The immediate past spokesperson of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Hon. Seye Oladejo, has said that only a united opposition presenting credible candidates can effectively challenge the APC in the 2027 general elections. Oladejo also stressed that the conduct of free, fair, and credible elections is a collective responsibility of all Nigerians, not solely that of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) or the ruling party.
Speaking in an interview with OLADIPUPO AWOJOBI, Oladejo, who is vying for a seat in the House of Representatives representing Mushin Constituency, defended the Federal Government’s resort to foreign loans. He explained that funds saved from subsidy removal are being shared among the Federal Government, the 36 states, and the 774 local government areas. Excerpts:
The 2027 general elections are fast approaching and Nigerians are looking forward to it. Your party lost the presidential election in Lagos State in 2023 and the governorship was a narrow escape; what do you think are the chances of your party in the elections in the state in 2027?
If political history is anything to go by, it favours us, Lagos State remains a progressives state and nothing has changed that. We are going to put forward the best man that would ensure continuity and ensure that there are enough infrastructure and see to the welfare of the people of the state.
There is nothing to fear. The APC losing presidential election in 2023 in Lagos State was a fluke; a few days after the presidential election, the governorship election took place and we won. We know all those factors that led to the victory of the opposition then, which was a fluke.
We had some by elections and we had the local governments election after that, the opposition couldn’t prove anything. We have confidence that Lagosians would vote for our party and we would win the coming elections in the state comfortably.
The reason we are asking is that there are fears that your party would impose a candidate. People are talking about Dr Obafemi Hazmat as your preferred candidate whereas others are showing interest. It is believed that some members of the party are not happy and that would work against your party in the election, what is your take on this?
Our party is well known for internal democracy, we are not in the business of imposition. There is room for consensus in the Electoral Act, it is when this does not work that we can go for primaries. Those who are aspiring have not been stopped from doing so.
Nothing has been placed on their way and three people have picked governorship nomination forms on the platform of the party in the state and they have not been barred from doing so.
A date has been picked for the governorship primary and whoever has picked form would be allowed to contest fairly. Whoever is talking about imposition should go and learn about party politics. There is nothing to fear as far as primary election is concerned in the party.
But generally, do you think Nigerians would vote for the APC in 2027, especially at the federal level with the prevailing economic crisis and insecurity?
Do you see any opposition that can put up a good show in the coming general elections? The opposition is even struggling to put its acts together.
The only agenda they have is to remove President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from office, they don’t have manifesto or anything to move the country forward on the economy or security.
When you ask their leaders any question, they will say they just want to remove President Bola Tinubu. They are largely unserious and Nigerians know better, there is no time for experiment.
But your party has been accused of infiltrating the opposition and causing divisions. It is believed that some people are being used by your party to destabilise the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Chief of Staff to the president reportedly told someone to go and cause confusion in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), what’s your reaction to this?
If you are to analyse that critically, that means they admitted their weakness and they are saying that they have no chances in the forthcoming elections. If you as a father is accusing your neighbour of causing crisis in your family, do you think that makes you look good as a breadwinner.
They should get their acts together, Nigerians are not interested in an opposition that is just accusing the ruling party of destroying it. It is an opposition that is myopic, inept and not ready for the elections ahead that will say that.
Whatever the opposition is going through is their fault. Do you blame the APC for hijacking a party without due process? Whatever the Chief of Staff to the President said is also his personal opinion, it didn’t come from the National Chairman of the APC and he is entitled to his opinion.
You are contesting for a seat in the House of Representatives, but Nigerians feel that the National Assembly is rubber stamp. For instance, the Federal Government keeps going for foreign loans and the legislature has been approving them. Are you satisfied with the role of the legislature in Nigeria so far?
If the legislature is persuaded by what the Federal Government is doing, should they go against the executive to look good before members of the public. The legislature is not about playing to the gallery, they would have asked the necessary questions about the loans.
If the loans are being taken to put the necessary things in place, to provide infrastructure for the sake of Nigerians, I am all for it.
We don’t have a legislature that would just approve the loan request brought to it by the Federal Government just to make them happy.
It doesn’t happen that way and the legislature should not play to the gallery and dance to the tune of the opposition and reject the loan request of the Federal Government. The last loan is meant to take care of Badagry-Sokoto Super Highway.
Who would not want that? We are taking loans not to pay salary or do mundane things. Also, loan taking is not peculiar to Nigeria, it is also done by advanced countries to advance the cause of their nations, and Nigeria cannot be an exemption.
It also shows financial sovereignty, if we have not been able to service those loans, the international lenders would not be willing to give more money to Nigeria. So, the important thing about loan taking is not the loan itself but the reasons they are taking.
I would want to know why loans are being taken when fuel subsidy has been removed?
The removal of fuel subsidy is impacting on the various states and local governments. Are you aware of how much money the states and the local governments are taking as monthly allocations.
If the people are asking about where the money is going, that is where they are going. So the states and local governments too have a role to play to ensure that they impact on the masses.
You are going to the House of Representatives, you have been an executive member of the APC in Lagos State, why do you think you should be voted into office?
I have had many experiences, I have been secretary to Mushin Local Government, Executive Secretary and later Chairman of the local government.
I later moved to the state and I became the Special Adviser on Commerce and Industry to the Governor and I was later appointed as the Commissioner for Special Duties and Governmental Relations before I went to become the spokesman of the party in the state.
No one can claim to know my constituency better than myself by the virtue of serving as the Executive Secretary of the local government and later as Chairman of the council.
The local government is deserving of a voice that knows their yearnings, a voice that can attend to all the desires of the local government. The House of Representatives has 360 members and every constituency ought to send their best hands.
I have been a rare combination of passion, commitment, experience and desire. So I feel my local government deserves someone they can trust and someone that has almost seen it all in governance and party politics to be able to put forward the kind of representative that they need to move the local government forward.
What assurance is the APC giving that the 2027 general elections would be free and fair, especially as some people are calling for the resignation of Professor Joash Amupitan as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who they feel is partisan?
Having a free and fair election is the job of all the political parties. Incidentally, the opposition parties also have their roles to play. Are we really going to have a democracy when we don’t have a competent opposition that can put up a good show.
That itself weakens our democracy to the extent that the opposition that is disorganised does not give the people choices to make at the elections. The political parties, the ruling party, and the opposition parties have big roles to play to present credible candidates.
The INEC, the security agencies and then the voters also have roles to play. The voters should come out in large number to vote and ensure that their votes count. It’s not just about the ruling party or the APC, the ruling party is not the INEC.
The INEC is an independent commission, they take their decisions, they deploy their personnel, provide the materials, it’s not the ruling party that does that. We need everybody to put their hands on deck to ensure a free and fair election.
I can tell you that the APC as the largest party in the country today and incidentally the ruling party, by the grace of the Nigerian electorate, is ready to do everything to ensure a free and fair election. We are ready to play our part.
