Dr Olusegun Osinkolu, is a Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress(APC) in Ekiti State. In this interview in Ado Ekiti, he expressed confidence that the party has a good chance in the 2019 election but warned against imposition. Excerpts.
Q: The 2019 general elections are around the corner. What is the chances of your party in Ekiti State?
The chances are very bright both at the State and national levels. President Muhammadu Buhari is doing well in virtually all the sectors, including those ones that were damaged during the 16 years of PDP misrule in Nigeria. The July 14 governorship election confirmed vividly that the APC is strong and command large followership in Ekiti. Before the election, Governor Ayodele Fayose’s boasts had convinced the public that it would be an uphill task for APC to win the election, but Dr Kayode Fayemi in spite of all odds and stumps erected on his way by the governor won the election. You could see the campaigns of calumny against him going by the highly vindictive white paper released by government that indicted the governor elect; but all these did not stop Ekiti from believing in us. They have seen the APC and PDP ruling Ekiti and they could know who was the best. Our people have known the bad from the good and they made a wise choice by electing Dr Fayemi. So, I am confident that we have a good chance.
President Buhari will be reelected through a resounding victory and the APC in Ekiti will win all the 26 State and nine National Assembly seats, because our records speak for us. Just go to the streets of Ado Ekiti and anywhere in Ekiti, people are already tired of the contraption called PDP. They are tired of one man tyranny of Governor Fayose and the last governorship election had ended that
government of holocaust in our dear state.
Q: You are contesting for Senate in Ekiti North and your people said you are from the same Local Government with Dr. Fayemi. Can this pose a challenge to your ambition?
Absolutely no. The victory of Dr Kayode Fayemi can’t stop my ambition, it would serve as a catalyst to my ambition rather than dimming it. The fact that I came from the same local government with Fayemi shouldn’t serve as impediment to my senatorial aspiration, so I want to urge those sharing such sentiment to bury the thought.
Dr Fayemi and my ambitions are two different things, so one can’t disturb the other. I am still pursuing my aspiration with vigour and I have a good prognosis to get the party’s ticket and win the election based on my acceptability among the members of the party.
The constitution of the APC doesn’t foreclose people’s aspiration based on territorial location for any elective position provided such aspirant is acceptable to his party and the electorate. Let me say this expressly that Dr Fayemi’s victory in the last election will help in propelling my victory if given the party’s ticket. Our party members are ready to give me their nods to get the ticket, having laboured so hard to launder the image of the party in the past. I was one of the few heroes that fought the party’s course during the long drawn legal battle culminating in Dr Fayemi’s first coming as a governor of this state. I contested for Senatorial seat twice in Ekiti North and lost narrowly to Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi in 2011 and 2015 respectively. In spite of the shortcomings in the primaries, I never betrayed the party by rocking the boat. I still committed my resources to ensure the party won in 2011 but lost in 2015 when Senator Adetumbi was represented as the candidate of our party.
Putting it succinctly, I have always been a committed and unwavering party man. I believe in party supremacy and that accounted for why I have been spending personal resources to put the party together since the APC lost in 2014 in Ekiti North. I offered myself as the rallying point during the trying period. I gave them a sigh of hope that we have not lost everything after the 2014 catastrophic defeat we suffered before the light came after the tunnel with the enigmatic victory recorded by our leader, Dr Fayemi on July 14.The National Executive Committee of the party at a meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Chairman of the Party, Com. Adams Oshiomhole and other party’s top notches like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja said whoever will get the party’s ticket must emerge through Direct or indirect primary, not imposition. So, if I become the preference of the party members based on convictions about my unblemished past records , nothing can change that, because the sovereignty lies in the people when it comes to election. Instances abound, where top elected official and Senator came from the same constituency. In 2011, the late Deputy Governor, Mrs Funmilayo Adunni Olayinka and Senator Babafemi Ojudu, who represented Ekiti Central senatorial district were from Ado Ekiti Local Government., among other innumerable similar political situations across the country. Whether I come from Dr. Fayemi’s local government or constituency can’t take preeminence over the 1999 constitution, APC guidelines and Constitution and the power of the people. This can only apply to appointive positions not elective.
Q: Rumour was rife that the party leaders were rooting for consensus which may consider zoning. What is your take on this?
As a loyal party man, I have promised to support the candidate adopts by the party in Ekiti North if I lose the primary, but I never envisaged losing out because the people knew and appreciated the sacrifices I had made in the past before the party got to this present situation. The last NEC meeting of the party held in Abuja where our national leaders, including President Buhari, our national Chairman and governors were present was very explicit about how candidates should emerge. Going by what was agreed on, party can adopt direct, indirect and consensus options, but all must be democratic. People must be carried along and that there shouldn’t be room for imposition.
The party had given clarification that consensus can only work where all aspirants going for a particular position agreed to step down for a person to avoid controversy or crisis and the moment there is no agreement, then primary remains the last resort and that I believe strongly that APC will do in Ekiti for all the vacant seats. I appeal to party leaders to conduct credible and acceptable primary in the September primaries for candidates with high acceptability among the electorate to get the tickets and record resounding victories for APC. I have no misgiving that our leaders at the federal and state levels will do what is just and right under this circumstance going by what happened during the scramble for governorship race. If you could remember, 33 aspirants collected nomination and expression of interest forms and the party didn’t deny any of them the opportunity to test their popularity. They didn’t force anyone to step down with
the exemption of Senator Babafemi Ojudu, who willingly stepped down from the race. If you look at the primary that produced Dr Fayemi, you would realize that it was free and fair and that was why nobody defected to the PDP out of all the bigwigs that contested. So, I don’t expect the party to impose anybody. All aspirants will be given unfettered opportunity to test their popularity within the
party.
Q: Your party may want to impose now that they are in power in Ekiti. Don’t you consider this as a possibility in APC?
The aftermath of the June 21, 2014 loss suffered by the party had taught us a big lesson that there are gains in participatory democracy. Our party can’t afford to toe the same path the second time. Let me say this, we are good students of history; Ekiti people are very sophisticated, they also hate cheating, so the consequences of imposition may be dire for APC. I want to advise that they must not contemplate that for the fear of protest votes from Ekiti electorate.
Don’t forget that electing a candidate in the coming elections goes beyond the purview of APC, it is going to be all Ekiti affairs, so we must be careful to prevent protest votes. In 2007, the PDP decided to impose the House of Assembly candidates and they paid dearly for it, that was what gave rise to 13-13 between the then PDP and AC in Ekiti Assembly which nearly crippled governance. I am of the humble opinion that our party must tread cautiously to be able to escape the banana peel, they must not go near imposition, because it used to ruin the fortunes of a party rather than enhancing it. Our party would have lost the governorship election if Dr Fayemi had been imposed and we thank God for not making that mistake.
Q: What gives you the impression that you may likely be the preference of the party while contesting with a veteran like Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi and others?
Well, I have a lot of respect for my brother, Senator Adetumbi, but the two of us have records in Ekiti North. Senator Adetumbi was in the Senate between 2011 and 2015 before losing reelection. He has a record of performance. Though, I have never had the opportunity to contest election before but I have a record as a party man in Ekiti North. So, our people will consider the records we have among them and do the justice to the two of us. Let me say without fear that I am not afraid of primary. In fact, I will be the last person to root for consensus, because I have confidence that I am acceptable to our people. Since we lost election in 2014, I have been going round the 56 wards in the district offering leadership and rendering helps to our people. Every December 13, I used to host the party members where I share Christmas gifts to them apart from emergency interventions I used to do for the party from the wards, local government up to the State level. The State executive had openly acknowledged my contributions many times, so I have a good chance to clinch the ticket anytime provided the process is transparent.
Q: The rumour of imposition is already generating silent crisis in your party. What do you have for your supporters as a leader?
I want them to remain peaceful, loyal and cautious of what they will say, because most of these information out there might not be true. I don’t want them to be rude to our leaders, either by their actions or utterances. They must wait and see how this will play out. They must be patient with our leaders, because they too are reasonable and they know the consequences inherent in taking the electorate for granted.
They have suffered backlash of protest votes in the past and I know they won’t allow it to happen again in our party. To me, I am confident that our leaders will do the right thing.