Ondo Guber Watch: Akeredolu best candidate for Ondo –Ariyomo

From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure

Mr. Tunji Ariyomo is one of the 24 governorship aspirants that contested the September 3 primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State and a committed member of the APC in the state. Before his defection to the APC, Ariyomo was a Special Adviser to the Ondo State governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko.

In this interview, Ariyomo speaks on the virtues of the candidate of the APC in the state, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) and why he should be the next governor of the Sunshine state.

As an aspirant at the last gubernatorial primary election and a stakeholder in Ondo APC, how do you rank your party’s chances in the November 26 gubernatorial election?

Our candidate, Rotimi Akeredolu is the next governor of Ondo State. You can note that somewhere for future reference. We have looked at the arithmetic and the dynamics of the 2016 election. He will win. And of the lot in the field, Akeredolu is the only one that can be described as truly independent. The other candidates are mostly stooges that are being propped up by external forces. Look at the supporters of Akeredolu within and outside the state; they are his peers, people who believe in his capacity to deliver. They are not the types aiming to corner the rich resources of the state. They are not the types working frantically to plant lackeys who would cover their sordid tracks. These are major issues in the 2016 election and they have to be emphasized.

I must be frank; I don’t want another professional politician as governor of Ondo State. We have seen that, that is sure recipe for disaster. I want a governor whose sole motivation is development and whose core strengths are the ordinary people. Ondo State needs a governor of the people, installed by the people of Ondo State, for the benefits of the people of Ondo State.

But your party is in crisis over the emergence of Akeredolu as the standard bearer Crisis is a very strong word and I don’t think it is appropriate in this circumstance. The APC in Ondo State is not in crisis. Yes, we had disagreement. There were 24 of us that went to the field. Within 24 hours following the election, more than 90 percent sent congratulatory messages to the candidate. That has never happened in the state. Yes, some of us later said they were aggrieved, but we have to be honest here.

That is what integrity is all about. Apart from Mrs. Jumoke Anifowoshe and I that have been reported by newspapers as not attempting to bend the process with money, we know that 99 percent of the time, our type of democracy allows for all manner of tactics. In this particular case, some paid money to induce delegates. Some brought traditional gods and deities and had delegates swear illegitimate and cult-like oath of allegiances in direct violation of the constitution. Some used unfair means by hiding delegates away in what they called delegate camping; so the rest of us could not access them and preach our manifestoes. Even the contentious  padding of delegates was traceable to the camp of one of the supposedly aggrieved because the local party machinery was being used unfairly in his favour at the time.

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC saw through all these antics and intrigues as against the narratives being deliberately fed the media to create an atmosphere of disunity and delegitimize a legitimate mandate. That was why the NWC trashed the appeal panel report.

But the impression is that a lot of people felt aggrieved and many aspirants left the party Definitely no. I can confidently say that majority of us have put all these behind us.

Authoritatively, eminent people like Prof. Ajayi Boroffice and Dr Segun Abraham are party men who will never allow some setbacks to derail them. A couple of days ago, I still spoke with Prof. Boroffice. He is not a small person in this party and that has to be so recognized. He is a leader with large followers. Prof. Boroffice does not also need the governorship to validate him. He is a reputable scientist of international acclaim. Today, his entire political family has endorsed Akeredolu. If Prof. is against him, a few words from him would have halted such a rapprochement. Dr Segun Abraham has also stated emphatically that even if he would keep fighting, he would rather fight for that mandate within the party.

That is a good spirit. That means he must ensure first that the APC wins in his area because it is only when the APC is victorious that anyone can approach the courts to claim a mandate. There is nothing to share in zero. The only person that abandoned the party is Chief Olusola Oke and that is regrettable. Others you have seen that ditched the party have had that reputation of serially jumping from one party to the other. So, their present action is not new. There is a guy who is a member of my generation who has traversed over 10 different political parties in the last eight years. That was even before the APC primary election.

The PDP is presenting an Akure man like you, but you are supporting a candidate from Owo. Is this in the interest of your people?

Any Akure agenda being pushed by Mimiko is a poisoned chalice designed to further impoverish our people by ensuring that a puppeteer can hide somewhere while his minion pretends to be governor. That is a masked third term. A third term of industrialization on paper. A third term of one km of road for N2billion. A third term of prioritizing event centre construction over independent power plants. A third term of no salary. A third term of opaque finances. If Mimiko truly loves Akure people and wants us as governor, why didn’t he opt for Dr. Dare Bada, a brilliant lawyer with a fierce reputation for being forthright and independent? They were in the same party. But more importantly, as at today, the lawfully recognized candidate of the PDP is from Igbotako. I have warned my people to be very cautious. We should not mobilize the support of our people in Akure only to discover too late that we have simply worked for Igbotako.

But Akure people have argued that Akure agenda will bring development home

When I was campaigning, I made it clear that I stood for the Ondo State agenda. But I have never been against Akure agenda. Many people mouthing Akure agenda do not even know what that agenda stands for. Akure agenda is a rallying cry to halt the grave marginalization of Akure kingdom in the scheme of things. If you consider the entire federation, you suddenly come to the realization that of all states created in 1976, it is only Akure as a state capital that has the rural feel to its existence.

It is also the only one without functional teaching hospital and other basic infrastructure that should come naturally to it. I t has no supporting industry and it mainly exists as a civil servants’ enclave. I have been at the fore front of the struggle for the Akure agenda in a practical way. From the extension of the dual carriageway at Ilesha-garage to the scheme that frustrated a powerful man who intended to surreptitiously relocate a teaching hospital away from Akure to his home town, you will see my handprints and active involvement. Without making a noise, I have given scholarships and bursary grants to students from both Akure North and South local government areas than any other human being in our history. Our traditional ruler, Oba Adesina recognized my contributions and honoured me. Kabiyesi Adebiyi appreciated me. Our present Olisa of Akure Kingdom, High Chief James Olusoga and Prince Wale Adesida know what my timely intervention did for us on the issue of our teaching hospital. If a scheme birthed by Chief Olusoga and I had sailed through about 13 years ago, Akure would have had its first flyover at the time and receive a much needed facelift.

When God used me to establish SITDEC under Agagu, over 30 percent of the first wave of employment was from Akure. Presently, my Think Tank caucus within the APC has come up with a multi-billion dollar scheme mainly for Akure metropolitan area, with outposts to be fixed in Igbokoda, Okitipupa, Ore, Ondo, Owo and Ikare. But we can only implement this if we vote an APC governor in November. We have embedded power generation systems planned for Akure metropolitan area to bring an end to years of epileptic electricity in all parts of Akure. But we can never achieve this under a governor who prioritizes investment of nearly N11billion in the building of a fanciful event centre while people and businesses suffer energy deprivation.

What is your advice to people of Ondo State?

They should come out in their large number on November 26 and vote for the APC and its candidate, Akeredolu. I was recently appointed as Coordinator of the Professionals for Change caucus of the party and we will be playing key roles in the APC election in Ondo State. The group is made up of members within and outside Nigeria including non-APC members so far they believe in rapid transformation and sustainable development. We will be sponsoring the Akeredolu Support Organization across the 3009 units and 203 wards. We believe there are incredible opportunities for this state now that we have someone like President Buhari at the helms of affairs. We seriously need the leverage of the governorship.

To my colleagues in the APC, the fire must keep burning. Our candidate will win in November. He is the best for Ondo State. For those of us who contested the primary election, we understood beforehand that the quality of the Nigerian democracy is still low. We knew its imperfections could be unnerving. We however gave our words to the party that we would stand by the eventual winner. We signed undertakings that we would rally round the winner. We should keep to that agreement. A man’s words should be his bond.

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