A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), representing Osun West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Adelere Oriolowo, in this interview with NATHANIEL ZACCHEAUS, speaks about the recently concluded constitution review in the National Assembly, and the crisis rocking the APC among other issues

What is your general impression of the Constitution review exercise recently concluded by the 9th National Assembly?

It is one of the legacies that the 9th Assembly will leave behind. I consider it as a salient service to Nigeria. Nearly everybody in this country believes that our constitution needs amendments. We know that it is not possible to carry out all the amendments at the same time but the extent we had gone concerning the exercise this time around is a landmark that would leave an indelible mark in the history of this country and the Ninth National Assembly.

Many Nigerians have expressed reservations concerning the exercise especially the fact that it did not address the issue of insecurity because it failed to decentralise the policing system and offer no roles to the traditional institution. What’s your reaction?

Senators are here representing their people back home and the constitution review committee is composed of a two-thirds majority of the entire members of the Senate because they are 69 out of the 109 senators. What comes out of the committee in form of recommendations can also be described as the minds of the people across the country. When you listen to criticisms it may not be in tandem with what our constituents want us to push forward for them. The committee travelled to all parts of the country to get the input of the people since democracy is about the majority.

The people argue that the major challenge of an average Nigerians today is insecurity and you didn’t give them state police…

Those who are telling you that are saying all those things because they are vocal and can talk, but we had gone to the grassroots to find out what our people who sent us wanted and they requested that we carry out the amendments. Another thing is that if all the senators in the South West for instance canvass for state police, the other five geopolitical zones might not see it as necessary and the majority opinion may carry the day.

Is it true that a bill by a former deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu was dropped from the report because President Muhammadu Buhari kicked against the idea in his recent interview with Channels Television?

I am not a member of the Constitution Review Committee and it is whatever that is presented before us by the panel that I can talk about. I cannot talk about what happened behind the scene at the committee level. However, I think President Muhammadu Buhari has his own opinion and he is free to air it while Senator Ekweremadu also has the right to air his opinion. I am sure the decision to reject the bill on state police may have nothing to do with the views of President Buhari. I am sure the majority of the members of the committee might have decided against it hence it was not presented as part of their recommendations to us for consideration on the floor.

Nigerian women are still protesting against the rejection of their gender-based bills. Don’t you think this would be a setback for women’s empowerment and quest among them for leadership roles?

The issue of the constitutional amendments is a continuous exercise. The women need to show more passion in prosecuting their cause. They need to do more of lobbying the men and they also need to be somehow in tune with the majority opinion of the general public. For instance, a bill seeking the creation of special seats for women in an institution that is already being described as bogus and should be pruned down, may not fly. What it means is that instead of three seats per state in the Senate, there would now be four. It will also, substantially increase the number in the House of Representatives. Apart from that, women need to participate more in politics. There is no physical restriction to what women can do in politics at the moment so they should take advantage of their population and contest elective positions. They need to show more interest in politics. Democracy is about the campaign.

What of their quest for equitable representation in the party executive and the affirmative action in appointments into key positions?

I strongly believe that all those issues should be handled by political parties They don’t need to use the constitution to force it on parties. There are rooms for party constitutions and guidelines so they should approach the political Parties. It should not be forced into the Constitution. Going to the Constitution to enforce it on parties may look undemocratic.

Why was the bill seeking to allow a woman to contest elective positions in her husband’s constituency five years after marriage rejected?

Well, I don’t know why it was rejected.

What’s the implication of the National Assembly rejecting roles for traditional rulers in the country?

The importance attached to traditional rulers in many areas of the country differs. There is usually a power tussle among traditional institutions in certain communities and once they are empowered constitutionally, the tussle for relevance would worsen. However, people from my area wanted special constitutional roles to be attached to monarchs. It is just that majority of the senators from other tribes may not see it as necessary.
Are you sure that the legislation passed by the National Assembly which empowers the local government, state legislature, and the judiciary would not be frustrated by governors?

It is left for the local government functionaries and Nigerians in general. I expect the people to meet with their governors and state legislators and impress it on them to pass the law because it is what they wanted. It is not the duty of the National Assembly to do that for them. What we have done is to strengthen the local government structure in such a way that it would be useful for the people at the grassroots but if the people fold their arms and allow a political office holder to tamper with it and change it, it is no longer our fault.

Two docked for assaulting police officers in Ogun

We’ve done our bit, we should allow others to do their own also. The laws should not be about the interest of an individual, rather they should serve the public interest. If the local government administration is strengthened and empowered, the issue of insecurity would be a thing of the past. People are taken into criminality because they are neglected. Most of the challenges we are facing in Nigeria are a result of the weakness of the Local Government.

The APC convention has suffered many postponements. Do you think that the March 26 date would be a reality going by recent happenings in the party?

The past postponements of the convention will make it perfect whenever it was invariably held. It is not how far but how well. When you want to do something and you discovered that the timing would create more problems than solving it, definitely it has to be postponed. There is no problem with the March 26 convention date.

What’s your take on the crisis rocking the APC in Osun State?

I think that is an internal affair of the party and I think it is never late, it is not over until it is over. I am sure that people are running around to solve the problems especially when a member of the party has declared that there is a division in the party at the state level. Many of us think that it has to be solved and we are running around to make sure that it is solved. I am assuring you that it would be resolved. Any party which has an unresolved internal crisis usually performs woefully in elections. I can cite the case of states like Zamfara, Rivers, Edo, and Oyo, among others. That is why I am calling on all the gladiators and those concerned to think and prevent the escalations of the crisis.

How can we enshrine internal democracy in our political parties?

We have to separate the running of the parties from that of the government. The governor or president has to be in charge of governance. The party has to be run by the executives of the party. The Chairman of the party must be given the responsibility to run the affairs of the party. When there is a crisis within the party, the leadership of the party should be allowed to resolve it. Political party administration should revert to the olden day’s practice where it would be funded by members through their dues and levies.

As long as the parties are looking forward to individuals or groups for funding, the crisis will continue to happen because he who pays the piper calls the tune. In the defunct second republic, for instance, the chairman is in charge of the party. There was a case when President Shehu Shagari was travelling abroad and was about to board his aircraft when the chairman of his National Party of Nigeria, Chief Meredith Adisa Akinloye summoned him for an urgent meeting.

Shagari had to suspend his trip abroad to honour the invitation of his party chairman. Political parties sponsor every candidate in Nigeria today. As long as you’re sponsored by the party you should be responsible for it. So all political party members should be financial members. The internal democracy within parties will linger for as much as parties rely on patronage from certain individuals or groups

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is contesting to be president but some groups are clamouring that presidency should go to the South East, what are your comments on that?

What I know is that the presidency has been zoned to the South. By that, any part of the region could produce the candidate. My leader that is contesting is capable and Nigeria would have a breakthrough especially if he replicates all that he did in Lagos, in other parts of the country. What is happening now is about his capacity.

Don’t you think that his health condition could affect his performance in office?

As far as I know, he is healthy. I visited him in London during his medical trip for knee surgery even younger people could also have such challenges. No one on Earth doesn’t have his challenges in terms of health. However, if you are talking of age, that is no barrier at all. He has a fictional brain and a healthy body to perform his functions effectively. His health has not deteriorated to the extent that he would not be able to carry out state functions effectively.

There are rumours that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is contesting the presidency. What’s the South-West caucus doing about it?

You described it as a rumour and I don’t act on rumours. The alleged presidential ambition of Yemi Osinbajo remained a rumour to every one of us in the South-West APC. He has not told anyone that he wanted to contest and there is nothing yet to suggest that he would contest. Let us leave it at a rumour stage.