Tag: Odigie Oyegun

National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie Oyegun in this interview with journalists in Benin City, declared that the governorship candidate of his party in the September 10 governorship election in Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, will defeat whoever becomes the candidate of the PDP in the forthcoming governorship election. He said one of the PDP candidates; Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu was part of those who ran the state down for eight years during the administration of Governor Lucky Igbinedion. He also spoke on the crisis in the Ondo APC and other national issues, reports Simon Ebegbulem, Benin City

THE Edo State governorship election is less than two weeks away, how optimistic are you that your party will win?

Our campaign has been very good, there was a period of drama but all that is behind us and the arguments are very clear irrespective of whatever individual issues there must be and there have been. The issue is simple, we have had the APC in government for seven years plus, before that, we had PDP in government in Edo State for 10 years and the little I have been around, you can hardly see anybody who can point to any single substantial development in the 10 years of PDP compared with the almost eight years of APC under Oshiomhole and that in-fact decides the issue. When you ask people, what is your preference, do you want the good times to continue or do you want to revert to the bad old days, the issue becomes very clear and then you get a resounding let the good days continue and that is where the debate rests and the result has been very good. Yes, there was a bit of time when there were all sorts of discordant tunes as a result of group interests, personal interests but all that have been sorted out now. I think we are roaring down to a very substantial victory, no doubt at all.

But people see the PDP candidate as a politician who can upset your candidate, Obaseki?

Again we are back to the same odious comparison for most of the ten years Ize-Iyamu was at the heart of the mis-governance of this state. For a total period of eight, out of the ten years of non performance, at a time also when funds from the excess crude account were being disbursed, there wasn’t a single and I stand to be challenged in those eight years, one single item of solid development in Edo State in those eight years. He was one of the most powerful people in that administration. Now that times are hard, is that the kind of person anybody would want to bring back to manage the affairs of this state? The answer is clearly no. Meanwhile, you have a Godwin Obaseki who has been at the heart of the management of the economy of this state throughout this hard time and everybody attests to that that he was at the heart of the economic management of the state, the result is that out of the 36 states of the country, over 22 are unable to pay salaries and Edo State is not one of them. Out of the 36 states of this nation, Edo State is one of those that are still continuing with development projects, Edo State has remained one of the fundamental ones that have tremendous development in the field of infrastructure and he was at the head, so what kind of man do we need to lead the state through this hard times; the person of-course is Obaseki who was very successful in the private sector and then came to Edo State to help out and have distinguished himself by making Edo State one of the very few states that is keeping its obligation and at the same time continue to work in developing the economy. So, we are lucky that we have an Obaseki available for us in the state and my appeal has been clear, there is no choice at all apart from Obaseki. Ize-Iyamu everybody will tell you was even as influential as Igbinedion in that administration. They ran the state economy down, sold our industries to themselves, handed the treasury of this state to few leaders and in fact crippled the entire asset of the state. So is that the man you want for Edo people, no way. We are aware they want to come back through the back door. Our people are happy today because even the poor in Edo State has been given the sense of belonging; the rich, yes they will cry because they don’t want to pay taxes and they are using that to deceive the poor masses who has nothing to do with taxation. Everybody has seen what the tax money has done in the state and we want that to continue and Obaseki remains the answer, not Ize-Iyamu or any other person from PDP.

But there is this fear among APC members that the national economic hardship may affect your party?

Again, if you stretch it down, it is the same argument. One thing that pleases me today is that in Nigeria, the ordinary voter is more perceptive than we think he is. Yes, the APC at the national level have been in office for one year plus but everybody knows that the problems we have today could not have been created in one day. We have come to fix the nation, to fix the problems, otherwise as a people, as a nation, we would have been going through a struggle for existence and a great challenge would have been confronting this nation. These were issues and challenges that were inflicted on this country by years of or a decade and a half of misgovernance at the national level. Unfortunately, as if that was not enough, we also took over at a time when the crude market collapsed from a $100 to sometimes $140 to a barrel to a time when sometimes we were managing to make $40 at some stage it was less than $30 per barrel; that is the reality and the people recognise this. It does not stop the fact that they are aching, it does not stop the fact that they in pains, that they are hungry, it does not stop the fact that they are hungry but they know these are not the creation of the APC and that what the APC under Buhari is set to do is to ensure that the fundamental problem with the country; a mono-culture economy is solved once and for all. That this nation does not ever have to depend on either one crop one mineral or one source of major sustenance; that we have to go through this pain is unfortunate. It is like saying a woman giving birth; there are pains, but the joy is going to come after delivery. We are going through these hard times now so to speak in the maternity but the joy will come. We depended solely on oil and for so many years that we had the right of the centre PDP government. You members of the media have to be of help to the nation, you need to make the nation understand that the problem we are going though today were cumulative, neglect in governance over years when we had excess crude account yet there wasn’t a single investment to develop new sources. Whether in agriculture, whether in solid minerals, whether even in petro-chemicals so that we can supply ourselves the full diversity of petroleum products, whether it is aviation fuel, whether it is the LPO and the rest of it or whether it is the chemical that emanates from the oil industry; yet we had excess crude account running into multiples of billions which we kept on sharing until nothing was left by the PDP administration. They owe this nation a very tremendous apology. Nothing in agriculture, nothing in others except just pumping oil and exporting; that was the nation that was bequeathed to the APC. The determination of the APC is to ensure that this will never happen again and that from now on, a solid base must be created for this economy so that when in few years time we will be talking about growth, we will talk about growth that is solid, that is well based that will never again result in the kind of situation we have today. The light is there at the end of the tunnel but we have to pass through the tunnel; the people must know that this is not an APC problem but we have come to solve the problem.

On the fear of thuggery and INEC’s preparation

There will not be thugs, there will not be anything like that, don’t forget that before our primaries, people were talking about thugs, about many other things people were fearful but these days, the political services are no longer under political control, so they will make sure everything is under control. We are going to have a complete free, fair, violence-free election. I expect same thing from INEC now that INEC has been removed from the shackles of influence. It is because this time we now have a government that will not tell INEC declare the result for us, let the other person do whatever he wants to do and go to court. Now this administration is not that type. INEC do your job, follow the law, follow due process, decide according to what the rules say, a Buhari administration will not say declare for APC, no; there is no such interference anymore and I believe that is why we are seeing inconclusive elections. Buhari does not interfere in the workings of the Commission at all.

On the tension in Ondo APC

The party is not really boiling; I have to call them to Abuja just to tell them the difference between endorsement and imposition. Basically, anybody can endorse just as it is anywhere and how you make that endorsement, you tell the people, you give the person support to move on. That is endorsement and people do it but that imposition is if the party itself now decides that it is a particular candidate that must be, no, the party will not do that, it will provide a level playing field for every one of them because all the aspirants are equally respected members of the family, so we had to get that difference clarified and cleared out so that you don’t think because an important member of the family has declared support for one of them, it becomes the position of the party, no. That is not the case and they understood the situation, so we are prepared to go ahead with a transparent and free primary in Ondo state.

On the request for emergency powers by the president

No not this President, the reality is that in spite of his military background, he is more democratic than a lot of us who never got near the military. He is a strictly due process person, strictly rule of law person. Like when you asked why INEC is declaring elections inconclusive, he will not take his phone and call INEC to declare for APC and let them go to court, he will ask you what does the law say, do it according to the prescription of the constitution or whatever relevant law there is so I have no fear about that at all. If anything needs a quick fix and he needs the powers to do it, that is how he will do it. Look at the cases of corruption, a lot of us have been asking for a quick fix process to fight the battle against the corrupt elements but he insists on the rule of law.

On his happiest and saddest moments

Basically the job of a national chairman is to reconcile all the interests because there are so many interests in every party and you have to make sure that at all times, everybody must have a bit of the action and ensure that no one person becomes so dominant and will now feel he or she owns the party and of course, at every stage, you have to give policy direction so that everybody can subscribe to it; so that is a continuing challenge. The way we operate: we don’t settle our issues in the pages of newspapers; while the talkative ones are talking, we are busy getting to the knitty gritty and settling the issues not in the fashion of the old PDP that will say public issues are private family affairs, no, not that fashion. Where there are blames to be given, we do.

On his life at 77

Basically, I do not do anything that I will not want to see in your headlines the next day, so I sleep very well; I sleep very soundly. If they say there are a group of policemen outside, I say tell them to come in because it doesn’t ever occur to me that they may be after me because there is actually nothing for them to be after. I don’t fear about thugs because I don’t go into deals and I don’t take short cuts that could create mortal enemies for myself; if somebody calls me his enemy, it is either because he doesn’t like my face or he doesn’t have integrity; so I have no worries and that in truth is the only way to live. Obey your conscience, know the difference between right and wrong and try to keep yourself on the right track; you will live long, you will live healthy. I can drive myself anywhere without a single fear that somebody will be after me.

On his life as a political activist and now APC national chairman

Well, finally we are building what the pro-democracy fought for, that is that the nation will be under the control of the left to the centre party where the welfare of the people is the prime concern of government; they have no other business except to manage our common patrimony to utmost benefit of the common people. I bought into the struggle only because it suddenly dawned on me that the military was the major problem of this country; it doesn’t mean that the politicians are perfect, it doesn’t mean that the system is perfect, it does mean that politicians must now be allowed to make mistakes and then learn from it, correct it such that we continue to correct our democracy in stages and that is what brought me to the pro-democracy group and that is what is still influencing my attitude and actions.