Despites all intrigues, Adeleke is man to beat in Osun poll – Akindele

By Charles Kumolu

Dr. Kunle Akindele is a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State and the current Special Adviser to Governor Ademola Adeleke on Public Health. He speaks on the prospects  of Governor Adeleke in the forthcoming governorship poll in the state. 

What are the chances of Governor Adeleke in the next election, given his recent defection to the Accord Party? 

The question is why is APC afraid of defeat? Why is their leader, former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, afraid? Why are they doing all sorts of shenanigans to want to stop the Governor from being on the ballot? They know that Osun people are giving the Governor his backing. I did mention earlier that the whole of the civil force, the civil servants, people at the grassroots are behind him.

Are you saying that the APC is behind the recent so-called parallel primary? 

From the intelligence at our disposal, yes. Because the Accord Party’s primary has been held, and the Governor has emerged as the candidate for the next election. The National Working Committee of Accord is intact, the State Working Committee is intact, there is no division, there is no fraction in Accord. It is so funny that the Kangaroo primary was held in the dark, in a very obscure place, in the middle of the night, without the presence of INEC.

That is why we say it is illegal, and we gathered from our intelligence that APC people are behind it. Because they are afraid that if they go to the election with the Governor, he will defeat them hands down. Let me tell you something, lots of people across parties, APC, PDP, Accord are behind the Governor. They want the governor to continue his good governance for the next four years. If we can have him in power for a good eight years, this state will turn out to be the best state in the South-West. But they want to stop him.

But it is not possible because the people are solidly behind the Governor. The Governor’s movement from PDP to Accord was based on people’s choice because of the crisis that has crippled PDP. It is a strategic and a good move because today you don’t even know who is in charge of PDP.

I can assure you by the grace of God, on the 8th of August, next year, Governor Adeleke will be announced the winner of the election. In the last election when I presided as the acting PDP Chairman, the party won with about 20,000 votes. This time around, because of the good work the Governor has done, his popularity among the people, his credibility, I can assure you that the margin this time will be around 100,000 votes.

 How did the state government feel about the recent Supreme Court judgement on the funds of local governments? 

It is a dedication of what the state governments have been saying, or a confirmation, that the federal government has no business with the local government funds. And if we are really having a true democracy, and we are not using federal money, and the federal government believes that a few people, like those in the grassroots, are equal citizens of this country, I think the federal government should be influenced by ensuring that monies, allocation of monies for the grassroots are given to them. At this point, I must commend the executive governor of Osun State, my principal, as well as the Asiwaju of Ede Land, Senator Ademola Jackson Adeleke, who is the justice delegate.

For the past 10 or 11 months, local government allocations have been cut. And of course, you know that from this allocation, that’s where primary school teachers and traditional rulers are taken care of. But the governor is taking it in his stride to ensure that these people at the grassroots are not affected and their salaries and whatever that is necessary have been paid to them.

You mean despite the withholding of the funds? 

Yes, the state government and the governor are paying their salaries. It is a huge burden on the state government, and it is more of a political than a legal issue, because the APC in Osun State is amazed, it is surprising that the governor in those three years has done what they could not do in the last years. So, they think they can slow down the governor’s developmental strides by withholding our local government funds using federal funds through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

Kudos to the governor. You know, the power of the governor. Before he came to power, he promised  Osun people that Osun money will remain in Osun State. He has done so much within this period to block all the loopholes and that is why we have achieved so much in a very little time. 

Now, let me use this opportunity to call on the Federal Government, especially President Bola Tinubu, because I am sure he is aware of the number of the grassroots, the vulnerable in Osun State, that he should as a matter of urgency prevail on those withholding the local government funds to release it. He should know that withholding the fund is affecting their daily lives. So, they should please release the money so that life can come back to them as it used to be.

How do you see governance of Osun State under Governor Ademola Adeleke in the last three years?

Governor Ademola Adeleke’s stewardship in the last three years has been unprecedented. This is the governor that came and a lot of circumstances gave him little chance of performing in the office as a governor. I can tell you as a matter of fact that he has surpassed what his predecessors could not attain in the last 12 years. He has worked on his campaign promises and manifestos and as I speak to you, he has touched virtually all sectors of government as people are asking for it.

In what specific sectors would you say he has performed well? 

It’s unprecedented. You will agree with me that some of the indices of measuring the performance of the government are in the infrastructure, health and education sectors. In the area of infrastructure, he has won several awards due to that. He has turned Osun State as a whole to a construction site; no local government is left out; no community is left out. Apart from road construction we also have flyover projects. We have two in Osogbo. One at Okefia, one at Lameko, nearing completion. Another one is going on in Ife, the first of its kind ever since the creation of the state in Ife. 

Road dualizations are going on in Ilesa, which has never happened in the history of the town. In the history of Osun, we’ve never had it so good. We now have dual carriageways in Ilesa, from the Palace of the Owa of Ijesha land, to the Nigerian Brewery, that’s the Ibadan/Akure Expressway.

Iwo is not left out either. Iwo is the headquarters of Osun West. The dualizations are going on. In Ila-Orangun, the ancestral home of Baba Bisi Akande, the leader of the APC in the state, and the former chairman of APC in Nigeria, dualization is going on there.

When you now come to the Asiwaju himself, his ancestral home in Ede, dualization. These roads are world class roads with good drainage, and of course you see streetlights everywhere. If you come to Osogbo and some major towns at night, Osun is just like a mini-London. People are happy for it. You can drive through Osogbo township without even a pothole. So, he has done very well in that area.

In the health sector, of course, he has done so much in the area of health insurance schemes. He has provided medical equipment to various hospitals. The number of people that have been enrolled into health insurance schemes, you know he is a governor that believes in taking care of the vulnerable.

All the pensioners in the state have been enrolled free of charge into the health insurance scheme. The inmates at the correctional centre too. You can imagine the government is light hearted even extending his gesture to special agencies. If you go to the correctional centre in Ilesa there, sometimes in September we have free surgery for the inmates, and all of them have been enrolled free of charge on the health insurance scheme.

People living with disability are all enrolled into health insurance schemes, and the governor has graciously provided aid for them. Those that need a walking stick, those that need hearing aids, we have done all those for them. If you recall last year, the governor received the Governor of The Year Award of the esteemed New Telegraph in respect of his performance in the health sector, especially for winning the best in health indices in the South-West. 

There is what we call the primary leadership award, Osun came first in the South West last year, and for this year too, two days ago it was just announced that we came first again. We have done it back-to-back, and it is a testament that the governor is performing and is doing so much in the health sector.

In education, we have consistently maintained our position in the NECO, National Examination Council, across the country in the seven states. When we came on board, Osun was the 33rd in the whole country, but now we are seventh. We had this last year, and still this year. In the area of agriculture, tractors have got seedlings, fertilisers, and farm implements, and fully provided 

We have done a lot in the area of empowerment. Across the three territorial districts, the governor has raised funds for small-scale enterprises to help them in their businesses.

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