The emergence of Senator Iyiola Omisore as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party seems to be a threat to Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s second-term bid, don’t you think so?
To us, the emergence of Senator Iyiola Omisore as the PDP governorship candidate is the best thing that can happen. Omisore has the worst credentials to display among all the PDP governorship aspirants. So, if Omisore is now the one who emerged as the PDP candidate, you can be sure that the people of the state will reject him without thinking twice.
Omisore contested an election into the Senate in April 2011. Aregbesola was barely six months in office then and he (Omisore) was defeated heavily. He lost even in his ward. How can such a person convince the people of the state during the governorship election? Omisore would suffer heavier defeat in the hands of Aregbesola in the coming election.
Omisore was defeated when this administration was just settling down in office. Now, Aregbesola has spent over three years and has done so much to develop the state; so, you can imagine how Omisore will be thrashed at the poll.
There are allegations of non-performance and capital flight against Aregbesola’s government.
Let us look at every sector of the economy and you will see for yourself that Ogbeni has performed very well. Nobody can say Ogbeni has not performed in the area of education, health, agriculture or infrastructural development. Even a blind man knows this government has performed. If a blind man who has been passing through some bumpy roads now observes that the ride is smooth, he doesn’t need to be told that something has happened because he can feel it even if he can’t see. Some PDP leaders acknowledge that this administration has performed very well and we do not need to belabour ourselves on that issue again.
On capital flight, take the dualisation of the Old Garage-Ikirun Road to the Kwara State boundary and Gbogan Junction to Akoda, these projects are major ones given to major contractors, who are financing the projects themselves. They engage Osun indigenes as workers, except for about five per cent of the workforce, who are from outside the state. Go to these sites and you will see that the welders, bricklayers, carpenters, security guards and other artisans are indigenes of Osun. So, where does this issue of capital flight come in? This is an open government; we believe in accountability and we have nothing to hide.
Omisore and the PDP in the state have said this administration have plunged the state into indebtedness of over N400bn. How true is this?
We should ask them where the N400bn debt is coming from. The problem is that the majority of the people in the opposition are illiterate. If they are not illiterate, they should know that no bank will lend you beyond what you are worth. Osun was collecting an average of N4.6bn from the statutory allocation, plus the internally-generated revenue which made it an average of N6bn monthly. That was before the shortfall in allocation.
We spend N3.6bn monthly on wages and salaries; assuming we save N2 billion every month, it will give us N24bn in a year. In four years, which is a term, we will save N96 billion; so, tell me which bank will lend you the amount of money you don’t have the capacity to pay back? Which bank in Nigeria has the capacity to borrow any state N100bn, let alone the N400bn the PDP is bandying about? They don’t know where the governor is getting the money being used for the various developmental projects. Despite the dwindling resources, so many projects are going on. The magnitude of work being done is making them to say we have borrowed over N400bn.
How much has this government borrowed?
The money borrowed was the N30bn raised from the capital market last year. We also raised a N11bn Sukuk bond last year. That makes it N41bn. What is surprising them is the wonders this government is performing.
Omisore said on Tuesday the APC was planning to assassinate a governorship candidate ahead of the August 9 poll….
The security operatives should watch him. Omisore and his thugs were the ones who attacked the former governor, Isiaka Adeleke, when they met at a hotel about two weeks ago. They almost killed him. If Omisore is now saying APC want to kill an aspirant, I think Adeleke should report him to the police.
The security operatives should watch him. Omisore and his thugs were the ones who attacked the former governor, Isiaka Adeleke, when they met at a hotel about two weeks ago. They almost killed him. If Omisore is now saying APC want to kill an aspirant, I think Adeleke should report him to the police.
He reportedly said in Ife in 2001 that it was God that saved Chief Bola Ige; the following week, Chief Bola Ige was killed. Security operatives should call him and ask him questions about the authenticity of the information he is giving out.
Adeleke should do a petition about this because Omisore is not somebody one can joke with and the people of Osun know this.
Omisore also accused Aregbesola of using the killing of Bola Ige to score a cheap political point. Is this not true?
Omisore should search his conscience. Bola Ige was at the palace of the Ooni of Ife for a programme on a Saturday, when Omisore and his thugs attacked him, removing his cap and glasses.
A newspaper published his interview the following day where he reportedly said it was only God who saved Bola Ige. The following week, the man was killed. He was in prison for sometime on the matter but they used their federal might to scuttle this case. They used the advantage of being in power at Abuja and in Oyo State at that time to discharge him.
The Yoruba are no fools. We are a race of culture and history.
For ever, until justice is done, Nigerians will continue to ask who killed Bola Ige, and Omisore and his colleagues have questions to answer.
The APC in Osun State seems to be defending the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ambassador Rufus Akeju, while the PDP wants him redeployed. Why?
Our party is not in defence of the Resident Electoral Commissioner or the Independent National Electoral Commission; we are in defence of the rule of law and justice. The PDP went to court and they are still in court. They said the INEC REC should not conduct the 2011 elections. The court ruled that the man should step aside. The INEC, from Abuja, instructed the administrative secretary to oversee the elections. The PDP is still in court against the man; so, what is our business with that? INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, challenged the PDP to bring evidence against Akeju because issues like these should not be treated based on spurious allegations. Some parties accused Jega of colluding with the PDP, but evidence must be presented. We are not defending any INEC personnel because that is not our business. Osun people are happy with our government and they are supporting us. But we will not be silent when others are maligned unnecessarily.
Omisore also accused Gov. Aregbesola of fanning the ember of religious disharmony.
But when did Omisore himself become a religious man? When last did he wake up on a Sunday morning to go to church to worship God? The government of Aregbesola is the first in this country to abide by the constitutional injunction that no religion should be made religion of the state. The Constitution of Nigeria recognises the secular nature of the state and that is why we invite the three major religious organisations to pray at any of our state functions. There is no religion that is the religion of the state in Osun. They are the ones using religion to cause tension. It is their antic and their handiwork.
Source: THE PUNCH