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Tag: Oyo

  • Oyo: Restoring the pacesetter’s glory

    By the time the tenure of the present administration of Senator Abiola Ajimobi, Governor of Oyo State draws to a close in May 2019, one thing would have become clear, that the governor had been able to restore the state to its past glory of many firsts which earned it the tag of the pacesetter state.

    Indeed, Oyo State has always been a state of many firsts, not only in Nigeria but also in Africa. It was the state every other state in the country aspired to match which could be attributed to the originality, resourcefulness and the pioneering nature of the people of Oyo State.

    For the records, some of the groundbreaking feats that cemented the status of Oyo State as the pacesetter in Nigeria and Africa include, being home to the first television station in Africa (NTA Ibadan); the first stadium in Africa (Liberty Stadium, Ibadan); the first skyscraper (the 24-storey Cocoa House in Ibadan); the first dualised road in Nigeria (Queen Elizabeth Road, Ibadan); the first teaching hospital in Nigeria (the University College Hospital, Ibadan) and the

    first housing estate in Nigeria (Bodija Housing Estate, Ibadan), to mention a few.

    But all these feats were achieved decades ago in the days of Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Ladoke Akintola as premiers of the Western Region. But, Oyo State has been practically living on past glories.

    Successive administrations in the state have struggled unsuccessfully to maintain this enviable status, due to lack of innovative ideas and visionary leadership, until Governor Abiola Ajimobi appeared on the scene.

    And now, after seven years of the Ajimobi administration, the song has finally changed, likewise the drumbeat, for residents of the state.

    Once again, Oyo State has begun to live up to its tag as the nation’s pacesetter. In Education for instance, the successful introduction and implementation of the School Governing Board (SGB) and OYOMESI (Oyo State Model Education System Intervention) policies have caught the attention of other South-west states, which are already scrambling to adopt them. This futuristic policy that emphasizes participatory management of public secondary schools and promotion of moral uprightness in students has proved a sustainable solution to the perennial problem of inadequate funding of education in the country.

    Also, these unique initiatives have already achieved significant result with the state recording its best WAEC result in the last 18 years, while several respected public commentators have also recommended the wholesale adoption of the policy to the Federal Government. Since, the introduction of the SGB model, about N2billion has been expended on public education.

    Not done, the state government followed up this well-acclaimed policy with the state’s Health Insurance Scheme, another innovative strategy designed to ensure unfettered access to healthcare services by residents of the state, most especially the vulnerable class.

    This scheme, which has recorded sizeable membership within a very short time, is a system where contributors’ funds are pooled to deal with the financial burden of healthcare in times of need. In essence, each member is appropriately served, not on the basis of his contribution but according to his needs, invariably guaranteeing access to quality medical care for everyone, regardless of social or financial status.

    With the inauguration of the Oyo State Health Insurance Scheme on May 25, 2017, followed by the launching of a N50 billion Healthcare Endowment Fund for the “restoration and transformation of government hospitals and health centres in Oyo State”, on August 3, same year, the state has again set another pace for others to follow.

    The measure adopted by the state government involved fostering strong partnerships with the private sector, development partners and other stakeholders in the health sector to pool resources, knowledge and skills that would ultimately help in achieving the desired goal of improved access to affordable and high quality healthcare service delivery across the state.

    Speaking at the inauguration of the health insurance scheme, the Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, noted that scheme was the first by a state government in the country. “We have taken Oyo State higher than we met it. This health insurance scheme is for everyone, especially the poor and that is why we have pegged the registration at N200 only and monthly premium fee of N650. It is free for children under age five and pregnant women.

    “This scheme is one among the various health initiatives we offer our people to give them accessible, affordable and quality healthcare. The free health service, where several people are being treated, is presently going on across the state. We are committed to making life meaningful for our people and everything humanly possible to achieve this will be done.”

    In concrete terms, the endowment fund is expected to provide the much-needed funds for the renovation and upgrading of all primary and secondary heath institutions in the state, including 57 General Hospitals and 622 Primary Health Centres; procurement of medical equipment and consumables, as well as training and motivation of medical personnel.

    Also, in a bid to ensure that tertiary education is driven by the demands of the labour market and students are equipped with relevant skill sets, the Ajimobi administration conceived and successfully established the first Technical University in Nigeria. The university, which has commenced academic activities, will ensure that youths are armed with practical and entrepreneurial skills that will make them employable and employers of labour.

    It is also on record that Ajimobi built the first ever flyover by any civilian administration in the state. This feat successfully decongested the once intractable traffic at the popular and ever-busy

    Mokola roundabout in the heart of Ibadan metropolis. Also, his administration was the first to construct inner city dual-carriage roads across the five zones in the state and has been acknowledged as having constructed more roads than the previous civilian administrations combined. Several other road dualisation and expansion projects are ongoing in different parts of the state, including Ibadan, the capital city. Ajimobi scored another first when he flagged

    off the construction of the N70bn circular road in Ibadan, which was conceived about 15 years ago.

    At the flag off ceremony, the governor said, “This project was conceived in 2002 by our great leader and former governor, Alhaji Lam Adesina, as a way of freeing Ibadan metropolis from gridlock in the intra and intercity movement. But, the project was abandoned by successive governments after Adesina left office.

    “We revived the project after considering the importance, not only to our socio-economic survival, but also the benefit of neighbouring states. This made the state government signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of the road through a Public-Private Partnership agreement with ENL Consortium Limited.”

    The ongoing ‘Safe City’ project is another first by any administration in the state. The idea is to assist the various security agencies with modern technology that will ensure greater effectiveness in their operations. Currently, the government is installing surveillance cameras in identified black spots and other strategic locations across the state capital as part of the first phase of the project.

    Also figures by the National Bureau of Statistics have shown that Ajomobi’s administration has attracted more industries to the state than any of his predecessors. And despite all, the governor is not resting on his laurels. He is, without a doubt, geared up to accomplish more unique and unprecedented feats before the expiration of his tenure.

    Finally, if I may add, history will never forget that Governor Abiola Ajimobi was first to win a second term of office since the creation of Oyo State.

     

    • Ladigbolu is Senior Special Assistant to Oyo State Governor on Communications.

  • Oyo, Ogun residents protest govt failure to dualise Ibadan-Abeokuta road

    Residents of Omi Adio area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, and Orile-Ilugun, Odeda in Ogun State, yesterday protested the failure of the Federal Government to dualise the busy Ibadan- Abeokuta Expressway.

    They urged the government to begin the dualisation to check the high rate of accidents on the highway.

    The protesters said the Ibadan-Abeokuta Expressway, being one of the oldest in the country, is overdue for dualisation.

    The Ibadan-Abeokuta highway contract was awarded by the Federal Government in 2010 to an indigenous construction firm, KOPEK Construction Company, to repair the 78-kilometre single-lane expressway for N4 billion.

    The protesters, who said the government that awarded the contract in 2010 short-changed the residents, added that what was on paper was dualisation and not rehabilitation.

    Though the current rehabilitation work was halted for some years due to the over N1 billion debt the government allegedly owed the construction firm, it was gathered that work resumed recently following assurances that the debt would be paid in due course.

    The placard-carrying protesters also had a letter addressed to the Minister of Works, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, to show their grievances.

    They listed several cases of road accidents and the number of lives that had been lost on the expressway.

    A community leader at Orile-Ilugun, Pa Isreal Tanimola, expressed sadness on the alleged insensitivity of the government to the plight of the people.

    The elderly man noted that the highway should be given priority due to its socio-economic importance.

    He said: “I was disturbed when I learnt that it was rehabilitation work that the government asked the contractor to carry out, instead of full dualisation. That is why we said the people here in Yoruba land were being short-changed in many things that rightly belong to us. And here we are saying such things must stop.

    “We are calling on Mr Fashola to look into this unjust treatment with a view to reversing it without delay. The Ibadan-Abeokuta highway is not asking for rehabilitation. What the expressway needs is full dualisation. Enough of cheating…”

    The Managing Director of Kopek Construction Company, Mr F. Issam, urged the people to see the road’s structural design in a different light.

    According to him, the engineering design and components of the highway have nothing to do with the accidents on the highway.

    Issam noted that though the current rehabilitation had reached 75 per cent, the solution to accidents was to dualise the highway.

    The company chief said the road’s narrowness, being a one-lane highway, contribute to the many accidents on it.

     

     

     

     

  • Oyo installs CCTV cameras, street lights in black spots in Ibadan

    •Govt introduces toll free lines

    The Oyo State government has begun the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in some black spots and business districts in Ibadan, the state capital, to boost security in the city.

    Also, the government announced the introduction of call centres and toll free lines through which security agencies would get useful security information from the public at no cost.

    The Executive Secretary of the Oyo State Security Trust Fund (OYSSTF), Mr. Femi Oyedipe, stated this in a statement yesterday in Ibadan.

    He also said the government had begun the collection of security levy from business premises, churches, mosques and corporate organisations with an estimated income of about N2 billion annually.

    Oyedipe said the government started the “Light Up Ibadan” project by installing street lights in major roads within the city.

    The trust fund chief said these were among government measures to ensure the “Safe City” project of the Abiola Ajimobi administration with logistics and technical capabilities to nip crime and criminality in the bud.

    Oyedipe said: “It is apparent that no government can single-handedly shoulder the huge responsibility of funding security. That is why the Abiola Ajimobi administration decided to set up the Oyo State Security Trust Fund in 2012 to serve as an avenue through which funds could be raised for the improvement of the security architecture of the state.

    “It is also in furtherance of this that government introduced one per cent security tax on all the contracts executed on behalf of state government. This has also assisted the Security Trust Fund in the past years.

    “I am convinced that by the time the security levy is spread to all the local government areas across the state, about N2 billion would be raked in annually and this would complement government’s efforts in the provision of security.”

     

     

  • Why businesses must pay tax in Oyo state

    Oyo as land of opportunities

    The population of Oyo is now in the region of 6 million. The state is largest southern state in land area and is suitable for cultivation of maize, yam, cassava, millet, rice, plantain, cocoa, oil palm and cashew. Oyo is the 18th largest economy in Africa. The pacesetter state boasts of first position in many areas of human endeavour in Africa and Nigeria in particular.

    The list include: University College Ibadan, Television Station, Liberty Stadium, Cocoa House, just to mention a few. The import of the state’s premier position in the field of education, sports, and infrastructure can best be appreciated if one considers availability of pool of experienced manpower (engineers, academics, medical doctors, lawyers, accountants etc,) that constructed, administered and continue to administer these monumental edifices. Oyo State has the highest concentration of research institutes in Nigeria. With a functional airport and completion of both Lagos Ibadan Expressway and Lagos Ibadan railway lines in the next few months and the massive road construction in Ibadan, all these provide ample investment and income earning opportunities for resident individuals and businesses.

    Oyo State is the investment destination for any discerning investor. Opportunities for investment in the state exist in agribusiness, light manufacturing, healthcare, tourism, energy and mining (include Clay, Kaolin and Aquamarine). It’s on record that no fewer than 36 companies had been attracted to the state in the last seven years, generating about 4,000 direct employments for residents according to figures from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, while the state was rated fifth most investment-friendly by the National Bureau of Statistics having attracted more than $61m (N22.4bn) in foreign direct investment.

    Challenges of governance

    However, on the flip side, Oyo State particularly Ibadan, bears the burden of rural-urban migration. With a growing population like any other mega city, the government of Senator Abiola Ajimobi grapples with and must find solutions to waste management, transportation and traffic, affordable and quality education, disaster management, environmental pollution, unemployment, street lights, security, health services, provision of portable water, judicial system, crime prevention and control, housing, etc. All these require substantial investment in socioeconomic infrastructure.

    Thankfully, Oyo State Government under the leadership of Ajimobi, has risen up to the challenges of administering the pace state and delivered dividends of democracy to the people of the state in the last seven years must especially in the area of infrastructure development, security, education, agriculture and health care.

    Some of the completed roads include: the dualisation of strategic township roads in Ibadan such as Toll Gate Interchange-Challenge; New Garage-Toll Gate Interchange and Onireke-Jericho-Aleshinloye-Dugbe-Agbarigo Road, as well dualisation of major township roads in Oyo, Ogbomoso and Iseyin.

    Ongoing roads include Eleyele-Ologuneru-Eruwa road, dualisation of Saki township roads, Idi-Ape-Basorun-Akobo-Odogbo Barracks Junction Road; Gate-Old Ife Road-Alakia, as well as the expansion of Oke Adu-Iwo Road.  Ibadan Circular Road project, which had remained a dream in the last 15 years has been revived, the first phase of the project has been awarded for N70bn, under a build, operate and transfer arrangement.

    The infrastructure upgrade included the urban flood management initiative targeted at checking the reoccurrence of the 2011 flooding in Ibadan, which consumed many lives and property.

    The government had also tackled the perennial water shortage, which residents of Ibadan had been experiencing, by carrying out wholesale rehabilitation of Asejire Waterworks and also recently flagged off rehabilitation works on the Eleyele Dam, which was badly hit by the 2011 flood disaster.

    The state also recorded milestones in education with “the floating of the Education Trust Fund through which stakeholders now collaborate with the government to improve service delivery and boost the standard of education in the state. This is aside the establishment of the Oyo State Model Education System Initiative (OYOMESI), which seeks to inculcate moral values in students and the School Governing Board (SGB) policy, which is a participatory model that brings together all stakeholders in the education system in the management of public secondary schools. The SGB policy is now being studied by other states in the South-West zone as a masterstroke in participatory approach to the management of public schools.

    The health sector has also benefitted from the unique vision of the government with the floating of a N50bn Health Endowment Fund and a Health Insurance Scheme, both of which are firsts in Nigeria, as well as the launch of a five-year cancer control strategic plan to reduce cancer-related incidence and mortality

    Other success stories of Senator Ajimobi’s administration include, restoration of security in all parts of the state through the establishment of a special security outfit, code-named ‘Operation Burst’ and the provision of patrol vans, communications equipment and armoured personnel carriers for the police and other security agencies.

    Socioeconomic benefits of taxes

    Payment of taxes will provide Oyo State Government with a stable and predictable fiscal environment to promote growth, finance social and physical infrastructural needs and also reduces long term reliance on other none sustainable sources of financing government; allocation from the federation accounts, debt and aids. Tax payment ensures good governance by promoting the accountability of the State Government to the good people of Oyo.

    Tax payment as civic responsibility

    More importantly payment of taxes is statutory as provided for in Section 24(F) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Similarly, it a civic responsibility of every resident to contribute to the common wealth from where public expenditure is financed. Finally, it is a moral duty that must be performed as it is morally wrong for anybody who had not paid his taxes to enjoy facilities and infrastructure put in place through other people’s taxes.

    Alli, chairman, Oyo State Board of Internal Revenue, writes from Ibadan

     

  • Protest rocks Oyo over alleged ward relocation

    Leaders of Oke Ogun area of Oyo State yesterday protested the alleged relocation of electoral ward and refusal of the State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) to recognise the duly elected councillor for the ward.

    The aggrieved leaders from Ofiki town in ATISBO South Local Council Development Area (LCDA) issued a seven-day ultimatum to OYSIEC to re-allocate the substituted Ward 5 earlier located to Ofiki community instead of Ago-Are.

    The indigenes declared as illegal and a breach of the Electoral Law, the substitution of Ito/Koso Ward 5 in ATISBO South LCDA with headquarters at Ito in Ofiki for Isale Aganna with headquarters in Ago-Are.

    They noted that the failure of OYSIEC under the chairmanship of Mr. Jide Ajeigbe to reverse the ward to Ito/Koso with headquarters in Ito in Ofiki will push the residents to institute a legal action against the commission and its chairman.

    Ofiki community’s spokesman Sunday Olaewe, who addressed reporters yesterday in Ibadan, the state capital, accused OYSIEC chairman of raping democracy by shifting the already allocated Ito/Koso Ward 5 in Ofiki to Isale Aganna in Ago Are to satisfy the wish of his wife, who is said to be an indigene of Ago Are.

    Olaewe, who was accompanied by a former Ogun State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Akogun of Ofiki, Mr. Niyi Ogungbola, as well as other community leaders, said it was annoying that Ito/Ofiki Ward 5, which had a councillorship candidate, Olusegun Awakan, was reallocated to Ago-Are.

    He recalled that till date, OYSIEC had not recognised Awakan as the duly elected councillor for the area, after he had been certified and given necessary screenings in line with the commission’s stipulations.

    On behalf of the community, he issued the ultimatum to OYSIEC to recognise Awakan as the Councillor for Ito/Koso Ward 5 in ATISBO South LCDA and reverse the substitution of Ito/Koso in Ofiki to Isale Agannna in Ago Are.

    Olaewe said: “We are giving OYSIEC a seven-day ultimatum, starting from today, to reverse the substitution of Ito/Koso Ward 5 to Isale Aganna in Ago Are and recognise Awakan as the councillor for the area; failure to do so, we will approach a court of law to claim our mandate.”

    He added: “Gentlemen of the press, we want to draw your attention to the illegalities, fraudulent practice and breach of electoral laws of Oyo State perpetrated by the OYSIEC under the leadership of Mr. Jide Ajeigbe during the Oyo State local government and LCDAs election on May 12.

    “We, the indigenes of Ofiki community, Into Quarters in ATISBO South LCDA, wish to categorically state that OYSIEC under Mr Ajeigbe criminally deleted the name of Ito/Koso Ward 5 during the just-concluded election and substituted the same ATISBO South LCDA Ward 5 to Isale Aganna with headquarters in Aganna compound in Ago Are without the approval of either the committee set up on ward delineation or that of Oyo State House of Assembly.

    “It may also interest you to know that in the build-up to the local government and LCDA election, ATISBO South LCDA, Ward 5 already had a councillorship candidate, Awakan, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who worked hard toward winning the councillorship election even without opposition. He obtained the form, duly filled the form and submitted same to the commission. OYSIEC under Ajeigbe screened him and declared him suitable to contest the Ito/Koso Ward 5 seat of ATISBO South LCDA…”

     

  • $322m Abacha loot: Cash transfers to poor homes begin in July

    The Federal Government says it will commence disbursement of the recovered 322 million dollars Abacha loot through Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT) to 302,000 poor households in 19 states in July.

    Mr Tukur Rumar, of the National Cash Transfer Office (NTCO), said this at a roundtable on assets recovery organised by the Swiss Embassy on Thursday, in Abuja.

    The event was organised to intimate citizens and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on the efforts both nations were making on asset recovery after the Post-Global Forum on Assets Recovery (GFAR) held in Washington D.C. in Dec. 2017.

    At the forum, Nigeria made commendable commitments on beneficial ownership, tax transparency, asset recovery, transparency management of recovered funds and payments to victims of corruption.

    The states are: Niger, Kogi, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, Kwara, Cross River, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarrawa, Anambra and Internally Displaced Camps (IDPs) in Borno.

    According to Rumar, the benefiting households will receive N5,000 monthly and are derived from the National Social Register (NSR) that the 19 states are already on.

    He said the programme was designed to also train beneficiaries on livelihood skills, social skills and other programmes that would change their lives completely.

    Rumar, however, said that NCTO had been making payments to the 46,000 poor and vulnerable households across the 19 states since Dec. 2016, adding that the number had increased to 290,000.

    Mr Iorwa Apera, the National Coordinator, National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO), said 503,055 households were already on the NSR register from the 19 states, adding that by July, there would be a social register for all the states of the federation.

    He said that of the Abacha loot, about 302,000 poor homes across the 19 states would be mined by the NCTO to begin to receive the Abacha loot.

    Apera told the participants that the Federal Government would begin with those states, because they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NASSCO to put in place certain infrastructure to empower the national register.

    “Some of the states delayed, but the other ones were quick enough to set up infrastructure that allowed us to start work there, but all the states are now on board as they have set up their state operating offices and donated office equipment to us.

    “As states come on board, we enroll and so they extend to the beneficiary register, and presently we are generating data in all the states now,’’ he said.

    Read Also: EFCC launches probe as $500m Abacha loot goes missing

    Mrs Linda Ekeator of the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment said the Abacha loot was invested in the social investment programme, because it was a programme that was already supported by the World Bank.

    She said that before the money was returned to Nigeria, there was an agreement with the Swiss government that it should be used for alleviating poverty and this was to be done with the supervision of the World Bank.

    The Swiss Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Eric Mayoraz said the 722 million dollars of the Abacha family money that was hidden in Switzerland was fully repatriated in 2005.

    He also said that the 322 million dollars that was repatriated in Dec. 2017, was money that was frozen by the Swiss Attorney-General, but was not domiciled in Switzerland, but in other countries, mainly Luxembourg.

    He, however, said measures had been put in place to ensure that Swiss banks were not used to hide stolen funds from other countries.

    “For possible new cases, the Swiss legislation has fundamentally changed.

    “The law in Switzerland does not allow bank secrecy anymore, and all banks and financial institutions have a due diligence duty to ask everyone coming with money where it is coming from.

    “That does not mean that there are no illegal or stolen assets now in Switzerland, but then there is another instrument I signed myself with the Nigerian Ministry of Justice and Switzerland two years ago on mutual legal assistance and this is for new cases.

    “Now, this agreement with our own Ministry of Justice and Nigeria is that there will be direct communication and exchange on mutual legal request and we are really collaborating with EFCC and other agencies in Nigeria,’’ Mayoraz.

    The Executive Director, ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor, said for Nigerian citizens to not keep spreading rumours about the whereabouts of recovered loots, the government must be transparent in all the processes.

    He also said that CSOs should be given access to the social register to enable it monitor properly whether or not the beneficiaries received what was due to them.

  • Oyo shuts Bodija market

    The Oyo State Government has shut down Bodija market for security reasons.

    This is an aftermath of the sporadic shooting which occurred earlier on Thursday in the market and its environs.

    The Aare Laatosa Loca Council Development Area (LCDA) Chairman, Mr. Adekunle Oladeji, said the closure is to prevent the loss of lives and property of the citizenry, stressing that It is also to guard against the escalation of the violence in the market to other parts of the state.

    Oladeji said that security agencies have been intimated about the situation in the market to maintain law and order.

    He urged the people to be law abiding, warning that anyone found wanting will be made to face the full wrath of the law.

  • Oyo rolls out Festival of Learning

    From tomorrow, Oyo State will be a hub of activities targeted at showcasing Ibadan as a learning city.

    Special Adviser to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Education Dr  Akin-Alabi said during the week-long programme being powered by the Oyo State Model Education System Interventions (OYOMESI), participants of all ages within and outside the school system would benefit from 50 workshops and other activities.

    The festival will feature a Hackathon, an IT competition on waste management to be hosted by the Technical University, Ibadan from tomorrow through to Saturday, for programmers; a parenting workshop at the Western Hall, Oyo State House of Assembly Complex Secretariat, Agodi; and a children conference for July at the Emeritus Prof Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall, Opposite UCH main gate, Queen Elizabeth Road, Ibadan on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

    Dr Alin-Alabi also said Ajimobi would launch the Oyomesi Compendium of Heroes during the festival at an event that would feature awards for outstanding teachers, pupils and parents.

    The festival will close with a “Learning Fiesta” to hold Thurday next week at the Emeritus professor Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall.

    Speaking on the free worksops, Dr Akin-Alabi said: “Participants will have access to 50 free workshops and activities targeted at parents, school governing board chairmen, pupils, students, and youths.

    “Some of the free workshops include critical thinking in the classroom, academic interventions, STEM Education, digital literacy, paper craft workshop; film making; elocution, history; write speak and aspell.

    “Keynote speakers are expected from the United Kingdom, United States, Abuja, South Africa and Oyo State. They will engage the audience on topics ranging from ‘Parenting in the 21st Century’; ‘Critical Thinking and Learning’; ‘Schools monitoring and regulations’; ‘Effective Teaching and Learning’; ‘ICT in education and building a sustainable living environment’.”

  • ‘I will run an inclusive government in Oyo’

    Dr. Akin Onigbinde (SAN), a gubernatorial aspirant for 2019 elections on the platform of Alliance for Democracy (AD), is a former Speaker of Oyo State House of Assembly. He spoke with Daniel Adeleye on the leadership crisis rocking the party in Oyo, Ogun and Osun states and other issues. Excerpts

    WHAT is the situation in the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in Oyo State now?

    Let me step back a little and say that a number of us who are interested in getting engaged in the political process of Oyo State did an evaluation of the political vehicles in terms of existing political parties, their strengths, weaknesses as well as their challenges in the state. Though we have people who are truly and genuinely interested in the progress of Oyo State in the parties, there are also strange bird fellows. Those parties are presently laden with contradictions that will be very difficult to resolve. And in an organisation, it will not matter what the quality of your mind is if you associate or co-travel with people that don’t share those ideals. We reckon that we’ll only go and join the frail to start to fight the battles we did not create. That was why we decided to look for a platform that is crisis free and requires hard work, which we are not afraid to do. When you look at what is creating crisis in all these political parties, they are not things that relate to the welfare of ordinary persons. It’s conflict of ego, interest and ambition. And where that is taking the front seat, it will be difficult to discuss the issues that affect the ordinary citizens on the streets. That’s the reason we chose Alliance for Democracy, a party whose name is known, that has ruled Oyo State before and that has no crisis. If you look at the crisis going on in other political parties even as we speak, you see that it will be very difficult for them to deliver to the people of Oyo State.

    But there has been disquiet in the Oyo State chapter of Alliance for Democracy (AD) over the alleged moves by supporters of PDP chieftain and former governor of the state, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, to take over the party machinery?

    I will not understand the conversation we had with Senator Ladoja sometime ago as an attempt to hijack the party. Senator Ladoja at one time muted the idea of creating a working relationship with Alliance for Democracy and indeed a committee was set up to harmonize the processes of that working relationship. But somewhere along the line, there was a change of mind from the former governor. The meeting was called off by the representatives of Senator Ladoja and since then, there has been no communication from them. Senator Ladoja has gone back openly to PDP for good and AD continues to do its own work. It’s not possible for anybody to hijack the party because AD is operated on the basis of the participation of the members. We don’t encourage anybody to be the owner of the party.

    So what led to the dissolution of the executive members of the party in Oyo, Osun and Ogun States?

    Well the alleged dissolution was a curious development. The executives of those states are in office legitimately and their tenure won’t end until 2019. Let us even say that the tenure of all executive committee members was to end at a particular time, so, why would you isolate Oyo, Ogun and Osun for dissolution? All the committees were inaugurated at the same time and therefore their tenure should end at the same time. What we got to understand was that some people, at the behest of a PDP senator, were trying to get the executive committees out, so as to bring his own people in as members of caretaker committee. That was what they attempted to do at the national secretariat of the party. A caretaker committee of seven people was said to have been constituted. Out of the caretaker committee of seven people, five people declined to serve on the caretaker committee on the ground that it’s illegal because the constitution of the party does not make provision for any caretaker committee in any state.

    What factor do you think will pitch the pendulum of victory to your party during 2019 election in Oyo State?

    The people of Oyo State are very intimately concerned about the state of their welfare, issues that affect their daily lives like schools, prompt payment of salaries of workers, the health facilities and the state of agriculture in the state, which is one of the major pre-occupation of our people. And the people of Oyo State are desirous of government that will be on the same page with them as far as these issues are concerned. Like I said earlier, the fight and quarrel that are going on in APC and PDP has nothing to do with the people of Oyo State, it has to do with factions in those political parties. They are not fighting on how economy of the state would be better or over the welfare of the citizens. So the people of Oyo State are intimately aware and they are looking for a platform that is thinking about them.

    You are one of the chieftains of the party vying for the governorship of Oyo State in 2019; what would you do differently if given opportunity to govern the state?

    It has always been my position that issue of good governance is the one that relate to both the followership and leadership of any organisation. Yes, it is important that the leader must have a vision but it’s not enough for any leader to just wake up one day and say the people of Ibadan for instance, deserve certain things without engaging with the people to know what exactly their priority is. One of the things that I will put in the front burner is an increased communication and engagement with the people of Oyo State. There is so much arrogance and presumption of limitless power that people think they don’t need to consult with the people they lead.

    The average people in various communities in the state bound themselves up to a society. In trying to do their businesses, they are looking for certain facilitation, some small amount of money to undertake their businesses. It’s not empowerment programmes that many politicians are doing that they want. What is the essence of giving sewing machine to someone whose interest is different from tailoring? Some will collect the so-called empowerment gadgets and sell them because that’s not what they want. When people take loans from micro finance banks, they pay back even though the payment condition is very uncomfortable yet they do it. That should tell us that is their emphasis. We must engage with the people to know what their priority should be. That’s the only way you can run a government that will make true difference in the lives of citizens. So we are going to ensure that we are humble enough to engage with the people to understand what their priorities are.

    We’ll also wean the citizens from the mentality that government must provide everything. Everything of value cannot be provided by government alone. Good governance comes when citizens play their own roles and leadership plays its own role.

    The call for restructuring of Nigeria appears to be the most popular demand in the polity in recent times. As a senior lawyer, what do you think is wrong with the current Nigeria structure?

    Before you talk of the structure of any country, there is only one document we should look at and that is the constitution of that country. Even when you talk of organisation, it’s the constitution that defines what that society would be; who will be the officers, what powers they would operate and so on. The Nigerian constitution is labeled the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And when you say federal, it’s not a word that was imposed on a nation, that’s a word that defines her constitution. So we must ask a question that what federalism means. Federalism talks about federating units that have independent existence but have a common centre which take care of their common needs like foreign exchange, currency, international relations, security and so on. But as far as the administrations of the daily lives, the economy of the federating units are concerned, there should be liberty to run from their base. But that’s not what is happening in Nigeria today.

    The need for restructuring is so fundamental because our constitution called us a ‘federal republic’ and yet we are operating like a unitary system of government. We cannot make any serious progress when the central government takes decision about the development of the states without recourse.

  • 759,780 PVCs uncollected in Oyo, says INEC

    The Oyo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr Mutiu Agboke, has said 759,780 uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) are in the custody of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state.

    Agboke spoke yesterday in Ibadan, the state capital, during the handing-over ceremony organised for the incoming Administrative Secretary, Mr David Asemo.

    The REC said the increase in the number of uncollected PVCs in the state was because the commission had just received another batch arising from last year’s registration.

    He said the commission was intensifying efforts at ensuring that people participate in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR)   and collect their PVCs.

    Agboke said INEC was in the second phase of this year’s CVR to encourage more people to participate.

    He said: “The commission has registered 320,593, out of which we have 164,378 males and 156,215 females. We have also, as at today, distributed 32,061 permanent voter cards.

    “The commission has transferred 23,368 Permanent Voter Cards and replaced 17,939 lost or defaced PVCs.”

    Agboke debunked the allegation in some quarters that INEC was registering foreigners ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    The REC said there was no way the commission would allow the name of a foreigner to remain on its list.

    He challenged anyone with genuine proof to present it.

    INEC’s outgoing Administrative Secretary in Oyo State, Alhaji Surajudeen Ajani, expressed gratitude for the support given to him by the commission’s workers.

    Ajani urged the workers to extend the same cooperation and support to the incoming Administrative Secretary.

    The incoming Administrative Secretary, Asemo, sought the support of the workers t enable him perform optimally.

    He promised not to disappoint them.