Director-General of the Buhari/Osinbajo Campaign Council in Ekiti State in 2019, Dr Olusegun Osinkolu, speaks in this interview with OLUDAMISI OJO on the June 18 governorship and 2023 general elections in Ekiti State, saying it will be a victory for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

As a chieftain of the ruling APC in Ekiti State, how is your party preparing ahead of June 18 governorship poll and what is your projection?

For the election, I can say emphatically that the APC will win the June 18 governorship election on two factors. First, the incumbent governor and our APC leader in the state, Governor Kayode Fayemi has done exceedingly well. Mention these vital areas like education, road infrastructures, building construction, education, health, good governance, security, and social investment. Governor Kayode Fayemi has done creditably well in all these areas, and I know that the Ekiti people will like to reciprocate the good gesture. Don’t forget that it was Governor Fayemi’s impressive performance in his first term that was rewarded in 2018, so we are still going to witness the same in 2022 with the way our people will vote for Biodun Oyebanji/Monisade Afuye joint ticket to consolidate on what Governor Fayemi has done. We can’t afford to return to Egypt and reverse the hands of the clock by abandoning a party that is already delivering for a party that had disappointed our people.

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Let us know the areas that Governor Fayemi did well?

I assign you to go round Ekiti you will see assorted projects everywhere. In Ado Ekiti, Fayemi has built the Civil Centre, construct Ado-Iyin dual carriageway, and built four phases of buildings at the State Secretariat to provide accommodation for workers, while the completion of the Ado-Ifaki dual carriageway is underway and being aggressively pursued. If you go through Ijan Ekiti, you will see the knowledge zone building, the Ijan-Igbemo- Ilupeju road, Agbado-Ode-Omuo road, Oye-Isan road, Igogo-Otun road, Aramoko-Erinjiyan road, the new Ekiti State Polytechnic at Isan Ekiti, upgrading of the College of Education, Ikere Ekiti to university status, the building of four model schools in Ado Ekiti to shore up school enrolment, among other achievements like social security for 25,000 elderly above 65, Youth in commercial farming that benefited over 1,500 youth, financial help for sick people, the establishment of Amotekun corps, free health services for pregnant women and children below age five, free WAEC fee, while the procurement of a drone to secure Ekiti is underway. All these are areas where Governor Fayemi had contributed meaningfully and that should be consolidated to bring the expected dividends of democracy to our people. We are not saying people should vote for us because we are members of APC, no, but they should vote for us based on what we have been able to do in the last three and half years and these are verifiable facts. The records are there.

Remember, the fall-out of the last governorship primary with visible internal wrangling caused by the outcome of the exercise. What is the party doing about this so as not to affect the chances of the party?

Let me speak the truth, all political parties have challenges, APC also has its own just like every human institution, but we are addressing them. Don’t forget that President Muhammadu Buhari as the national leader ordered the then Mai Mala Buni-led caretaker committee to set up Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led reconciliation committee and the committee did the assignment well. We also have our internal problem in Ekiti, the party through the instrumentality of Governor Kayode Fayemi set up a reconciliation committee comprising bigwigs like Deputy Governor Bisi Egbeyemi, former Deputy Governors Modupe Adelabu and Biodun Aluko, and other party chieftains to reach out to the aggrieved. We believe that before the end of April, we would have been able to resolve some of these crises substantially for us to have a common front to record victory in June. Getting to an election day with a divided home is not the best, but I am optimistic that all these challenges shall be resolved in the interest of all of us.

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With the new Electoral Law, the conduct of the primaries for the 2023 presidential, national, and state assembly elections will soon come up. Any interest?

I have always been contesting to be a Senator representing Ekiti North Senatorial District. I did this in 2011, 2015, and 2019 respectively. If you check the records properly, I had always been performing well in the primary with me losing narrowly to the occupant of the seat in APC and I had not because this rocked the boat, I am a loyal party man and loyalty must be rewarded this time. Each time I lost, I had taken my time to spend my hard-earned resources and time working hard for whoever our party picked to win the election. My belief had always been that the party is supreme and whatever decision it took must be respected. But this time, I think those of us who had been loyal and patient with the party’s decisions must be rewarded to further strengthen loyalty among APC members.

What is your relationship with the District to earn you the ticket?

The APC has a lot of good human materials from the Ekiti North Senatorial district. Governor Kayode Fayemi incidentally is also from that axis. The APC members from that axis knew who their true friend is. In the last 10 years, I have been having a good rapport with my party men and women giving those helping hands even when we were in the opposition with a bleak future. I never minded, I have always made myself available to them. Let me tell you this, I almost gave up on this Senatorial ambition because God has blessed me, but my people have been piling pressure on me urging me to contest. Some were even sending messages of hope to me that I have to contest that this time would be when my loyalty and contributions to APC will be rewarded. On this basis, I will be contesting for a Senatorial seat on the platform of our great party, APC, and I am confident, just like my people say that my loyalty will be compensated this time.

What other areas you have played more vital roles in APC that could assist your bid?

The essence of politics and leadership is doing well to your followers and humanity as a whole. Go to that Senatorial district and ask, I have done my best to empower so many people despite not holding any political position. This I have been doing across the five local governments in the district. I had performed this in terms of empowerment, financial help for emergencies, and distribution of Christmas gifts every year whether we are in power or not. Again, in the last presidential election conducted in 2019, I was the Director-General of the Buhari/Osinbajo Campaign Council in Ekiti and we delivered Ekiti for Mr. President. I have read newspapers were those who held similar positions in other states were accusing the party of abandoning them by not giving them political positions. I have never done this because I am not desperate for anything, and I am a loyal party man to the core. I see no reason why I should grumble if truly leadership is about service. But I know that I merit being compensated with that ticket in APC. Those who have not done half one what people like us have done are representing APC, why should I then be side-lined?

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Do you believe APC leadership will favour you with the ticket?

I know APC is a reliable party that rewards loyalty and patience. The party was formed to cater to the aspirations of all members who are qualified and ready for service. I have given my best to this party at both comfortable and trying times. Without being immodest, I am one of the few unifying factors for APC in Ekiti Oke as we called it. I remain one of those politicians from that axis who has displayed the utmost senses of dedication to our party and I am worth whatever I am aspiring for, it is a legitimate ambition going by what we have contributed to help APC become a strong party in Ekiti. We have given our best to this party, the people have seen it and they are working hard to ensure that the party recognises my efforts and crown such.

What is your contention on the imposition of candidates?

Honestly, I hate any undemocratic action, I am a democrat myself. What someone like me can request is the party conduct a free, fair, and credible party primary to test our popularity. This is the best way to grow our internal democracy. With the trend of things and with the way courts are nullifying primaries of parties, I expect our party to be more circumspect of how it picks its candidates this time. Let them follow due process to pick the candidate. They should also know that the ultimate power belongs to the people and if they are trying to apply consensus, let there be due diligence and observation of the true consensus process so that we can be together to defeat the opposition in the coming polls.