Secretary of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State, Tajudeen Olanite, speaks to DANIEL AYANTOYE about the party’s decision to withdraw its candidates if the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System will not be used for the forthcoming local government elections, among other issues
Your party recently threatened to withdraw its candidates in the forthcoming local government election in the state if the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission failed to use the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System for the poll. What informed this decision?
We believe in transparency and fairness in that election and OYSIEC has promised us that they have liaised with INEC to release the BVAS machine for the election, but we hear it as a rumour that it may not be used. You know, in politics, out of every rumour, there are elements of truth, and we don’t want them to deviate at the eleventh hour. Yes, we believe in what the OYSIEC chairman has said but we urge him to stand by his words. He has also told us that the election will be free and fair by 80 to 90 per cent and that all electoral processes will be transparent and that all machinery to ensure that the election is transparent will be put in place.
We all know there is no perfection in any election but recently, we started to hear rumours that there are plans to boycott the use of the BVAS and that is why we spoke out to ensure that what he has promised us must not change. I believe that the OYSIEC Chairman, Abiola Olagunju, who is a respected legal luminary, will not change his mind on this issue. The BVAS will make the election more transparent and acceptable to voters, the electorate, candidates, and everyone else.
Does this mean the last local government election in the state was not transparent because BVAS was not used?
Our party deliberately didn’t participate in the last election. Now, we are ready to participate because of the assurance of a transparent process that the OYSIEC chairman has given us. We couldn’t have participated but he told us they would put in all efforts to ensure that the election was free and fair. The way to achieve that is by using the BVAS machine and the INEC voter register. Rigging, if at all, will be less if BVAS is used for the election.
But despite the use of BVAS during the 2023 general election, there were still several lawsuits after the election. Will your party accept the outcome of the election even if BVAS is used?
Yes, we will accept the outcome of the election once BVAS is used. We are well prepared for the election. We have campaigned and educated the people and we are sure of victory. If you look at the records, you will see that we have candidates for all the local governments and wards. We believe that the election will be won by our party, the All Progressives Congress because we have the support of the masses. We want to change the narratives of the local government areas because what is happening at that level now in the state is not palatable. There is nothing to show as development in the local government.
What do you mean by there is nothing to show in the local government areas?
In Oyo East Local Government Area, for instance, if you visit the place, you will realise that it has become a ghost of itself. The roads in the community are in a bad state because the local government is not functioning. Local government is the nearest to the masses. Today, you hear people reaching out to senators and House of Representatives members and requesting boreholes, among other things that are ordinarily the responsibilities of the local government but when that level of government is not functioning, what do you expect? Our party will change the narrative when we win the election.
The Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, recently said that with the performance of the state Governor, Seyi Makinde, the PDP would win the local government elections. What do you make of that?
The commissioner will back the government he is working for. He will not disclose where there is a problem, but we are aware of where these problems are. Tell them to reveal the performance report of the local government in the state. Where are the allocations that are meant for the local governments? What you will hear is that they are paying prompt salaries to workers. Is it only salaries that the allocation for the local government is meant for? What about the development of local communities? The performance of a government starts at the grassroots. If the grassroots is performing well, nobody will say anything, but in this case, the grassroots is rotten.
The PDP is the ruling party in the state; do you have any concerns that this may influence the outcome of the election?
Not at all! The era of winners-take-all has come and gone. People are now well-educated, and they know what to do. Let the election be conducted and let them tell us we lost the election. I can promise you that our people are on the ground to spot any area that is rigged. So, we are not in any way, afraid of anything. That it is the PDP that is the ruling party does not in any way affect the fact that the people have witnessed the rot in their community, and they will vote for us. We are putting all our resources into this election, and we will win. It is not a hidden fact that there is nothing in the local government areas. All the property there have been sold off.
How sure are you about such a claim that property are sold off?
Come down to Oyo East, which is my local government area. We had borehole drilling machines and bulldozers, but they are no longer there. We know what we are saying. The facts are there. They should come out and tell us that the borehole drilling machine, grader, and other equipment for grading roads were not sold.
But the Seyi Makinde administration has always boasted of executing several projects that are located in one local government or another.
They will always claim that he is doing well. No. I am saying we should have good governance in the state. The government can say anything, but is it real? If it is real, show it. Like I said earlier, the performance of the government should start at the grassroots.
Several people lamented the situation of your party in the state when its late candidate, Abiola Ajumobi, was governor. What do you think your party would have done differently?
There is no government that is in power that people will not complain about. But when you are talking about the administration of the late Abiola Ajumobi, he did a lot for the state. When he was in government, he purchased grading equipment, including drilling machines, graders, caterpillars, excavators, and loaders for all the local governments. He did that because he knew that the performance of any government would always start at the grassroots. So, the Abiola Ajimobi government performed far better than this government.
Will you say the same thing if you were not in the APC?
Of course, I will say it. I am talking as a party man and as a common man. I am equally one of the masses.
Many are lamenting that the economic policy of the APC’s Bola Tinubu’s government has brought hardship to Nigerians. What is your take on the situation?
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government didn’t bring hardship to Nigerians. From what you can see, invite all the state governors and ask them how much allocation was given to them before the present administration came on board and how much it is now. Are they using what they are receiving for the masses? Tinubu will not come from Abuja to govern in Oyo. They (the Federal Government) have given the necessary things to cushion the effect of the hardship on the masses to the state governors, but they don’t do it. What have they done with the allocation given to them?
You have equally heard that some governors are already beginning processes to cushion the effect of the hardship on the people with what was given to them. But if you see others, instead of using the funds for the people, they will use them to campaign for their party. They gave them palliative, which they brought to Oyo State, rebagged, and labelled with the PDP logo. They gave you money for palliative and you decided to rebrand it for your party. Why should that be? Label it as a Federal Government palliative.
Some Nigerians are regretting that Tinubu emerged as president following the hardship. Are you not concerned about the situation?
We are human beings. What is happening in Nigeria didn’t start now? It started to accumulate several years ago. Here is a man (Tinubu) who is determined to correct the anomaly within the system. And you are aware that changing from wrong to right will always come with several issues but there is a need for sacrifice. We cannot allow Nigeria to collapse and there is only one administration that will correct the wrongs and that is the situation we have.
Are you worried that the current performance of the Tinubu government may influence the outcome of the local government election in the state, as many may opt for the PDP?
The current situation in the country does not have anything to do with the local government election. People are aware in Oyo State that local governments are not functioning. They are aware that this government does not perform at the local government level. There was a time when Seyi Makinde said he didn’t believe in the third tier of local government.
But he is conducting elections in the local government, unlike some states; doesn’t that contradict such a statement?
But he said it openly and that is why he is running the affairs without the involvement of the local government which is one of the reasons you have such a level of decay as we have now in the local government, but the PDP is here to change the narrative. He doesn’t believe in that level of government, but he is collecting the allocation from the Federal Government. He should have told the government that he would not operate the third tier of local government and that the allocation would be withheld. He is collecting the funds, yet the local government is in a terrible situation. What our party is doing now is contesting the election, winning, and putting in place a strong administration to administer the local government.
Like every election, some members of your party were disgruntled after the general election. How has your party been able to placate them?
Just like every other party, you will find disagreement on one issue or another. It’s a party thing but for us, we are now one family. We don’t have any issues with our members; we are stronger than before. Every party has its own crisis but how to manage it is the issue. But I am telling you now that our house is fully in order, and we are ready for the local government election.
