid ambush for you. So, if the election is free and fair, unlike what we witnessed in Ekiti, Aregbesola’s chance is bright.
It is commonplace for students or workers to ask for more incentives by way of protests or strikes. It is also an indication that the system is not static. Apart from likely political instigation, the students and workers in Osun State cannot honestly compare their present welfare situation with what Ogbeni Aregbesola inherited. His education reform is in the overall interest of the state. The school merger system, with three principals and a coordinating principal, is strictly for administrative purpose, and not inspired by religion. It is only subjective critics who would never see anything good in his government.
They said that he brought contractors from Lagos. Lagos contractors are in all the state capitals. Osun is not an exception. You will remember that Aregesola was the Lagos State Commissioner for Works and a political player, whose leadership remains an enviable inspiration in Alimosho town and a symbol of leadership in Lagos State. So, most of his visitors from Lagos came for political consultations, not contracts.
After Osun, attention will shift to other Southwest states, especially Lagos…
First of all, I wish all the aspirants in the region the best of luck. And I also want to remind them that two persons cannot simultaneously occupy a vacant position. I also believe that ,as Nigerians, all the aspirants are eligible to aspire. In this circumstance therefore, destiny has a very important role to play. For example, Nigerians voted for MKO Abiola to become our President, but God said no. That should be enough lesson for us. Human beings conduct primaries, but God picks a governorship candidate.
These aspirants must accept the decision of the party and its leadership. The party’s governorship tickets is not meant for disloyal members. One thing that I am very sure of is that there will be party primaries. And that is where aspirants will test their popularity at the party level. So, aspirants who have all it takes to win the primaries need not panic and should trust the ability of the party leadership to conduct free and fair primaries.
Some aspirants are spitting fire, saying that, if they are not given the ticket, hell will be let loose. What is your comment?
It is not possible for primaries to simultaneously favour all the aspirants. But, it is possible for some people or a mole to have won the contract to destroy the APC in Lagos State. Evidently, apart from Mr. Akinwumi Ambode and Mr. Tunde Fowler, other aspirants are beneficiaries of the party. They had one time or another enjoyed the blessing and support of the party leadership. By virtue of their positions, they are all leaders of the party. And as men of honour and stakeholders, who are fully aware that the party does not belong to one person or a group of persons, they are like people living in glass houses, who must not throw stones. Although you cannot take human beings for granted, they are all party loyalists and positive people who are not supposed to be thinking only of what the party can do for them, but what they also can do for the party. I know some of them to an extent. Subjectively, by all standards, they are all qualified to be governor. For instance, I know Dr. Tola Kasali to be a reliable party builder in the East Senatorial District. No matter how smooth or rough the political situation might be, he can never be a party to the destruction of the APC. He loves the party. We both worked together with other senatorial leaders to nurture the party in the East for the past four years. Moreover, this is not his first attempt. Whichever way it happens this time, as a good Muslim, he will accept the will of Allah. He is not a violent person. I wish him well.
Dr. Leke Pitan is a self-satisfied person. He has never been identified with political violence or thuggery. As an elitist politician, it will take him only a short while to completely blend with the grassroots. Thereafter, the sky is his limit. Like other aspirants who have benefited from the party’s leadership style, all things being equal, he has the right to benefit again. But one thing I am sure of is, his medical consulting room cannot disappoint him. A good contestant must be propelled by variable outcomes. Should the worst happen, he is magnanimous enough to think of the other side of the coin. Moreover, clinical exigencies will not give him time for an unproductive project against the party.
What about other aspirants?
The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Adeyemi Ikuforiji, is a seasoned politician and the number three citizen of this state. By virtue of his position, he is a member of the party’s apex caucus in the state. Should there be the need for the caucus to take a decision on any pending matter in the state, including the governorship race, he would certainly be a part of such a decision. He has that edge over other aspirants.
As an astute leader and principal stakeholder, his continuous and positive contributions to the political growth of the party in Lagos East will remain indelible in the senatorial archives. In a similar vein, his leadership qualities and administrative values are reflected in the state legislative accomplishment. As a pathfinder, and a lucky politician, he was the first Speaker to have contested elections in a sequence, from the east, and the west senatorial districts. That was seen as a special dispensation, not an imposition.
His administration also established the first Assembly Commission in Lagos State. All of these are clear proof of a builder. Notwithstanding, all of these notable achievements could not have been possible without the support of the party leadership. Above all, with all of these progressive inputs of his, and all he has gained from the party’s leadership style, he cannot destroy the house he built because of any odd reason.
Senator Bariyu Gbenga Asafa is a gentleman to the core. His constituency projects and support for the grassroots were an additional value to the achievement of the leadership of Lagos East. Destiny catapulted him as former permanent secretary of Lands to the political arena and he became the serving senator of the district.
The Commissioner for Works, Dr. Kadir Obafemi Hamzat, is another man that I have respect for. Although he is not a loud politician, he has a solid progressive political background. The fact that his father, a commissioner in Alhaji Jakande’s cabinet, and who is now the Oba Mufutau Hamzat, the Olu of Afoowa-Shagade, Ogun State, is also one of the most reliable pillars of APC in Lagos State.
Ambode is a special stuff. His financial expertise and technocracy add value to his eligibility. His twenty seven years as a professional accountant and his civil service career were grassroots oriented. So, by virtue of his job, he has been a non-registered practising politician for many years. But, now that he is formally registered to practise politics, his political sophistication and broad grassroots coordination skills have taken aback those who did not see him as a politician before now, and made him formidable, and a challenge to his opponents.
