Ex-lawmaker Akande declares HoA ambition, explains why he sometime rejected salary under Ajimobi

Ex-lawmaker Akande declares HoA ambition, explains why he sometime rejected salary under Ajimobi

Femi OGUNLANA

Hon. Oluwakayode Solomon Akande, a lawyer, and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) robustly represented Ogbomoso South State Constituency between 2015 and 2019 on the platform of the Labour Party, though he later defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) midway. Fondly called “Akande II,” whose cleric father after whom the popular Akande Market at Caretaker area Ogbomoso is named, was “Akande I,” has again shown interest in the position expressing confidence he has the best chances and represents the best in terms of candidacy, and canvassing support from the party leaders and members and from the people of the constituency. He had an eventful time in the House during the period he held sway, he told ogbomosoinsightonline.com recently during an interview held in his Law Chamber at Oke-Obadare area, Ogbomoso. Shockingly, he disclosed he once refused to take his allowances and other entitlements in the Oyo State House of Assembly because some state workers were not paid their salaries because they were victims of downsizing exercise saying his radical step contributed to eliciting the reversal of the affected workers’ salaries denial. He also spoke on his chances in the forthcoming 2027 election averring that in a level playing field he holds the aces. He throws jabs at an aspirant whom he did not name that his old man is the one “running the show for him,” that the said aspirant is himself without real ambition, saying such an aspirant will not be a good representative but that against an aspirant like that he will triumph if fairness pervades the arena. He also scores his successor low saying in six years he has not been able to beat his 4-year record. Hon. Akande articulately responded to the questions posed to him.

Excerpts:

We have not heard of you in recent times, since you last contested in 2019.

During the last election I actually moved together with Chief Adebayo Adelabu Penkele to Accord Party from APC. So, when I got the hint that deputy governorship was zoned to Ogbomoso, I declared interest for the deputy governorship and I got the support of my late father, Mogaji Sobaloju Olorode of Alaruru compound, Akunko, I got his support and of other stakeholders and other leaders in Ibadan. Baba nominated me as his own candidate for deputy governorship but eventually the nomination was given to a friend of mine, Prof Biodun Ayandele, so that was my ambition in 2023. Although there was a pressure on me to go back to the House of Assembly that it would be a better opportunity for Ogbomosoland that I would be a returning member and that by the House rule I would have greater opportunity. But my desire then was for the deputy governorship. That is why people did not see my poster.

Can you recollect some of your achievements while a member of the Oyo State House of Assembly between 2015 and 2019? Though as a legislator you are not in position to execute projects but to make laws, can you mention some of the bills you sponsored and motions you moved?

Singlehandedly, I sponsored a number of bills that later became laws that are still enforced in Oyo state. As an instance the issue of LAUTECH (Ladoke Akintola University of Technology), when the institution was established it was established as a non-residential university and by my efforts it became a residential university. Then multi-door court house (for the implementation of ADR, Alternative Dispute Resolution), so that instead of a dispute going through a whole lot of trials in the court, parties can employ ADR to resolve their differences and that will become the judgment or decision that will be binding on the parties. We also instituted a bill on land grabbing and violence against women too, and a good number of laws like that that I facilitated. And then motions, so, principally I was able to perform these functions expected of a legislator, that is lawmaking, oversight functions, and then passage of appropriation bills, budgets and the rest.

Now, will you care to rate or assess the performance of your successor as lawmaker representing Ogbomoso South state constituency?

I am very very sure that my successor having spent six years in the office, I am very sure that he has not been able to beat the record that I left in the four years I spent. One fact is very fundamental, when I got elected then, the House clerk I mean the permanent secretary of the House of Assembly said it then that Ogbomoso was now having a voice in the House of Assembly and when we talk of Ogbomosoland we are talking of the five local governments, he said in the four preceding years, that they were not hearing anything at all about Ogbomoso in the House, because of my predecessor’s activities then, so silent. So, when I came on board Barrister Paul Bankole, he said that, “Now, Ogbomoso is having a voice in the House of Assembly.” I know a number of things that I did, even outside what we have in the constitution to be the roles of House of Assembly member. Even on the ground of humanitarianism I know the number of things that I did, my loyalty to my leader, human relations everything, my availability …

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Will you consider yourself a grassroots politician?

I am. If you want to test my popularity, let’s embark on a walk from this office to the next junction, you will see people calling me left and right. There was a day a former commissioner, a son-of-the-soil came to Ogbomoso for a meeting and he was going back to Ibadan and I decided to give him a lift from the venue of the meeting, we wound down the glass of the vehicle, I was the one driving, and people were calling left and right, “Akande II,” “Hon Akande,” that he was surprised.

But there used to be an insinuation that you’re stingy, that you don’t relate well with the people, perhaps I heard wrongly, how would you react to this?

I have said it earlier on, that is one aspect of politics, people will always look for one thing or the other to denigrate you, what you are not, they will ascribe it to you. So that is politics. I did my best financially, and then when somebody is elected it is not expected that he will just be distributing largesse, but to the best of my ability based on what I could afford financially I was responsible and up till now I am still very responsible. So, people having such a notion is a very wrong notion.

How strong is APC in Ogbomoso presently?

It is a very popular party in Ogbomoso compared to other parties.

But there is this notion that the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu has sparked widespread poverty in the land, and is affecting the fortune of the party, what will you say on this?

There is no gainsaying that the present administration introduced some policies on economy, which one way or the other are affecting the people, but I know the government gives priority to the people. While there is clamour for change it won’t be immediate that we will begin to see the good sides of the policies, from the beginning there will be some things, some difficulties, but there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Anything that has to do with reforms like that, in the beginning there will be some hardships but when we start to have the results, people will rejoice. Look at premium motor spirit (petrol) the price is crashing, food prices are also coming down.

You sponsored a bill while in the House on anti-kidnapping to curtail insecurity, are you satisfied with what we have on ground now?

Yeah yeah. Honestly speaking, the problem we have in this part of the world, Nigeria as a case study, has to do with implementation of laws. We have enough laws to curb all sorts of criminal activities, now if you look at the penalties stipulated in the bill I sponsored then, Anti-Kidnapping Bill, compared to that of the National Assembly (that came later) there is no difference, and if there is, it will be very slight. Part of the punishment for the one I sponsored then is that we have life imprisonment, especially where the victim died in the custody of the kidnappers, the one the National Assembly just passed is death sentence where the victim eventually died in the custody of the kidnappers, I think that is the only difference. But when we passed the bill it is not as serious as we have it now, but now it is on a very large scale, it was still very minimal when we acted on it.

So, can we say you had a peep into the future when you introduced the bill?

Yes. It is an interesting bill.

As a legal practitioner, the Supreme Court delivered a judgment on local government autonomy but is not enforced, what can you say about this?

That alone is an achievement. Local government by virtue of section 7 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the third tier of the government, is expected to run its affairs independently and for it to be able to achieve, then it means that the money ought to be going to it directly, I think what is important is the determination of the state governors to allow the judgment to be fully implemented the way it is spelt out, I wrote an article on that, so, they don’t have to stifle local government administration by collecting the fund meant for it through state joint account, it affects the local government administration, affects grassroots development as well. So, I am fully in support of the Supreme Court judgment. The AGF I think there was a time they were working out the modality for the local governments to be receiving their allocation directly so majorly the challenge has to do with the political will of the state government.

But what about the president, doesn’t he also lack the political will to get it implemented? He could have asked that the money be sent directly to the local governments. So, there is nothing the president can do?

I want to believe that there is a judgment of the Supreme Court which is the final judgment, what remains is execution to the last letter.

2027 is almost here, what should the people of Ogbomoso or specifically Ogbomoso South expect from you, Hon Kayode Akande?

Well, thanks so much, that is a very interesting question. I have a plan to contest again for the Oyo State House of Assembly for Ogbomoso South state constituency. I want to contest for a second term. And I believe that I have the opportunity as a second timer, it will benefit the people of Ogbomosoland.

On which platform are you planning to contest?

For now APC.

Now peradventure if you realize that ambition what and what will you do differently?

A lot. You know before, we see law as element of social engineering, if there are some challenges we are facing now which then we were not facing, you have to come up with a new set of laws to combat them, to control them, to bring about more developments in our society. And then there are still some other economic projects we can still do to help the suffering of our people, of course you know that our people are having challenges, economically, and the issue of unemployment too, there are some ideas that we can easily generate or even share with the executive in order to reduce unemployment rate so that our youths especially the skilled ones with certificates we can get them engaged and other things we can do to make the society a better place.

Since you did not contest the last election, do you think your support base is still intact?

My support base is still very intact, I am very sure of that, I am still enjoying the consideration of other stakeholders in the party in Ogbomoso South.

This issue of Penkelemesi and Folarin, don’t you think this will again affect the party’s fortune in 2027?

They have reconciled their differences so everybody is pressing on now, whoever the party presents as candidate is the one everybody has to work for. They have reconciled and I want to believe that the reconciliation is a veritable one. Whoever is given the ticket every other aspirant has to fall behind!

How do you rate the chances of another Ogbomoso person emerging as Oyo state governor?

It is not impossible, it is very possible. When Governor Akala became the governor it was by divine intervention. So divinely it is possible and politically too if our people are so determined that we want this thing to come to Ogbomoso, it will be, it is a matter of enforcing advocacy for it. Then, still trying to woo other parts of the state to the fact that Ogbomoso is the second largest city in the state. Even look at the data each time we have an election look at the numerical strength and our voting pattern in Oyo state, after Ibadan, which has 55% voting strength, it is Ogbomoso next having 24 – 25%, then after Ogbomoso, Oke-Ogun 20%, Oyo 4%, then Ibarapa 2% or so. So, Ogbomoso stands a better chance of producing another executive governor of Oyo state. Divinely, it is possible, politically, it is still possible because of our numerical strength election-wise.

Lastly, what message do you have for the people of Ogbomoso South local government?

My message to them is that they should look at, I want to base it on my own ambition, they should look at my background professionally and politically, I have a record everybody can be proud of. When I was in the House then, the only major critic that late Governor Ajimobi was having then – in the BCOS, in the Tribune and the rest – was me, I was criticizing him, not destructively but constructively. I did my best, I was the only member from Ogbomosoland that spoke, even when we defected to the APC, I never stopped, I was following government policies back to back, sensitizing the people about government’s policies. I was the only honourable member that did a town hall meeting and gave a stewardship account at Lagbami Osekun Hall, I was informed about it only a week earlier, even though another honourable had been notified but she said she was afraid to come around. That was a programme sponsored by a foreign body in conjunction with the National Orientation Agency. The programme was slated for Monday and I was informed on Thursday and I carried my files and presented my stewardship account. People saw everything I did, so, the message is I have this natural desire to serve, that other aspirants don’t have. People have reasons one thing or the other to say that will disqualify them. I am not an aspirant whose father is running the show for him, there is a difference between your father running the show for you or you having personal zeal to serve, they are two different things. If your father is running the show for you eventually if you get there, what are you going to do? People don’t see you, they don’t know you, you don’t know the nooks and crannies of Ogbomoso, you don’t know the streets, you don’t know the areas, you cannot trek a kilometer in Ogbomoso without you huffing and puffing, no stamina, nothing, there is a difference between a father running a show for his son and somebody saying that this is me, I want to serve, they are two different things, everything is not about money, we have to be pragmatic. My father never ran any show for me to be anything!

But late Governor Akala ran the show for you!

No, no, no! I was the one that decided that I wanted to contest because I wanted to serve, he did not just pick me, he did not impose it on me, he only played his role as party leader. No father imposed any will on me, it was a personal resolution, personal conviction that I can do this thing and I did it and I succeeded. Go and look at the result I produced in 2019, late Governor Ajimobi was very surprised when he saw the result, he said that was the first time the progressives would have such impressive result I gave them in 2019, the progressives in Ogbomosoland have never had that kind of result. I was a runner up, fine, but I had a very high figure for the party.

You mentioned that you were an unrepentant critic of Governor Ajimobi, what was his attitude to you particularly after you defected to APC?

I was using various avenues to criticize him, on Facebook, on Instagram, BCOS, Tribune, but there was never a time he attacked me verbally or his followers did, there was never a time. Although there was a time, I can remember, we held a meeting with him, and he said he had twenty S.A.s that are monitoring various posts on Facebook and that they reported to him that I was one of those criticizing him, he said it. Even after I left I was still criticizing him, whenever I was not satisfied with any of the policies introduced, there was a time they did what they called downsizing or right sizing of the workforce, mostly teachers were affected then, on the ground of maybe age falsification or absenteeism, I took the government up on that, honestly speaking, and I think later some of them were called back and when they recalled them they were not paid their salaries, go and confirm, I met with the clerk of the House of Assembly, that if these people are not paid their salaries and every other thing they are entitled to, my own salary and other things I am entitled to should be stopped, I met with the clerk of the House of Assembly and from the House premises I still went to the SSG, Secretary to the State Government, I met with him, I met with the Commissioner for Finance, Bimbo Adekanbi, I met with him that my own salary and everything I am entitled to on monthly basis should be stopped until these people are paid their salaries and every other thing properly restored to them, that same week those people were paid their salaries and every other thing the state government ought to pay them. So, that is me.

So, you are confident that if the forthcoming general election is free and fair you will return to the House!

Of course, I am confident of that, if we have a level playing ground, I will return to the House.

Are you not scared that there might be imposition of a candidate in the party?

I want to plead with the leaders to let us have a level playing ground, there should be justice in all the processes that will be involved in producing candidates, there should be transparency, there should be justice, there should be fairness. If actually we want our party to have major victory in the elections, that is what everybody is canvassing for, but where there is an imposition, or where there is injustice, there may be a reaction which may be detrimental to the chances of the party at the polls.

Lastly, are you afraid of any aspirant?

I am not afraid either within my party APC or in any other party. What will I be afraid of? Is it someone who is not having the natural zeal whose father is running the show for him? It is like imposing a wish on someone that is not naturally interested, that is not even known to the people, that doesn’t even know the nooks and crannies of Ogbomoso South, someone that after he lost election then he ran away, only to resurface this year, we don’t need that kind of representative, I am a grassroots man, this is my office, my house is not far from here, every time people see me, if I walk round people call me left and right. So, by my experience politically which will even pay Ogbomosoland more, as a second timer, by the rule of the House, to be considered a principal member of the House you must be a returning member – that is when you can aspire to become Speaker and so on. Not somebody coming for the first time, who will just be pushed to one side. So, the experience is there. Professionally too as a lawyer, it is a plus for me. So, I stand a better chance even the person there presently is not someone I can run away from, I believe he cannot beat me in a fair election.