You all need to be reading
political stories often; it enlightens you and makes you know whatsup. And
guess what it’s far more interesting than gossip! Enjoy the interview;
Since you formed the party,
why did you choose the position of just a deputy governor?
After forming Labour Party,
Mimiko called me and asked me to recommend three persons from Akoko as his
running mate. I recommended late Clement Adebambo from Ogbagi Akoko and Saka
Lawal, from Afin Akoko. I said these two gentlemen could work with him. After
about a week or two, he phoned me. I was at my office at the Nigerian Shippers
Council at Apapa. He said he wanted to come to Apapa to meet me. He said he
didn’t know how he would put it but he actually wanted me to be his running
mate. I told him that I was too old for that position and that he should
consider the people that I recommended to him. He went to persuade my wife in
Akure and when I came home, my wife persuaded me to accept the offer.
But didn’t you think you
were too old for the position of a deputy governor?
I insisted that I was too
old for the position. But Mimiko promised (which he kept to some extent, before
he showed his true colour) that I would not be put under immense pressure. But
I told my wife that the humiliation and insults that came with that position
was much. I told her she shouldn’t complain whenever such arose. And she
agreed. That was why she had to bear all we went through and that was why we
were able to tolerate him and his wife up till this time before we decided to
leave them.
Would you mention some of
the maltreatments you suffered, specifically as deputy governor?
Immediately we were sworn
in, Mimiko had his own plan from day one which was unknown to me. This was why
many members of the party left after forming the government. What he introduced
was very alien to the practice we met in the Western Region and in Ondo State.
He was not the first governor anyway. He took over everything. He
single-handedly selected the 22 commissioners. When I saw this, I was annoyed.
But he pleaded with me and promised he would create the Local Government and
Chieftaincy Ministry. He decided to create it in conjunction with the former
chairman of LP, Olaiya Oni. I pleaded to be excused. I said I wouldn’t want to
leave office and be going to Abuja to be reporting in the office of EFCC and
ICPC. Eighty per cent of the accusations levelled against the last
administration were about the money diverted from the local governments. He
promised that he would put me in charge of a very powerful agency where a lot
of money would be spent on power generation and that was better than the
Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs. But I told him he should
do what he wanted because I was not in the job for money. The prestige in that
office was alright. I had a means of living. Within six months, all the
responsibilities I had, as the chairman of State Tender’s Board and Joint
Allocation Committee, where I presided over the monies coming from the
federation account to the local governments, he went to the House of Assembly
and got a bill to revoke the order where the deputy governor was chairman of
JAC. I did not bother. He decided to select occasional members of the cabinet
or chose any person he wanted to take over the job. There was no official
pronouncement on that. This he did to render me completely non-functional. So,
I came to the office, I read papers and so on.
Was that what led you to
part ways with the governor?
Yes. After enduring the
maltreatment, I had to leave. He had been unfair to me. I had endured hardship,
but I did not count it as hardship. I am satisfied with my salary. It was clear
that Mimiko did not value me. So for him to value me, I decided to leave 48 hours
to the election. There were many things he did against me. It came to a point
that even when I phoned him, he would not pick my call. When I complained, he
said I should not call him directly, that I had to call his ADC, since he was
permanently in Aso Rock Villa. It was only when he came back that he would be
approving files. I actually asked him if he really said I should be calling his
ADC when I needed his attention and he said yes. I just felt this was too much
for me to bear.
We learnt you were also not
happy with him because of the appointments he made…
Yes. I was not happy with
the way he distributed his appointments. In my local government, he appointed
just four commissioners in the last six years, whereas other local governments
still have the ones he appointed in 2009. He has changed four commissioners,
appointing them without my knowledge. He never consults me in any decision he
makes. He said since they are going to be working with him directly, he has the
right to pick them. What annoyed me was during this election, while we were
preparing for it, he decided to pick the person who would represent my
constituency. I considered that to be too much. If you say you can nominate
candidates from other constituencies, it is wrong of him to go ahead to
nominate a candidate in my own constituency; a candidate who has spent eight
years in the House of Reps, to return for the third term to represent a
constituency of four towns.
Since you said you started
having issues with the governor right from the first day, why did it take you
this long to defect and why did you even wait till the eve of the election to
defect?
I am not in the office
because of money. I am from a family background that respects constituted
authority. My father was a traditional chief. With my age, I am not in a rush
for money. With my age, I am contented with what I have. I have every cause to thank
God. God gave me three children. They are doing fine. Even as deputy governor,
my daughter still sends me money for cow and ram for Sallah. I told her not to
bother, that I have enough, but she said she knew I was doing same for my
father and that she would be doing it for me too. So I said alright. So, it is
not money. I enjoy the love the Ondo State people have for me. I also respect
eminent persons in the state.
But you haven’t told us why
you chose to defect few hours to election day…
When Mimiko wanted to defect
to PDP, I was here in Akure. He had been in Abuja for two weeks at the time.
Early in the morning around 4am, the governor called me and asked where I was,
I told him I was on my bed, he said alright and that he just wanted to hear
from me. About three hours later, that should be around 7 or 8am, the Chief of
Staff called me. I asked where he was calling from and he said he was in
Lokoja. I asked what was happening, he said he thought the governor had sent
for me, that he was on his way to Abuja to go and defect to PDP. Defect? That
was what I wanted to do since last year. February last year, I wanted to return
to the PDP, Mimiko pleaded with me that I should not. I stayed back. He went
there, he defected with his commissioners. I only heard of it in the news. When
he came back, I thought he would give reasons why he did not consult me but he
did not say anything or mention it at all. I called him and complained to him.
I told him what he did wasn’t right. I asked him why he would go to Abuja to
defect to PDP without letting me know. One of the party officials even said I
was not a member of PDP because when Mimiko defected with his commissioners, I
was not there. It dawned on me that this action was not by mistake; it was
deliberate. He said I was no more useful or relevant. I gave him 48 hours.
After all the maltreatment he had given me, I said alright, I defected to APC
since he did not even want me in PDP. He defected from LP to PDP while I
defected to the APC. I don’t know why he is annoyed.
No comments:
Post a Comment