APC Will End PDP Misrule In Osun – Ex-Deputy Gov, Alabi

APC Will End PDP Misrule In Osun – Ex-Deputy Gov, Alabi

Former deputy governor of Osun State, Benedict Alabi, speaks with ISMAEEL UTHMAN on the chances of the All Progressives Congress in the next round of elections, and the concerns about internal party divisions in the state.

Nigerians are complaining about hardship occasioned by the economic reform of the APC-led Federal Government. Do you think your party stands any chance to win any of the opposition states?

I understand the hardship many families face. These are real pains, but they are transitional sacrifices towards building a stronger economy and country for ourselves and the future generations. When you look at the reforms of Mr President critically, you will see that the results are already coming out. A sick individual cannot regain his lost weight in a day, no matter how well you feed him. Everything takes time, but the results are already here for us to see, and they’re huge.

I have gone around my state in the last 10 days and the responses from the farmers are very encouraging. Farming is now more rewarding than before, and farmers are getting the real benefit of their labour.  Farmers are beginning to see real returns on their labour, particularly in cocoa, cassava, and plantain. When you also look at the area of education, one of the challenges of parents is the payment of their children’s school fees. Now, you have NELFUND for students’ education and you can see the huge relief the policy has brought to many parents.

The reality now is that the incomes of families have increased beyond the inflation rate. When you don’t pay your children’s school fees anymore, it leaves more money in your pocket, and the N70,000 minimum wage is another considerable area. Farmers are also making big money from cocoa, plantain, cassava, and other produce. Many of our people are majorly agrarian, and they’re the ones confessing that they are happy with Tinubu’s government. People are now experiencing development. Farmers especially are happy because of the increase in the prices of their farm produce. The farmers are not the only ones benefitting from the increase; it has an effect on the country’s economy generally because it improves foreign trade and adds value to our currency. So, the people of opposition states appreciate the President and are ready to align with his party.

Are you saying the APC will take over the opposition states in coming elections?

Definitely! The essence of election is to review what your leaders have done. If they did well, you renew their mandate, and if they didn’t, you sack them through the ballot. I can tell you that APC will take over almost all the states in the coming election.

Let me start from our own state, Osun. The current administration has received over ₦420bn in a few months. We didn’t receive such allocation from 2018 to 2022 when we served. So, there is enough money for the state government to do a lot of programmes and projects. With such improved federal allocations today, one would expect accelerated development in Osun. Unfortunately, the results do not match the resources available. People are also aware that most of these funds come from the Federal Government, being ruled by APC. Therefore, it will reflect in the coming elections in all the states.

The Tinubu administration is a government of empathy; he knows the needs of the people. Our major commerce outside petroleum is agriculture, and it has been positively impacted under this administration. Our foreign exchange and trade have improved and have helped the government to meet the different lines of productivity. The fuel subsidy removal has resulted in increased allocations to states. The governors are to ensure that the people get the benefits of democracy and governance.

As a former deputy governor whose duty included the supervision of the education sector, do you think the revised education curriculum by the Federal Government will be well implemented considering the short term of its introduction?

I believe it will be well implemented. When there is a will, there is always a way. The schools have human resources to drive the new curriculum. What is required is the implementation in each of the schools. I don’t envisage any problem with implementation. The new curriculum contains things that are required for us to adapt to the new normal, to be at par with the world, and for our children to be employable locally and internationally, and tuned to the reality of the time.

There have been controversies on the number of intending voters who have registered with INEC in the ongoing online registration process. Why do you think Osun is leading the chart?

Our people in Osun are well educated and enlightened; they know their civic responsibility, and that is why they have continued to participate in electoral processes. Besides, we are having a governorship election in less than a year in the state, so people are eager to exercise their rights in the coming poll. Don’t forget that Osun is one of the states, if not the first, with the highest number of tertiary institutions in the country. There is no manipulation; you can check yourself. Only those who are afraid of being rejected at the election are making frivolous allegations.

What was the major challenge of your administration as the deputy governor?

The first is paucity of funds. Like I mentioned earlier, the current governor had N400bn plus in a few months which we didn’t have in four years. We also had issues of #EndSARS and COVID-19 for over a year. So, we had little time to deliver to the people as we had planned.

The APC was divided during your administration along the IleriOluwa and TOP lines. After leaving office, you said you could end the division in the party, and that resulted in backlash from a section of the party. What was your intention then?

APC is one big family. There are bound to be disagreements between two brothers, but how we handle that matters. However, at the end of the day, we are united as true party men and women. What I said then was that I didn’t belong to any group. I belong to the party, because the party is the face, and it is what we love the most. The party is faring better now.

We are already witnessing unorthodox political movements. You would expect people in the opposition to join the ruling party in a state, but the opposite is what we are seeing in Osun. PDP senators and House of Reps members have been joining APC. That is an indication that we have a stable and strong house. It is also a pointer to the fact that the present government of Ademola Adeleke is not doing well. We still expect more PDP leaders to join APC in Osun. Our party is on course, and we have the support of the people of the state.

How true is the report that there is division between you and your former principal, Gboyega Oyetola, who is now the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy?

This is a time of politics, and people usually spin a lot of insinuations. People design things and sell them to the public in pursuit of their interests. My principal and I worked together for four years and there was no issue between us. He remains a great leader, and I still consult him in everything I do.

Is he in support of your governorship ambition?

No individual will decide a governorship ambition. In APC, we have hierarchy and protocol, and it must be maintained. We have party leaders who will sit down to decide the direction to follow. Governorship is not a one-man show. It is about putting hands together on what is best for us as a party. It is not just about contesting; it is about producing a winning ticket, and everything must be considered.

You must consider many factors before concluding on who should manage over five million people. My principal, Oyetola, is a major factor, and you know that it took him a long time before he came out to declare that he is not contesting. Whether he is or is not supporting me is not what we should be discussing. The fact is: does he want the best for the party? Yes. Does he want the party to come back to power in Osun State? Yes. Hence, he will definitely support whoever the party considers as the best candidate to fly the ticket.

A camp of the APC has been agitating for the zoning of the governorship ticket to Osun West, which is your senatorial district. Do you support the call, and should zoning be a deciding factor above competence and popularity in the contest?

Competence is available in all the senatorial districts, and all of us aspiring to be governor under APC are competent, whether from Central, East, or West. Popularity is also there. When you look at the candidates contesting from the West, who do you want to say is not competent among them?

When you talk about popularity also, don’t forget that the sitting governor is from Osun West. That means that any APC candidate from Osun West will divide the district’s votes in favour of our party. Although every district has competent leaders but zoning helps balance equity with representation.

You were a deputy governor for four years. Why do you want to come back again?

Statutorily, the maximum time for a governor or deputy governor is eight years. I only spent four years as a deputy governor. Besides, we have uncompleted projects that have been abandoned. For instance, our administration approved the Osogbo–Iwo–Oyo State boundary road reconstruction, and we expected that the new government would continue the project. But it has been abandoned and the road has deteriorated.

One of the primary duties of any serious government is to provide quality education for the students in his state. Many public schools in Osun State today cannot boast of qualified teachers in each subject. During our time; we employed 2,500 teachers out of the 7,500 we wanted to engage. Today; Adeleke administration has sacked 1,000 of them. Currently, there are not enough doctors and nurses in our hospitals. We employed health workers, but they were sacked with no replacement for the past three years.

It is not about personal ambition, but about the interest and love of the people. It is a call to service, to ensure that people get the best in terms of governance and personal life. That is why I am involved.

We have about seven or eight aspirants, including yourself. How will you feel if the party decides not to field you?

All the aspirants are qualified to rule the state. But people will choose the best among us, and we will work together when that happens. I have been the deputy governor before and I know exactly where to start from day one. My ultimate goal is a better Osun, whether I am on the ballot or not. Whosoever our party leaders consider the best in the current circumstances to fly the party ticket, we will still work together to deliver our state from the current leadership. We will ensure that our people live a decent life.