Former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly Hon. Omowumi Olatunji is now a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State. She spoke with EMMANUEL OLADESU on the chances of the party at the governorship election in the Sunshine state.
What is your assessment of the political situation in Ondo State?
Looking at Ondo State and the structure, we cannot compare Ondo State with Lagos because Ondo State is more of a civil servant state. The larger percentage of the population is the workforce and I think the people are so unhappy about the way the administration is going, how governance is being discharged in Ondo State. The atmosphere is a bit tense because of that unhappy condition and the lack of attention that the government is giving to people in the state. It is affecting the state. You cannot see the enthusiasm the people had when the Mimiko administration came on board. So, I think the state itself and the people are very ready for change and, if you look at the entire Southwest, the APC has gained ground in Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Lagos, leaving out Ekiti and Ondo. The election of Edo State is coming up in June. The election of Ondo State is October. So, we have the template that we are going to use in October. We will use it Ondo State. That is going to give enough time to be able to look at the chances of coming to sweep the state. So, I think everything is set for the APC and we have to leverage on the inability of the current government to discharge its duties. I won’t lie to you. People are not happy with the Mimko administration. I think it has really lost its popularity.
Is the economic problem not also responsible for the bad situation?
That the salaries are not paid on time, and all that, it is part of it. Don’t forget that the level of the rot is high. The PDP was in power for 16years. The level of destruction, the level of impunity, people were doing things without thinking about the future. Any opportunity people were given to serve under thePDP, they were using it as if it was just about self. Many things have gone wrong. So, you cannot repair a broken wall overnight. The Buhari administration just got into office less than a year. We are not going to expect so much. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. So, for any administration that is still flowing from the PDP, it will be rejected. It is stupidity on the part of any person to say I will vote for the PDP because they have lost ground. They do not have the interest of people at heart.
Look at this issue of cleansing that is going on the country as regards corruption war because that was the selling point during the campaign of President Buhari; that he was going to make sure that anyone that stole Nigeria’s money is brought to book. And look at it today. You know how much we have been able to retrieve from outside and within the country. You could see the level of heartlessness that has been displayed.
More than 25 people want to be governor of Ondo State on the platform of the APC. Don’t you see the struggle for the ticket tearing apart the party?
It is their constitutional right. The constitution gives you room to vote and be voted for. So, anybody that has interest in going for any office, it is his constitutional right. But, I believe the leadership is looking into that and at the end of the day, the number would be pruned down. So, I see that number reducing before the primary. We cannot have that large number; it doesn’t make sense, it does add up to have 25 people going for the shadow poll. I think the party is looking towards that direction to prune down the number of aspirants.
The aspirants are building their personal platforms, instead of collectively building the party. How do you react to this?
Well, I don’t think that is correct because I could remember when I came in few days back, one of the aspirants donated buses to the party and I have seen them going round, making visitations, consultations across the state. Contrary to that, I have seen the activities of most of the aspirants and I am impressed. They just need to intensify whatever they are doing.
What is your reaction to the defections from the PDP to the APC in Ondo?
In the last one month, we have had a lot of people defecting from the PDP to the APC. That further confirms that the PDP is depopulated. So, they don’t have as much followership. The APC is now a party to beat because we are increasing by the day. Even two weeks ago, one of their strong supporters crossed to the APC and he came with a large number of followers from the PDP. They were not rented crowd. They were known faces in the community. So, I see prospect. The transition from the PDP to the APC in Ondo State is going to be very smooth. The people are really ready. They are receptive to this new change mantra that will come.
What will Ondo people benefit under the APC government that they are not getting under the PDP administration.
There are five factors that favour the APC. These are our selling points. One is responsibility. Any government that is not responsible is not worth following. In anything you are doing, when you say a government is responsive, that means they know what to do at the right time. When you give somebody the responsibility and he is not responsive, it’s like today we talk about Fashola’s government in Lagos State. It was a responsive government and the same thing applies. It has become part of you; you cannot be disconnected from the people that voted for you. The party and the government must be accountable to the people. The APC is a government that believes in accountability and that is what we are saying and in whatever we are doing, we are very consistent; we believe in continuity. Anything that we do, we sustain it and that is what we are selling-consistency in governance. We don’t believe in duplication and wasting money. Anything that we are doing and is affecting people positively, we sustain it. Also, in what we do, transparency is important. You must be seen not to only say you are transparent. You must be seen to be transparent.
What are the mistakes you think that the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) made in 2012 that robbed it of the governorship that shout be not repeated?
There was no serious competition and we did not prepare on time. Like what we are doing right now, everybody r is on the field working. The last time, the candidate came out, shortly before the election. So, he didn’t really have time to get into details. The people didn’t know him. We couldn’t sell him the way we should because there wasn’t much time.
You are relocating from Lagos to Ondo. How would you react to the perception that you are a new comer or a stranger in Ondo politics?
I am not a stranger. I’m not strange to Ondo. When people want to be mischievous, they would talk about that. But, no matter how long you have been away from your place of origin, one day you will return home. People say there is no place better than home. I’m back home. My people cannot tell me that to be a member of that family, you have to create me again. I have been created and I’m happy. I’m proud. Those who don’t know me, they are taking their time and pain to go and know my family house because the story is: where is she coming from? They say I don’t have a root. It is a lie.
I had my primary education in Akure. I had my secondary education in Ondo State. I went to St. Mathias Primary School and St. Louis Girls Grammar School, Akure. I only had admission to study in Lagos in 1999. That was when I left. So, for somebody to say they don’t know me is just a story that is not going to sell because I am a known face and good enough, I still have an aged father, a 93-yr-old man, who is still very strong, living in Akure. My family dynasty is still very much on ground because we produce the current monarch in Akureland. So, those stories I hear, I discard them because they are not going to add any value to what I am doing.
To what extent have you impacted on the people of Ondo State?
With the empowerment that I have introduced, it is going to capture a large number of people. On individual basis, I have been doing that, paying school fees for people and all that. It is what I am used to. You get to hear this family has problem, that one is sick in the hospital. I do that periodically; sometimes on a weekly basis, on a daily basis. So, I touch their lives. But, I want to look at a larger percentage of the people of Ondo State. That is why I am sponsoring an empowerment programme that will cut across the entire state to touch a thousand people-youths, women, old people, widows, orphans. I have given the party that right to go and put that number and names together. So, my own duty is to make that presentation on that 27th of March and I look forward to it, and I know Ondo State people would be happy for this gesture.
Who are you supporting among the 25 aspirants?
I support all the aspirants. They are all my candidates. But, the person that would wear the crown would be crowned. I know that the person that God has prepared and who has the fear of God and passion for the people is the person is the person that this thing would fall in his hand. And I pray that that person will take our matter with all passion and commitment so that it will be a better record, compared to the one we are all trying to get rid off.
How do you think the party should react to the antagonistic agitations for zoning by the people of Owo, Akure and Akoko?
On the issue of zoning, I don’t think we are seeing it as a problem. It’s common sense revolution. Apparently, the incumbent governor of the state, Mimiko, is from Ondo and Ondo falls within the Central Senatorial District. We have a minister from South Senatorial District. The North Senatorial District is left without anything. So, that is the rationale. We just need to understand that we have to be fair to all the senatorial districts within the state. I think if a candidate emerges from Morth, it should be a welcome development and then, whatever the central gets at the end of the day, the best could be a deputy governor and I know this time around, we want to flow with other states where you have a male governor and a female deputy governor so that we can strike a balance and be fair to all.
