We need continuity for Gov. Akeredolu to complete the good work he has started – Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
– Steve Ovirih.
Thepolity tv online’s talk show, the polity round table played host to two very distinguished guests, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the Ugbo born APC stalwart and Deputy Governor Designate of APC in the forthcoming October poll in Ondo State, and Prof. Dayo Faduyile, the Ikale born former NMA President who is equally the Deputy Director General of Gov. Akeredolu’s campaign Council for Ondo South. The theme of the discourse was “Interrogating the Ondo South Agenda” In the exclusive media chat with Steve Ovirih, the two APC stakeholders agreed that there is actually an Ondo South Agenda which is hinged on allowing Arakunrin Akeredolu run out his two terms full circle for the southern senatorial district to have an unfettered run for the Ondo State top job.
Tp.n – Hon. Aiyedatiwa, prior to your emergence as the Deputy Governor Designate of APC and Gov. Akeredolu’s running mate, how will you assess your contribution to Ilaje nation ?
Aiyedatiwa – Thank you very much. Before my emergence as the Deputy Governor Designate to Arakunrin Odunayo Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), the Governor of Ondo State, I had a brief stint as a member of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) representing Ondo State. It was for a short period of six months between 2018 and 2019; to be precise our tenure ended 23rd January 2019 before the General election of that year. So, that was the first public office I held and during that short period , the projects and the programmes that were executed as a result of my being a non- executive member of NDDC are there to be seen in the mandate areas not just in Ilaje LGA , but also in Ese-Odo , which is also a mandate area and the entire Ondo State.
Going by your question , which is particularly about Ilaje nation where I hail from, yes there was no budget that was executed as in our own budget as a new board ; what I met on ground was the budget that had already been prepared. We met on ground projects that had already been awarded over the years long before our appointment. What did I do? I looked at some of the projects and got in touch with the contractors so that they can return to site. You know it’s no news that NDDC was facing a lot of challenges at the time due to non-payment of mobilisation fund and owing to these, so many projects strewn all over the mandate areas were abandoned . While I was on the board, I was able to talk to the contractors and they returned to site. We talked to the management also to look at the urgency required in completing some of these projects .
I will give few instances: the land reclamation at Ikorigho was a project that was awarded prior to my appointment as NDDC Commissioner representing Ondo State. I spoke with the contractor and he moved back to site. The reclamation actually started and a lot of work was done at the time before the board was dissolved. The record is there . If you ask any Ilaje son or daughter from Ikorigho , they will attest to that. Since I left the board, the contractors had moved out again because we don’t have any Rep on the board right now to push their payment so that the work on site can continue; however , at that time, so much work on the land reclamation was done.
Another instance is that of the power transmission station, 132 KVA Power Transmission Station at Erinje, which was supposed to generate electricity for the entire southern senatorial district, not just Ilaje nation . The contractor moved out of site before my appointment to the NDDC board, but when I came on board , he was brought back to site and the work was on going. The contractor was able to cover a lot of ground after I had ensured his return to site. 70% of the work has been completed so to speak but due to lack of payment long after I had exited the board , the contractor had also moved out of site. Work is at a standstill at the site as we speak because there is nobody to influence the payment of the contractors. Those are some of the land mark projects I was able to influence in the course of my brief stint on the board of NDDC. Of course, I wasn’t the Chief Executive and I was a non – executive board member, I made sure I presented all the cases as they concerned my mandate area. Apart from the above, there was also a programme that had to do with the outbreak of Lassa fever in Ondo State. While on the board, I was able to present the matter and medical assets and consumables were donated to the Government of Ondo State. The programme was tagged, ” Lock Lassa fever out of Ondo State.” There was also Youth awareness Programmes that had to do with peace building, prevention of agitation and vandalism; we were able to build peace among the different agitators from the Coastal Niger Delta Communities of Ondo State. There were a lot of road repair works at that time which I pushed not just in my mandate areas but across Ondo State. During my tenure at NDDC, we had an emergency road repair scheme , if I may call it that. Certain amount was earmarked for road repairs and maintenance in the budget and a lot of our roads in Ondo State benefitted from the scheme. I could remember there were road repairs on Akinfosile axis, Agadagba obon, Ojueromi street in Okitipupa, Ore township road and their main roads and a lot of them like that. The records are there! There were road repairs in Akure , not just Ondo South alone, only that the mandate areas had larger stake in the scheme but it wasn’t limited to the mandate zones. These are part of my humble input when I served on the board of NDDC.
Tp.n- Prof. Faduyile, in what ways will your political antecedents contribute to the victory of your party in Ikale Land?
Prof. Faduyile – Well , thank you very much Steve. I think the important thing which is quite obvious is that we have been Progressives all through and I have been consistent right from the days of AD to AC to ACN and now to APC. I am always on ground with our people and our people have been Progressives too. Apart from that, in the professional front, talking about my antecedent, the Ikale nation and Ondo State for the first time was able to produce the National President of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), and not only that, we have been able to attract variety of Medical outreach to Ikale Land , the southern senatorial district and Ondo state in general. In the course of my presidency at NMA, I acquitted myself very well and of course, everybody attested to that. Also, the government of Arakunrin Odunayo Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has done a lot in terms of health ; given the opportunity, we are looking forward to bringing our expertise to bear on the health sector in the second term of Gov. Akeredolu. Don’t forget that the Governor himself was once the National Chairman of NBA ; so the creme de la creme of the society, men and women of worth who have excelled in their career and respective profession are in Ondo State APC. We are close to the youths and the youths that have benefitted from our offers of scholarships , aides and grants and medical outreach are there to identify with us.
Tp.n – Hon. Aiyedatiwa, what are the selling points of the present government that will translate to huge votes at the Guber poll?
Aiyedatiwa – Well, thank you Steve for that. This government as being led by Arakunrin Odunayo Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) has done a lot in the last three and half years that will translate to huge votes at the poll. A lot of projects have been executed by this government; projects that are visible and verifiable and these projects have no doubt endeared Arakunrin Akeredolu to the voters a great deal. If you permit me to enumerate some of them , you will agree with me that our Governor’s strides speak volume and speak positively for him among the populace. Down South of Ondo State where I am from, we have Okitipupa By – pass road that is ongoing and which connects Igbokoda in Ilaje LGA . That road when completed will link two Local Government Areas. We have the Aboto/Atijere road that is on going. Atijere is in Ondo State but its location almost put it in Ogun State ; with the Aboto / Atijere road construction , Atijere will be reintegrated into Ondo State proper where she belongs. The project is peculiar and it’s being applauded by all well meaning sons and daughters of Ilaje. We have the mother of them all which is the Ondo State Deep Sea Port Project. It’s coming up and the paper work is 80/90% perfected ahead of the actual execution of the project. The deep sea port will have economic benefit not just for Ilaje or even Ondo South but for the entire good people of Ondo State. Time will not permit me to enumerate the benefits of such landmark project on this Programme. We have the Redemption Bridge and interchange at Ore. With that project, the carnage that used to be the recurring decimal at Ore and the maddening traffic gridlock have stopped. I can tell you people are grateful to this government for that. We have the Ondo/Linyi Industrial Hub also at Ore. This is the first of its kind in Ondo State. After the era of the elder stateman , Chief Adekunle Ajasin in Ondo State, there has not been an industrial revolution of this kind as we have it under Gov. Akeredolu in the history of Ondo State. The Ondo /Linyi Industrial Hub presently houses six different industries: we have cassava conversion to ethanol industry there and cassava growers in industrial quantity don’t have to look for market for their products. We have textile industry there producing lace materials and thread for our tailors . We have assembly plants where trucks are assembled . These are some of the infrastructures and projects that this govt has put in place. The hub has employed over 400 graduates , indigenes of Ondo State and you know what that means in terms of mopping unemployed graduates off the labour market. If you go to Akure, you will see road works construction and drainage everywhere. You go to the Northern senatorial district, you will see dualisation of roads , major road construction at Oke Alabojuto that was ignored by past administration and became a death trap. Visible works by Gov. Akeredolu cut across Ondo State and all of them are selling points of this government. Another thing about this government is the integrity of the Governor. He says what he means and he means what he says. That’s why they call Arakunrin Akeredolu, Mr. Talk and do. We need a leader like that to govern within the allowable period by the law and the Constitution allows two terms, so if he has performed and of course he has, we should give him a deserving second term to do much more in the area of industrial revolution and advancing the cause of good governance in Ondo State.
Tp.n – The theme of this discourse is “Interrogating the Ondo South Agenda.” Hon. Aiyedatiwa, is there an Ondo South Agenda?
Aiyedatiwa- Well, I can’t say yes, neither can I say no. The truth is that some people are clamouring for an Ondo South Agenda as you call it. Two camps, so to speak , are clamouring for Ondo South Agenda but their clamour differ. There is the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) whose candidate is preaching Ondo South Agenda , projecting that right now , the South should produce the Governor. There is also a different School of thought with quite a different take on the Ondo South Agenda and the general view of the people of Ondo South is that the Governor should complete his second term so that it can be the turn of Ondo South to have an unfettered two terms ticket as the Governor of Ondo State. The central has done it for two unbroken terms; the North wants to do it for two terms which is a constitutionally recognised craving and then it will be the turn of the South. So, the real and genuine Ondo South Agenda is the one that is clamouring for the right of Ondo South for two terms and this will become a reality after Gov. Akeredolu wins and runs his second term to a logical conclusion. No doubt , definition of the southern agenda differs based on interest.
Tp.n – Prof. Faduyile, your take on this.
Prof. Faduyile – I want to just agree with our Deputy Governor Designate on that, but more importantly, when you have someone who is doing well, whose works are visible enough to speak for him , then you say you want to nurse an agenda to truncate a good work that is in progress? Even the Bible says there is time for everything. The time for Ondo South to produce a Governor is definitely in four years time. That’s the Ondo South Agenda or agendum , as the case may be, as far as I am concerned. Our Governor, Arakunrin Akeredolu has proved to all well meaning people of Ondo State that he is a workaholic ; he has integrity and he means well for the people of Ondo State. So, why truncate his second term when in a matter of four years your zone will basically commence its gubernatorial drive that will definitely run for two terms? Any agendum against this popular belief is a parochial interest. If at all it’s going to be an Ondo South Agenda, the gladiators will have to sit together and decide who will flag the mandate ; someone cannot appropriate to himself the resolve of the entire people of Ondo South as the one who will choose , determine and decide the agendum or agenda. What I am saying in essence is that Ondo South Agenda is real and it takes effect after Gov. Akeredolu must have concluded a successful run of his second term in office.
Tp.n – The perennial power outage in the South has affected the local economy of the people there. What will you do as an Ondo South man and Deputy Governor to salvage this malaise?
Aiyedatiwa – The people of the old Okitipupa division comprising Okitipupa, Irele, Ese-Odo and Ilaje are worst hit by the electricity challenge. Ore and Ile Oluji still enjoy light to a relative extent. Don’t forget that we have a power station at Omotoso . The problem of power outage has been there before this administration. In fact, the problem is almost twelve years old. I have a house at Ilaje and I have been living in the house for almost 11 years and since I have been living there, electricity supply from the national grid has been non existent ; it has always been generator to the rescue. So, this problem preceded this administration. While it’s not the making of this administration, I can tell you steps have been taken by this administration to resolve this teething electricity challenge. Don’t forget electricity is basically on the exclusive list , yet the state has embarked on making presentation to the Federal Government on the challenge of Ondo South Senatorial District at different fora . The APC , prior to the 2019 General election , gave promises to fix these faulty lines of electricity when the VP, Yemi Osinbajo came to campaign at Igbokoda. Some part of Ilaje now boasts of electricity even if it is not too regular. The power transmission challenge, in Ilaje and Ondo South , will be completely resolved when the power transmission station at Erinje is completed . It’s an NDDC project donated to help resolve the power outage challenge in the land . What this government will do is to continue to influence, appeal and push this challenge to the front burner in our exchange with the Federal Government. You know I am also a victim of the power outage imbroglio; so as the Deputy Governor , after this election , I will ensure this problem gets the attention of all the concerned Government agencies and you can rest assure that once the Erinje power station is completed, it will be donated to Transmission company of Nigeria, and Benin Disco will be contacted for connection to the national grid and this will solve a lot of these challenges we have encountered here.
Enter Government of Arakunrin Akeredolu for second term, it will continue to engage Federal Government in order to solve permanently these challenges.
Tp.n – Prof. Faduyile, we followed your stride as the President of NMA and we observed that you threw yourself into the battle to make sure the spread of Covid 19 was curbed in Nigeria. With the benefit of hindsight, would you say Ondo State managed the covid 19 pandemic very well?
Prof Faduyile – Well, thank you very much. First and foremost, I will appreciate the Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Odunayo Akeredolu for the prompt response we got from him on COVID 19 when I was NMA President. He was one of the few Governors in Nigeria who supported the control of Lassa fever when it ravaged the country and we were having feed back then. When Coronavirus set in too, Gov. Akeredolu was able to act swiftly by ensuring the contract tracing of all those who had met with the index case and he effected a Covid 19 safety policy that staved off the spread of the virus in the state. The state Ministry of Health started a lot of information dissemination, orientation and education , jingles and so on to spread awareness on the pandemic and how to prevent its spread. I can tell you that if not for the proactive awareness gesture of the Government, our case in Ondo State would have soared like that of Ogun or Kano State but for the prompt control measures taken by Gov. Akeredolu to contain the spread of the virus through the provision of isolation centers and early treatment of cases that were detected in Ondo State. It’s a sad note however that we lost the State Commissioner for Health , Dr. Adegbenro and another senior NMA colleague, Dr. Adeyeri to the Coronavirus pandemic in Ondo State. Very sad indeed; however, Ondo State was one of the very few states that did very well in its response to contain the virus and we have to give it to the Governor. When I addressed the Governors’ Forum as NMA President, Gov. Akeredolu was also there and he gave his words that he was going to pay all the necessary emoluments for Ondo State Doctors ; though the fund wasn’t really available, he paid as promised. With the kind of approach he has deployed in the health sector of the state, I think the state is in a capable hands with Governor Akeredolu.
Tp.net – Hon. Aiyedatiwa, what’s your take on the social service delivery of the Government of Arakunrin Akeredolu?
Aiyedatiwa – Thanks Steve. Well you have just heard it from not just a Doctor but the former NMA President. In the health sector of the state, there are lorry load of social service delivery . Look at The University of Medical Sciences , Ondo, the Teaching Hospital is on ground with qualified hands and the Governor has ensured that the university does not lack adequate facilities. Ondo State has three modern universities and none of them suffers set back in terms of infrastructural growth. Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology has been given a facelift by Gov. Akeredolu as more faculties have been accredited by the National University Commission under his watch. The university was as good as abandoned before until Arakunrin Akeredolu gave the place a facelift. Education is a major focal point of this administration and Gov. Akeredolu through the SUBEB board has ensured that equal growth cuts across all the primary schools in Ondo State as virtually all the schools have benefitted from the massive renovation works of this government. We have spoken about road construction earlier in the course of this discourse and you will agree with me that this government has opened this state to more road repairs and construction works more than its predecessor. It will interest you to know that the government of Arakunrin Akeredolu met on ground a backlog of seven months arrears of salaries owed Ondo State workers and he has paid these backlog except for just one month left which he will pay as well. We can go on and on enumerating the social service deliverables of this administration.
Tp.net – On a final note, Hon. Aiyedatiwa, your advice to the Ondo State electorate.
Aiyedatiwa – Our good people of Ondo State, fathers and mothers, my brothers and sisters, I want to appeal to you that come 10/10/2020, let us all come out en mass and give our votes to Arakunrin Odunayo Oluwarotimi Akeredolu ( SAN), the talk and do Governor of Ondo State; let’s use our power of the thumb to give him and my humble self, his Deputy Governor Designate your vote of confidence so that the good work of this administration can continue. Let’s us vote without violence and let’s remember that we all need ourselves and we all need peace for Ondo State to progress.
Tp.net – Thank you very much for your time and I wish you best of luck.
Aiyedatiwa – Thank you very much too. You are doing a good job!
