Dr. Iyiola Omisore, who represented Osun Central Senatorial District from 2003 to 2011, speaks with MOSES ALAO on the defection of G5 governors to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the chances of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2014 governorship election in Osun State and his vision for the state as a governorship aspirant.
AFTER losing the governorship seat in Osun State and the subsequent losses in the 2011 general election, there was the insinuation that the PDP has lost its followers and that it is no longer on the ground. But the turnout at this meeting appeared to disprove that insinuation or is this crowd rented?
I don’t know what they mean by saying that the PDP is no longer on ground in Osun State, because PDP is the only party in this state. ACN/APC was never on ground in Osun State; Rauf Aregbesola came into office through forged police report and court compromise. Over 400,000 votes of the PDP were cancelled so that he could be smuggled in as a governor, so I make bold to tell you that we have never been depleted in our numbers. We are aware, confident and sure that we are the party of the people in this state, not minding the forgery, election rigging and the manipulation by the [Resident Electoral Commissioner, Toyin] Akeju. The forgery and violence being perpetrated by the APC are not enough to dampen the morale of our followers and we are not surprised because our people have become used to them and they are resolved to continue to support the PDP. And to speak to whether this crowd was rented, the crowd you saw outside is only made up of the wards, local governments and state officers and stakeholders, maybe a few party faithful from Osogbo. If we are going to have a PDP rally in this place, it will be flooded with people; so it is not unusual. We are used to it.
But there is always the tendency for people to seek greener pasture whenever a new party takes hold of power. Are you saying that your members have remained intact within the PDP?
That did not and will not happen in Osun State; people are not depressed because we know the change of power is a temporary thing and we are aware that the APC in Osun State is a fluke. We are aware that APC is an emergency happening; they came through the court, forgery and judgmental fraud and people are being patient to see them off by 2014.
If you called Osun APC a fluke; that may not be said of the national body because five governors from the PDP just defected to the party. In fact, there are fears that there will be ripple effects across the country, which is bound to affect your state.
In Nigeria, we have federating units and so I don’t see how the defection of governors in
I don’t know what they mean by saying that the PDP is no longer on ground in Osun State, because PDP is the only party in this state. ACN/APC was never on ground in Osun State; Rauf Aregbesola came into office through forged police report and court compromise. Over 400,000 votes of the PDP were cancelled so that he could be smuggled in as a governor, so I make bold to tell you that we have never been depleted in our numbers. We are aware, confident and sure that we are the party of the people in this state, not minding the forgery, election rigging and the manipulation by the [Resident Electoral Commissioner, Toyin] Akeju. The forgery and violence being perpetrated by the APC are not enough to dampen the morale of our followers and we are not surprised because our people have become used to them and they are resolved to continue to support the PDP. And to speak to whether this crowd was rented, the crowd you saw outside is only made up of the wards, local governments and state officers and stakeholders, maybe a few party faithful from Osogbo. If we are going to have a PDP rally in this place, it will be flooded with people; so it is not unusual. We are used to it.
But there is always the tendency for people to seek greener pasture whenever a new party takes hold of power. Are you saying that your members have remained intact within the PDP?
That did not and will not happen in Osun State; people are not depressed because we know the change of power is a temporary thing and we are aware that the APC in Osun State is a fluke. We are aware that APC is an emergency happening; they came through the court, forgery and judgmental fraud and people are being patient to see them off by 2014.
If you called Osun APC a fluke; that may not be said of the national body because five governors from the PDP just defected to the party. In fact, there are fears that there will be ripple effects across the country, which is bound to affect your state.
In Nigeria, we have federating units and so I don’t see how the defection of governors in
Sokoto and Rivers states will affect Osun State. We are independent of all of them and in fact, Osun State PDP is getting more people every day. As we speak, about 4,000 APC members have defected to the PDP and people are defecting to the PDP on a daily basis. Also, last week, all the leaders of APC in the state came to Osogbo to demonstrate and to complain about the misrule of Aregbesola; so we are getting new members daily and I don’t see our people defecting to the APC.
But the APC is boasting that their ranks have been swollen by the defections of the five governors.
Anybody can boast, that is not an unusual thing and you have to remember what the Bible says about boasting or pride preceding destruction. That boast will lead to destruction for the APC. In fact, in those places where the governors defected, what impact do they have on those areas? Look at Rivers State, [Governor] Rotimi Amaechi left for APC but the rank and file of ACN had earlier defected to the PDP. Also in Kwara State, the governorship candidate of the ACN in the last election, Dele Belgore, is saying that he will not accept Bukola Saraki; same things are happening in Sokoto and Kano states and these are the internal problems the APC will face, so where is the boasting coming from? They will all come back to the party very soon and I can tell you that the PDP is happy, comfortable and it is moving forward.
One of the grouses of the G7 governors is the ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term in office. Don’t you really think his not contesting will calm frayed nerves?
Nigeria has a population of 160 millions, so are you saying only seven people will determine for us? Saying the president should not seek a second term is a foolish pride from them. They cannot dictate for Nigerians; they should allow the people to decide. How can five people dictate to 160 million Nigerians? Being a governor does not give you absolute authority over people, you are just privileged; there were governors before them and there will be after they leave office. How can they say the president should not contest? These are the areas where people should see that these people are just jesters and I can tell you that they are on a voyage of disgrace.
Recently, the Osun State chapter of the PDP threw the governorship contest open to all members instead of the limiting it to you and three other contestants. How do you view this development?
The idea was to ensure that internal democracy is encouraged and popularised and to give everyone a sense of belonging. It was meant to encourage every PDP member that he/she has a right to the governorship seat unlike in APC where they have closed shop. You can see that the PDP sets positive example in democracy both internally and externally and you will appreciate where we are coming from.
The party also stated that a primary will be conducted in line with the constitution of the party as against the initial idea of a consensus candidacy. Are you happy with this position?
The Electoral Act of 2010 stipulates that there must be internal democracy within the political parties; every candidate must emerge through a democratic process. If you have only one person as your candidate or you want to do a consensus, let those people go and test their prowess on the field. Consensus or primary, they are all the same thing; what matters is you must go through the people to affirm your candidature. That is the evidence of acceptability across board. So, the consensus candidature or primary, they are the same thing; internal democracy is all that matters.
You have criticised Aregbesola at various times for performing poorly in the last three years, leaving people to wonder what you will do differently when you become the governor of the state.
One, governance under APC is that of fraud, deceit, propaganda, stealing and debt; so all these anomalies and fraudulent acts are the things I will check. Two, the education sector in the state has already been bastardised. For instance, Osun State came second in NECO results during the PDP regime but it is now number 34. Performances in UTME have also suffered terribly because this government has failed in education and all it does is to deceive people. Look at the Opon Imo which they are making noise about, today; we have only counted 2,120 tablets as against the 150,000 thousand tablets they make noise about yet N8.2 billion has gone down the drain. So, massive education reform is on my agenda so that we can put the state where it rightly belongs in terms of educational development. Again, look at the few roads being constructed by this government, they are Federal Government roads for which APC will be reimbursed but the costs have been inflated. On Osogbo-Kwara boundary, the contract was designed for N10.8 billion but Aregbesola put it at N19.8 billion; where is N10 billion going? On Gbongan Junction to Akoda, it was awarded initially and designed for about N11.2 billion but he has raised it to N44 billion, people should ask where N30 billion is going. On the East-West Bypass in Osogbo, where only N9 billion was to be spent, he awarded it for N20 something billion, about N15 billion is going down the drain. Of course, you are aware that he has been demolishing schools and the schools he claims to be building are supposed to cost N189 million but he is awarding them for N789 million, where is N600 million per school going? So on the schools he plans to build in the state, about N60 billion will go down the drain. Right now, the debt portfolio of the state stands at N413 billion; so there are many things I will change if I become governor. Today, governance in Osun State is about billboards, pamphleteering, posters and propaganda. You can see how the state has been defaced by posters and billboards; our last count of billboards is 4,000 and that would have built about 50 schools. The school uniform they are selling for N2,400 per child sells for N400 outside, so someone is creaming N2,000 per child on the parents. That amounts to about N10 billion. So, in the last three years, Aregbesola has carefully and successfully made sure that about N192 billion is not accounted for. Only last week, he tried to create Omolangidi Youth Club and this is contrary to UNESCO charter that children must not be exposed to violence. We have been hearing about child soldiers before, in Osun we will begin to hear of child thugs with this creation. Aregbesola is trying to cause crisis in the state and all well-meaning people should watch him because Boko Haram started this way too, if we are not careful, he wants to invite Boko Haram here.
But the APC is boasting that their ranks have been swollen by the defections of the five governors.
Anybody can boast, that is not an unusual thing and you have to remember what the Bible says about boasting or pride preceding destruction. That boast will lead to destruction for the APC. In fact, in those places where the governors defected, what impact do they have on those areas? Look at Rivers State, [Governor] Rotimi Amaechi left for APC but the rank and file of ACN had earlier defected to the PDP. Also in Kwara State, the governorship candidate of the ACN in the last election, Dele Belgore, is saying that he will not accept Bukola Saraki; same things are happening in Sokoto and Kano states and these are the internal problems the APC will face, so where is the boasting coming from? They will all come back to the party very soon and I can tell you that the PDP is happy, comfortable and it is moving forward.
One of the grouses of the G7 governors is the ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term in office. Don’t you really think his not contesting will calm frayed nerves?
Nigeria has a population of 160 millions, so are you saying only seven people will determine for us? Saying the president should not seek a second term is a foolish pride from them. They cannot dictate for Nigerians; they should allow the people to decide. How can five people dictate to 160 million Nigerians? Being a governor does not give you absolute authority over people, you are just privileged; there were governors before them and there will be after they leave office. How can they say the president should not contest? These are the areas where people should see that these people are just jesters and I can tell you that they are on a voyage of disgrace.
Recently, the Osun State chapter of the PDP threw the governorship contest open to all members instead of the limiting it to you and three other contestants. How do you view this development?
The idea was to ensure that internal democracy is encouraged and popularised and to give everyone a sense of belonging. It was meant to encourage every PDP member that he/she has a right to the governorship seat unlike in APC where they have closed shop. You can see that the PDP sets positive example in democracy both internally and externally and you will appreciate where we are coming from.
The party also stated that a primary will be conducted in line with the constitution of the party as against the initial idea of a consensus candidacy. Are you happy with this position?
The Electoral Act of 2010 stipulates that there must be internal democracy within the political parties; every candidate must emerge through a democratic process. If you have only one person as your candidate or you want to do a consensus, let those people go and test their prowess on the field. Consensus or primary, they are all the same thing; what matters is you must go through the people to affirm your candidature. That is the evidence of acceptability across board. So, the consensus candidature or primary, they are the same thing; internal democracy is all that matters.
You have criticised Aregbesola at various times for performing poorly in the last three years, leaving people to wonder what you will do differently when you become the governor of the state.
One, governance under APC is that of fraud, deceit, propaganda, stealing and debt; so all these anomalies and fraudulent acts are the things I will check. Two, the education sector in the state has already been bastardised. For instance, Osun State came second in NECO results during the PDP regime but it is now number 34. Performances in UTME have also suffered terribly because this government has failed in education and all it does is to deceive people. Look at the Opon Imo which they are making noise about, today; we have only counted 2,120 tablets as against the 150,000 thousand tablets they make noise about yet N8.2 billion has gone down the drain. So, massive education reform is on my agenda so that we can put the state where it rightly belongs in terms of educational development. Again, look at the few roads being constructed by this government, they are Federal Government roads for which APC will be reimbursed but the costs have been inflated. On Osogbo-Kwara boundary, the contract was designed for N10.8 billion but Aregbesola put it at N19.8 billion; where is N10 billion going? On Gbongan Junction to Akoda, it was awarded initially and designed for about N11.2 billion but he has raised it to N44 billion, people should ask where N30 billion is going. On the East-West Bypass in Osogbo, where only N9 billion was to be spent, he awarded it for N20 something billion, about N15 billion is going down the drain. Of course, you are aware that he has been demolishing schools and the schools he claims to be building are supposed to cost N189 million but he is awarding them for N789 million, where is N600 million per school going? So on the schools he plans to build in the state, about N60 billion will go down the drain. Right now, the debt portfolio of the state stands at N413 billion; so there are many things I will change if I become governor. Today, governance in Osun State is about billboards, pamphleteering, posters and propaganda. You can see how the state has been defaced by posters and billboards; our last count of billboards is 4,000 and that would have built about 50 schools. The school uniform they are selling for N2,400 per child sells for N400 outside, so someone is creaming N2,000 per child on the parents. That amounts to about N10 billion. So, in the last three years, Aregbesola has carefully and successfully made sure that about N192 billion is not accounted for. Only last week, he tried to create Omolangidi Youth Club and this is contrary to UNESCO charter that children must not be exposed to violence. We have been hearing about child soldiers before, in Osun we will begin to hear of child thugs with this creation. Aregbesola is trying to cause crisis in the state and all well-meaning people should watch him because Boko Haram started this way too, if we are not careful, he wants to invite Boko Haram here.
So, there are many things to change; education, health, agriculture, environment, culture, wealth creation and infrastructure, name them.
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