Rotimi Adeyemi is the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) deputy governorship candidate in the Ondo State gubernatorial election. In this interview he disclosed how the new entrant political party in the state would come out victorious in the November 16 gubernatorial poll, why the party is attractive to Ondo people, among other issues. INIOBONG IWOK brings the excerpts:
What’s the reaction of Akure people to your choice as the deputy governorship candidate of the NNPP in Ondo State?
I want to appreciate the wisdom of the NNPP, our great leader, distinguished Senator Rabiu Kwakwanso, the Kano State governor, and the party’s governorship candidate in Ondo State, Gbenga Edema, for their decision to pick an Akure-speaking person as the deputy governorship candidate. I’m fortunate to be the Akure-speaking person they picked. I want to say, without mincing words, that the people of Akure were looking forward to being considered for a very reliable and appointing position, but unfortunately, they were let down by both the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) and the supposedly opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state. So, the only party that is left in Ondo State that is now known to have considered an Akure-speaking person is the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP). Since my emergence became public knowledge, the people of Akure, the high and the low, have been calling to have interaction with me. They have even sent me to thank the party’s leadership for considering me and considering Akure for that position. People have been meeting at the ward and unit levels, even at motor parks, to discuss the new thing happening to Ondo State through NNPP. I can assure you; we’ll see it through to the end, God helping us.
But there’s the perception within the political class that NNPP is not popular in the South-West?
Many of us are forgetful about history, and more often than not, we forget what happens. In this state, before Dr. Olusegun Mimiko became governor, the parties we heard about in those days were AD, ACN, and PDP. There was no party like the Labour Party (LP). But when Governor Mimiko felt cheated and decided to try his opportunity elsewhere, he pulled out of the PDP, and today history can justify his decision. He won and had his two terms before he left the office. What I’m trying to say is that thank God that NNPP is not a party that just came yesterday. It has been in existence for a long time. Today we have governors in our fold, senators, House of Representatives members, and chairmen, among others. During the time of the Labour Party, they didn’t have any structure anywhere, and they won. And going by last year’s presidential election, when Peter Obi came and said he wanted to be a presidential candidate for the Labour Party, what they told him was that there was no structure, but they surprised him in Lagos State, which is the home state of the current President of Nigeria. So, what are they talking about? NNPP is a household name and has a state like Kano. We’re saying that in this state of ours, people have not been taking cognisance of NNPP, but we are bringing it into the limelight with Gbenga Edema and Rotimi Adeyemi, and we will see how the wonder will flow.
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What are your chances of winning the November 16, 2024 election?
You are saying the obvious. I talked about a party that came from nowhere and won the election. Two things stand for them: the pedigree of those who carried the governorship flag of the party, and that is the same thing we are having in the NNPP.
Whether you like it or not, the standard-bearer of the party, Hon. Gbenga Edema, is a household name. Some people have not even met him one-on-one, but they’ve heard about him, either when he was in the legislature or when he became OSOPADEC Chairman, or in the NDDC. Flowing down from him is his deputy, who just retired from the service of Ondo State. But I can say that if anyone goes to any local government in Ondo State and any ward where there is a health facility and mentions Rotimi Adeyemi, he or she would see that he’s a household name. So, it’s a combination of a good pedigree from the political frame and a grassroots mobiliser, Rotimi Adeyemi, who has been so involved in the grassroots politics of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE).
To ice the cake, Rotimi Adeyemi is from the Akure-speaking area, and other political parties have so neglected the Akure-speaking people in the permutation of elections in this state. Let us go back to the last election of 2020 and look at the voting pattern, you will see that Akure South alone had over 50,000 voters. That is those who were accredited and voted at the last governorship election. Ifedore has about 25,000 voters and Akure North has over 22,000. When these three are put together, it is about 100,000. In Ondo State today, for any candidate to win the governorship, all you need is about 300,000 votes. If you go to other local governments, Idanre has about 15,000; the four local government areas in Akoko do not match up with what Akure has. I studied in Idanre. All who are in politics in Idanre today are my colleagues and contemporaries, and many of them are even rooting for me. By the time we aggregate all these, it becomes glaring how NNPP is flying in Ondo State. I can assure you that come February 2025, we will be in the Government House.
What is your reaction to the recent judgement of the Supreme Court on local government autonomy?
We thank God for the judgement of the Supreme Court. It’s a noble decision from the apex court and it has actually come to corroborate what we believed in NNPP that local government autonomy is sacrosanct to development at the grassroots level. We’re happy about the judgement and it will form a cornerstone in our administration because it is one of our cardinal points. We’re going to grant local government autonomy to them and we’ll allow them to operate freely. We won’t be involved or indulge in pilfering their finances. We’ll also support them to achieve more because if people at the grassroots are happy and have means of livelihood, it will be better for the development of a state and the nation. We’re glad that the Supreme Court has given us the ground to leverage on and to work on. Right from outset, I’m an advocate of local government autonomy. I’ve written several articles on this, and we have organised several peaceful rallies to support this purpose, and we were on it when I was still in the service. We have been to Abuja, and we’ve sent emissaries to all the State Assembly Speakers, traditional rulers, and governors. At the close of the last administration of former President Buhari, of the 36 states and FCT, we needed just two-thirds to get it. At that time, 16 agreed that local governments should be given autonomy. One of the few states that never did it was Ondo State. It is said in the constitution that the local government shall establish and maintain markets. Today, all the markets in Ondo State are being run by the state government. We also said that they should allow local governments to take tolls at the park. Today, the state government is the one in charge. These are the things that have been taken away from the local government and would be returned to the local government.
We have seven cardinal objectives that we are out to canvass, which transcend health, agriculture, local government autonomy and infrastructure.
But the local government staff that have been craving autonomy didn’t issue any statement on the decision of the Ondo State government to oppose autonomy?
I pity the local staff because, by statute, code of conduct and practice of engagement, they are to be seen and not heard because they are employees of the government. They’re not policymakers or decision-makers. They don’t make laws; they don’t make statutes. But they can take cover under the umbrella of the union, under which they are all together. The union has the right to protect the interests of all the workers, and that is what the union has done. The very day when the Attorney-General of this state issued a statement that Ondo State would object to the Federal Government decision to give local government autonomy, there was a directive from the union that there should be a peaceful protest. I know that in every local government of the state, workers carried placards to the palaces of traditional rulers and stakeholders. It’s unfortunate that other states are seeking to give autonomy to local governments, but Ondo State decided to say no and opposed the Federal Government on it.
Do you subscribe to the argument that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should take charge of the election of local government chairmen and councilors?
There’s no need for duplicity in the electoral body. If they’re doing the same thing, why duplicate them? Elections in the local government and the state in the past were done by FEDECO, and they were done at once. State Electoral Commissions are another branch of government because they will come cap in hand to the government for money. If the governor says there’s no money, the election cannot be held. The election will only be held at the mercy and convenience of the governor.
Considering that elections in the country involve spending huge sums by parties, do you think the NNPP has the wherewithal ahead of the poll?
Money is not the thing; it is the individual that will put the money to use. NNPP has productive money, not electoral money. Productive money is the money that we need to mobilise, sensitise, educate and bring the people’s consciousness to what lies in their voting power – their tomorrow is by their fingertip. If they wish to mortgage their tomorrow for another person who will offer them N10,000 for their vote, and in a matter of three to four days, they will finish spending it and suffer for four years. It is left to them. Often, they don’t know the implication. What we have done is educate them that they shouldn’t mortgage the future of their children and our development. Our cornerstone is that everybody should be educated. When we get to government, education shall be free from all state-owned primary to state-owned universities.
What will you do differently as a deputy governor if your party wins the election on November 16?
The first thing I’ll do differently is that I’ll give my principal, Hon. Gbenga Edema, 100 percent of my time because his success is our success. We have seven cardinal objectives that we are out to canvas, which transcend health, agriculture, local government autonomy and infrastructure.
