Wada can’t defeat Bello, says Adeyemi

Senator Smart Adeyemi is the Director-General of Yahaya Bello Campaign Organisation. He spoke with Assistant Editor Gbade Ogunwale in Abuja on the issues that will shape the November 16 governorship poll in Kogi State.

You always sound confident that the APC will win the election. What gives you such confidence?

Of course, I expect that we are going to win with a very wide margin. It is so imminent — so obvious — that the electorate is going to give us their support. I expect a free and fair election that will be violence free. I do belief that we will score not less than 75 per cent votes across the state. This is because, as I speak to you today, I do not think the PDP has a candidate for now. Their candidate is still a subject of litigation where prominent members of the party have gone to court with about 40 members who are delegates and from my knowledge of election cases, even though I am not a lawyer, I hold the view that their primary election was inconclusive, because the election was collated the next day inside somebody’s private residence. There is no other way of describing the election as inconclusive and, except the constitution is amended alongside the electoral act, I don’t think the PDP has a candidate for the election. But we pray for the PDP to resolve their challenges, because we want to have a good contest where issues will be the focus. We don’t want a free run election in which there is no opposition. It is painful to us that the main opposition is in disarray. May be that is equally good for the people, so that they appreciate the danger of supporting a party that lacks vision.

What’s your reaction to the accusation that the APC masterminded the gun attack during the PDP primary at the Lokoja Confluence Stadium?

I think it will be uncharitable for anybody to attribute the gun attack during the PDP primary to the APC. What is our business as to who emerges as PDP candidate? The election was within the PDP. When you take an inventory of the aspirants, the leadership of the PDP should be able to look at the antecedents of the contestants to identify those with criminal tendencies. There are some of them who are in court for gun running related cases. Others are standing trial for criminal activities, corruption, aiding and abetting of criminals. So, the PDP should look inwards. Is it the APC that equally did the shooting in Bayelsa State? It shows the characters of the people in that party. A leopard cannot change its colour. How come other parties had peaceful primaries? So, it is unacceptable, if they are saying that the violence was masterminded by the APC. The people who are experienced in criminal activities in the party, know when to strike. Get the police to assist you with the records of those that contested for the PDP governorship ticket. It has nothing to do with the APC.

The tension is mounting, because the stakes are high. Are you hopeful of a violent-free election?

As far as the APC is concerned, I can tell you very authoritatively that we do not have any plans for violence. It is not our own way of life; it is not what we believe in and we do not have people with criminal tendencies occupying strategic positions in our party to push for violence. But, can you say that of the main opposition party? The answer is no. There is someone in the PDP standing trial for six different criminal offences. Why don’t you go and meet these people to ask them. It is not the APC you should ask.

Governor Bello was accused of importing military uniforms, which were ceased by customs. Are you aware of this?

I can tell you that the story is not true. It could not be established. There was no reason to do that. By the time I go into details of how I think we are going to win the election you will agree with me that it is really unnecessary to start entertaining fears of violence or trying to blackmail this government. Where is that opposition? When you want to break a pot made of clay you don’t need too much energy to break it. What you need to do is raise the pot and remove your hands. That is the way it is going to go. In the last one week, we have been having a minimum of 1000 defectors from other political parties. As I speak to you, we still have over 12,000 others that want to defect. We have among them former appointees under the previous PDP government. These are people with good track records; opinion leaders. It is going to be a clean sweep. Nigerians will be surprised that so we are this popular. The problem is because my governor is somebody who does not believe in propaganda. As I speak with you today, we only have a Bureau of Information.  We don’t have a Ministry of Information. It gave room for the opposition to attempt to pull down his government. When the government came on board, the first thing it did was to clean up its book and do away with the institutionalised corruption that was part and parcel of the successive PDP administrations. It was so bad that top government functionaries put the names of their children and relations on the payroll of Kogi State government;  paying staff of private organizations owned by individuals. When Governor Bello came, he said he was not going to tolerate this. When you fight corruption, corruption fights back. With the resources in the kitty of these corrupt people, they will deploy it to fight you. That is what is happening in Kogi State. So, the situation is not as bad as it is painted by the opposition.

Despite the N50 billion bailout fund given to the state, there are concerns that workers are still being owed salaries and pensions running into several months…

After the bailout the Federal Government gave to us, salaries have been settled. I will tell you that it is those people whose names were inserted into the wage bill that are making noise. There is a panel working on how these people will be exposed and prosecuted, including their sponsors. Under the PDP, there are people categorised as stakeholders. Every stakeholder collected salaries from the local governments running into millions of naira; they don’t work, but they tell you that is your benefit as a stakeholder. The PDP should not push us to the point of publishing names and the atrocities they committed. I say this with every sense of responsibility. I am not saying that we didn’t owe at a point in time, but it was not the picture painted. When the first exercise of getting to know those who are genuine workers was concluded, a lot of them were discovered not to have letters of employment; a good percentage of them don’t have offices. Someone who claimed he worked for Kogi State for upwards of two years was withdrawing salaries in Abuja, in Lagos and Port Harcourt. Kogi’s story of corruption is a case study for the anti-graft agencies. It is monumental and that accounts for the war Governor Bello had to wage initially and I thank God he fought the war and survived it.

Do you seriously think Governor Bello deserves a second term?

I believe Governor Bello deserves a second term for so many reasons. Kogi is a very diverse state. You must equally appreciate that we have three major ethnic groups.: Yoruba, Igala and Ebira and because of this diversity governing Kogi State is  problematic. But under this administration, Governor Bello was able to unite everybody. He was fair and just in his political appointments, which cut across tribes and religions. This was not the case before he came on board. The Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Secretary to the State Government, Commissioner for Finance and the Commissioner for Women Affairs are from Kogi West district. The Chief of Staff is a Christian is from Kogi East. Governor Bello didn’t bring his brother or cousin from Ebira to be Chief of Staff, as it was the case in time past. Now, when a person tells you he belongs to all of you and you see it demonstrated, you have to believe in that person. To crown it all, since the creation of Kogi State, nobody can tell me the percentage of Christians and Muslims, but I can tell you we are equally matched. None of the governors before Governor Bello ever thought of the need for a place of worship for Christians in Government House. Today, he is building a church in Government House. He has shown that he is fair and just and those are the virtues of great leaders like Chief Obafemi Awolowo who was the first leader that established muslims pilgrims board before it was copied by the Federal Government. This is in spite of the fact that Pa Awolowo was a Christian. The late Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, picked an Okun man and a Christian, Chief Sunday Awoniyi, as his private secretary. Baba Awoniyi once told me that Sir Ahmadu Bello bought a Bible for him, even though he was a Muslim. Governor Bello is following the steps of these legends. Talking about security, today, Kogi is safer than when he came on board, when nobody could sleep with his two eyes closed. At a time, by 7pm, everyone has gone to their rooms. Today, there is free movement. He has succeeded in confronting the criminals. He has established strong vigilante groups equipped with 200 vehicles. The vigilante groups have succeeded in complimenting the police and joint military task force in policing the state effectively. They said he has done nothing, but I will tell you that he is the first Kogi governor that stepped on the site of Omi Dam, which was constructed 40 years ago. When he saw it, he said he would plead with the Federal Ministry of Water and Natural Resources to enable him utilise the dam to the advantage of the people. He was obliged the permission to do that and he cited a multi-billion naira rice mill there that will employ a minimum of 5000 workers and produce 1000 bags of rice monthly. They will say Smart Adeyemi is fanatical about Yahaya Bello? I am fanatical, because he is empowering my people; he’s liberating my people from abject poverty. He has given them a sense of belonging. We are no longer regretting that we are in Kogi. At a time, my people were agitating that they should be merged with the Southwest, because, after the Sardauna, nothing meaningful came to Okunland. That dam in Omi is now being awarded by the Federal Government for power generation.  So, why would I not support that kind of a governor. Not just in my senatorial district. He is doing it across the state. When I was in the Senate, beyond my senatorial district, I reached out to other parts of the state. The PDP should be ashamed of all the successive governors they have produced in the state. Some of them who were governors for four years, eight years, they couldn’t even electrify their communities.

The Chief of Staff to the governor, who happens to be the incoming deputy governor, by the grace of God, Chief Executive Onoja, is an Igala man. He said the Igalas have not benefitted over the years, even though the tribe has produced several governors. The only benefits are the mansions and hotels they built in Abuja. Now, if you have a governor that could not provide electricity for his own community, how would he provide for others? Governor Bello is embarking on electrification and construction of roads in 150 communities in Kogi East. Previous governors from the zone failed to do something for their people. In Kogi Central, he established a ‘Green House’ at Osara, which is already creating massive employment for people. The ‘Green House’ that should make Kogi a hub of vegetable in the country has created 800 direct jobs and 1500 indirect jobs. This government has embarked on palm plantation in synergy with Central Bank of Nigeria; over 500 hectares of cassava plantation have sprang up across the 21 local government areas and 200 boreholes have been dug in communities that lacked basic water supply, because they do not have dams.

The government constructed the 54km Ankpa-Ajekumolo road, completed several Ankpa township roads, rehabilitated 32km Ibana Junction/Ikeje/Ogugu/Ette road in Olamaboro Local Government, as well as the Anyigba-Idah road, the Ijowa-Jege-Ife-Olukotun road, the GRA-Ohinoyi palace road, the Kuroko-Ejika-Itakpe road, the Agaza roundabout, the Mount Patti road and the Maigari palace road, etc. Yet, they say he has not done anything. These are asphalt overlay roads; not surface dressed roads. They are embarking on a multi-billion naira bridge which will serve as gateway for the South and the North and the Southeast from Idah. These are fundamental projects for economic developments in Kogi State and indeed in Nigeria. They have increased the revenue generation from N300 million to about N2 billion. In the education sector, they are renovating schools and employing more teachers. I will not support a government that is not purposeful; I will not support a government that lacks vision; I will not support a government that is discriminatory. This government is fair and just to all. So, I have no reason not to throw my weight behind them. I have no doubt the governor will do more in his second term.

Before Bello became governor, there was an age-long agitation for power shift to Kogi West or Kogi Central. Is the governor disposed to handing over to a fellow minority from Kogi West in 2024, if re-elected?

I have outgrown agitation for power shift. You know why? Because the people of Kogi East had it for 20 years, yet their sons who were governors did not remember to electrify their own communities. Today, Kogi East is the most backward part of the state. When, I was at the Senate, beyond my senatorial district, I reached out to other parts of the state. After I embarked on a tour of Kogi East in 2010, I came to the conclusion that I would never talk about power rotation in Kogi State again. That is not to say there is no need for fairness and equity and reasoning, but at times where a governor comes from does not matter. Now, you asked me what is in it for the people of Kogi West. Majority of the people of Kogi West would want to vote for Governor Bello, because he is our brother. You see Ebira people in every Yoruba community. The Ebira, they are like the Lebanese, you see them everywhere. Ebira people are our neighbours, our in-laws; we inter-marry. We have sentiments to share with Ebira people. But you know one funny thing about Kogi, the Igalas, they are our cousins, historically. A good number of their spoken words are the same with Yoruba. Kogi West will vote massively for Bello. May be, subsequently, he would handover to them.