’ll break re-election jinx in Oyo – Ajimobi

Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, in this interview with journalists, speaks about the oncoming governorship election and the chances of his party, reports TUNDE ODESOLA

In a few weeks’ time, the governorship elections will hold and you are competing against four major contenders. What makes you think you will win?

Like in all contests, we are many that are contesting but the beauty of it is that some of us already have track records that people can make reference to. Of the so-called five prominent contenders, we have three that have been in public service. Of those three, we have two that have been governors before and we have one that has been a senator and a senate leader.

I think when you look at each of our track records, you can safely say that the assessment of each of us is easier than someone who has never been in public service and I believe that the records of the former governors are there to compare with mine. And when you look at their records in the areas of physical infrastructure, peace, security and safety, which I consider to be the foundation of any meaningful development in any state or nation, you will discover that we stand out.

The government of the All Progressives Congress headed by me is synonymous with peace and security. You will see that in the last few years before we came in, Oyo was considered to be unsafe but today, the records as published by the police confirmed that Oyo State is more peaceful. Apart from this, we have established agencies that support the security agencies such as the ‘Operation Boss,’ where we have been able to bring together all security agencies – the Police, Army, Department of State Service, Immigration, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and equipped them to ensure that Oyo is safe.

So, the foundation of our administration is safety and security of lives and property. And comparatively, we are far ahead in this area than any of the previous governments and the statistics are there. Prior to 2011, murder cases reported were 24. In Oyo State in the last three years, it has reduced to about four while armed robbery which was 48 has reduced to less than five. So the statistics show that Oyo State is one of the safest in Nigeria. For example, before we came in, Asejire dam and Eleyele waterworks were all producing at less than 10 per cent capacity.

Today, they are producing at 82 per cent which has translated into more water for the people. We have repaired and rehabilitated many waterworks: Oke-Ogun, Ibarapa, Oyo and others. So, in terms of the provision of water, we have done better than others. In the area of education, we have recently recruited 5,300 teachers which is unprecedented in Oyo State.

The Ministry of Finance says 2015 will be tough going by dwindling oil prices. How will your government cope with this reality?

Bayelsa State has 700,000 people and the state gets an average of about N20bn a month. So, right from the beginning, we have been at a disadvantage. In the last one year, we’ve been getting an average of about N3bn. Recently, we even got N2.8bn. Every month, we have a deficit of about N2bn or let me say an average of N1.5bn. How are we coping? Or how do we hope to cope? That is why it is essential for any government to provide an attractive environment for investors to come in. When you bring in investors to your state, then you will be able to tax and have tax gains from these investors. Not only taxation but you will also create commercial activities that will provide more employment for people. It has a multiplier effect when you are employing people and when you have investors coming into your state and businesses are developing. So, what we are saying simply is that our approach is to create, first and foremost, a safe and secure environment that will encourage people to come.

Two, we must provide physical infrastructure that will attract people to the state. Once there are infrastructure, good roads, water, electricity and peace, people will come in and once you bring them in, you have more people working but above all, today, as I speak to you, we have brought in at least, eight big international companies to Oyo State because Oyo state is now peaceful, because the infrastructure is improving, because the environment is aesthetically attractive.

The largest edible oil company in Nigeria is here in Oyo State. It just came about a few months ago. The largest soya bean and milk manufacturer in Nigeria is here in Oyo State. We brought them in during our time. The largest producer of bread in the whole of Africa is here in Oyo State. The largest ICT provider in Nigeria is now in Oyo State. We can go on and on.

The largest producer of powder milk is now in Nigeria, Kama milk. And then of course, the largest Shoprite in Nigeria is now on Ring Road. So, we are bringing in investors. The more of these companies that we have, the more opportunities of increasing our Internally Generated Revenue which I believe will go up with all these companies coming in. Also, we now have what is called Agodi Gardens which is an income-generating park, where we have international conference centres, health farms, recreational facilities like amusement parks, we have hotels. It is a centre that will develop like that of South Africa and we brought a South African company to partner with Nigerians to do it for us.

But let me now add something interesting. Do you know that we are the only government that pays 13th month salary since the creation of Oyo State? We also ensured that most of our contractors are competent and financially capable because sometimes they accuse us of not using local contractors. About 80 per cent of the jobs we give out are done by local contractors and I can name them. The major big jobs, however, are given to those who can finance the jobs so we pay them 30 per cent and when they finish, we pay within 18 months. So, we are restructuring our finances through increased IGR, through PPP and through third party participation.

There is an allegation that your government has concentrated development only in the capital, Ibadan, and neglected other zones like Oke Ogun.

I think it is just politics when people say that. This government has developed more zones than any other government before us. One, there is no government that has constructed dual carriageways into our major cities than this government. When we came in, for the first time, the government constructed a dual carriage entry into Ibadan which is the Challenge axis and the road to the Adelabu Market. What we are doing is to network our road system. Ogbomosho roads were not dual carriageways until we came. We built a modern town hall for Ogbomosho. Iseyin is the entry point into Oke Ogun. This administration, for the first time, built dual carriageways in the town.

The best National Youth Service Corps camp in Nigeria was built by us in Iseyin, Oke Ogun. Then, in education, all satellite campuses have been upgraded to a full-fledged polytechnic, and, you know, education has a multiplier effect on development.

There are cities and towns in the United States known as university towns which attract development once they are built. So, when you talk of Oke Ogun, we have done that; we’ve built roads and schools. We have about 15 roads some of which include: Saki, Otu Alaga Road in Itesiwaju, we have Ogboro-Saki Road in Saki-West, there’s Town Hall Road in Saki. We have just awarded the contract for the construction of a dual carriageway along Saki-Polytechnic road in Saki.

In Oke Ogun, more than anyone else, we have developed their roads. We have done dual carriageways, water works and radio station at Ibara. So, I want to know which other government has developed these zones. I challenge anybody to tell me who has developed these areas like us.

What is your assessment of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s preparation in view of the distribution of the Permanent Voter Cards?

I think everybody knows that INEC has not performed creditably. INEC is a reflection of the Nigerian situation. It is like electricity and water; you hardly see any institution that is performing well. They are trying their best but it is not good enough. You can’t give them more that 50 per cent pass mark.

But doesn’t this pose a serious threat to your re-election bid given the fact that these people have some electoral value and have teamed up with your fiercest rivals?

I think if we begin to assess, to you, the outsider, it might seem like a serious threat but it is not a threat to us. When they came, who did they bring? Also, when they left, who did they take? As far as we are concerned, elections are coming and we will see the result. I don’t see them as a threat at all.

In Oyo State, no governor has ever won a second term in office. Are you not jittery of this jinx?

No. There is no jinx. Since Nigeria was created, no Jonathan ever became President but today, a Jonathan is President. Since I was born, no one ever became a governor in my family but I became the governor. I don’t believe there is any jinx. I think it was Chief Dejo Raimi that said governors don’t do two terms in Oyo State and that is why we are not developing, our development is not consistent. Lagos State is doing well today because there has been consistency of good governance. And I honestly believe I will break the so-called jinx. Oyo State people are seeing what we have done and they are seeing through the propaganda.

Are you afraid that the elections might be rigged?

The only thing that we are competing against is rigging. I honestly believe that the major party that is our contender has been divided into four. I have participated in elections three times in Oyo State. I won three and was denied one and I challenged the one that I was denied in court. In the contentious election, the result showed that the number of votes were more than the number of voters. So, what we are saying is if INEC provides a level playing field, I believe that we will win. I believe that I will win because I have analysed those competing with me. For instance, one of them, a former governor, returned N500m to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The money he refunded is what we are using to build new schools. It is only in Nigeria that people with questionable character, people that have been accused and have not cleared their names, people that have cases with security agencies still have the audacity to campaign. But this is Nigeria where anything is possible. So, on the issue of defection, many of them are joining us, people with huge supporters. When I was in the Senate, I wasn’t a senate leader but I passed four bills. We need competent people; governance is not a tea party. Oyo State indigenes are wiser. In agriculture, we bought more than 430 tractors and graders; no one has done it before. Now we have graders grading rural areas instead of getting contractors. We employed over 20,000 youths.