Ondo 2024 Governorship Election, We Are Looking For A Progressive Successor– Victor Olatoyegun Esq.
Barr. Victor Olatoyegun is legal practitioner based in Akure. A member of APC and Secretary of the Ondo State Professionals Group. He spoke with Ayodele Ologunola on some national issues. Excerpts:
You’re one of the core members of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State. What has been your contribution towards the success of the party in the state.
We started during the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) days when former Gov. Mimiko was in the saddle. Then, ACN was trying to find its voice. We organised a lot of meetings by advocating for political conscience of the repressed progressive elements in the state.
I could remember Pa Osedimbola in Owo. He was the chairman of ACN then, while I was the legal adviser for the Ondo North senatorial district.
There’s another woman called Mrs Adediran (a.k.a Madam K K). I can remember the role the few of us played then. We started the awareness campaigns by moving from one town to another in Ondo north senatorial district. Before long, the idea was copied by other senatorial districts in the state.
Some Progressives including myself had earlier formed a group known as Ondo State Professional Group sometime in 2010, under the leadership of Pa/Hon. Segun Ojo.
At a point the group went into limbo but later regrouped stronger. Members include Lanre Ogidan, Benji Oloye, Dr. Saheed Adegoke, etc. Without fear of contradiction, our mandate was to search for a potential candidate who will dislodge the incumbent governor then (Dr. Olusegun Mimiko).
In our search for a credible candidate, the group was concerned about formulating policy issues upon which to lay a solid socio-political and economic for Ondo State. Hence, the idea to set up a blueprint committee to draw guidelines for the potential candidate.
We eventually met with Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN, present governor of Ondo State, at Ibadan.
We persuaded him to join the governorship contest. He had said that it was too late for him to show interest in governorship race but we assured him of our support particularly with sufficient data on Ondo State to compile a blueprint. At this assurance he promised that whenever he was ready, he will use our platform to inform the public, which he did on 8/11/2011 at Stevens Hotel, Ijapo Estate Akure, when he formally declared his intention at our meeting.
From that moment we started to mobilize people and we presented him a draft blue print of action (from our resources without collecting a dim from him) as we had promised.
Unfortunately, he failed in the 2012 election, but we stood by him from the Election Petition Tribunal up to Supreme Court.
It should be noted that three of us namely, Victor Olatoyegun, Charles Titiloye and Olawoye SAN stood out among lawyers in Ondo State that stayed with him.
He won on the second electoral attempt.
Ondo State would have been a transformed entity if Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN had not abandoned the blue print that we presented to him. The result is obvious now.
It could be see that members of APC are crying marginalization, saying that they were being sidelined in governance. As regards this claim of members of APC, all we know is that, “Teacher goes, Teacher come, but the classroom remains.”
We are unrelenting as we confident that Ondo State shall survive.
We can understand your contributions toward the success of Gov Akeredolu both in 2012 and 2016. After he won the election, its seem he sideline some of you, what is your opinion.
It has been said in my statement above that Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN lost in 2012 but won in 2016. We again participated in the review of the earlier blue print in an enlarged committee which involved. I was a member of the blueprint committee both in 2012 and 2016. So I can say that I fully participated in his coming to power. Although, we don’t know what went wrong along the lines. The blue print ought to be followed but along the line, he started to do things differently. That is the reason we’re having problems in Ondo State.
It is a fact that APC members fought to dislodged the ruling Labor party but what do we see after seven years in APC government? APC members are still crying that the governor didn’t consider them.
We shall ask him what he did with the blue print that was presented to him? I know that history is being written. Everyone would bear his or her own cross at the appropriate time, wether good or bad.
With the situation in Ondo State at present. What type of Governor do you envisage for the state in the coming governorship election.
I forseen APC still maintaining the hold on Ondo State. We the members of the professional group are not relenting as we believe that we cannot share anything from zero. Irrespective of unco-ordinnating altitude of the present governor under APC led government in Ondo State, we are looking forward for a progressive successor that would not be self-centred.
According to an adage ” if you fall off a horse, it’s the same horse you are still going to ride.”
APC is still better than any other political party in Nigeria, in terms of manifesto, structure and policy insight of the party at the national level. We have seen the strength of both the PDP and the Labour Parties?
We have a leader who is now the president of the country. With Bola Ahmed Tinubu at saddle at the centre I can assure you that Ondo State shall be better. We are looking forward for a progressive-minded person. We shall get one. We’re not going to fall into the pitch that we feel into in the past. We meant well for the State.
Can you shed more light about the Professionals Group that you always make mention.
The professional group in Ondo State are made of able-bodied of men and women who are professionals in their own right, individually. It includes Lawyers, Accountants, Engineers, Doctors, Bricklayers, Carpenters, etc. The index of membership is to have a job and be well-informed politically. We have members who are versed in the socio-political and economic history as well as the way of life of the people of Ondo State.
Its God we trust. After doing our best, we leave the remaining in God’s hands to perfect. We’re searching and definitely, we shall find.
Do you have anyone in mind that you are working for at present?
We are moving and we have option. We have better options. It is premature to let the cat out of the bag. But definitely , when we come out with a candidate he is going to be the darling of everybody that people would be happy about. We believe that the people of Ondo State would be happier for it.
It seems that Ondo is silent due to the absence of governor Akeredolu. What is your take on it
The constitution is very clear. When the governor is incapacitated and not able to perform his duty, his deputy will take over. The deputy governor in the case of Ondo has taken over. We expect the taking over to be total. He would be answering to the duty of the governor, not the duty of the deputy governor. But the one we see is that he is acting like ostrich. Burying his head in is anus. We don’t know how far that one would carry him.
Ondo State is in state of coma. If Aketi is bedridden, we expect that the government of Ondo State will not be bedridden. Akeredolu is not a stone. Anybody can fall sick and we wish him quick recovery, but the truth must be told. It appears the deputy governor is not acting well. I don’t subscribed to the idea of the cabal holding him hostage. When you have the weapon of authority, you have to apply it. We saw during the time of Buhari when he was sick and Osibanjo acted for him. He sacked the Director General of DSS , and nothing happened. If anybody is not cooperating amongst the executive members, the deputy governor can go ahead and act as appropriate.
It is said that some of the roles of the governor are being performed by other executive members contrary to the position of acting governor. How do you view it.
The acting governor can delegate his authority to any member of the executive. But there are are some duties he cannot delegate. I’m not in a position to judge him. I can only access his person. But he needs to do more.
With the crisis in the APC in the state, do you think there primary election is going to be credible. Because we saw what happened in 2019 during the primary where some members were denied.
Anything done outside the law is illegal and unlawful. I don’t see the APC national officials not conducting fair primary. The one that usher in President Tinubu was transparent. So, they will definitely conduct a transparent primary as long as members are in support of it. Every hand must be on deck. We’re expecting people either past contestants for the post of governor or new entrants to be sincere to the people. They must come up. We have people like Paul Akintelure, Isaac Kekemeke, Olusola Oke, Oladunni Odu etc. They are all competent. I forsee a more transparent primary in Ondo State APC come 2024.
What can you say about coup that is taking place in the African countries.
I can’t say it’s a revolution, because revolution is a something that is spontaneous, and most of the times, violent. I can say that most of the recent military coups in some African countries are Palace coups. The bottom line is that something is common to all of them . They swept away democratically elected governments claiming corruption and institutional failure as major Causes.
We can talk of institutional failure in Ondo State whereby people worship the governor and the governor becomes power drunk to the extent of doing things in his own way without recourse to the political party and people who vested power on him.
This is what is happening in all countries where the coup had taken place.
Nigeria is different because President Tinubu has just come to power. We’re expecting him to address the problems of institutional failure due to hardship, breakdown of government machinery, insecurity, decaying infrastructure, etc.
Africa is witnessing the current gale of military coups due to bad leadership. Tinubu is going to write the wrongs done by the former president Buhari. Let us allow him because he has come up with a good policy direction that may take some time to mature.
What we are seeing in the national assembly is that politicians are becoming lord of the people. They make jest of the masses. Considering #2 million as a token gift to go on vacation.
The hardship that the masses are facing is too much. They should not provoke the masses because they were the ones that elected them. Subsidy was removed and there was nothing to cusion the effect. What they are talking about, “distributing rice is too cosmetic a measure.” How many people are going to get it and for how long?
We expect seriousness on the part of the leadership, if not, those who oppressed the people would receive a fight-back from the people. And if it happens, the end would not be palatable.
Remember, military men are part of the suffering masses. They are not immune to hardship that the civilians are facing. When a goat is push to the wall, it will fight back. This is the reality.
