Senator Yele Omogunwa is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) representing Ondo South Senatorial district at the National Assembly. In this interview with DGossip247, he speaks on a wide range of critical national issues, including President Muhammadu Buhari’s crusade against corruption, the Senate’s performance so far, money and godfatherism in Nigerian politics
You were a commissioner in your state, and now you are in the Senate. How would you contrast your experience in the legislative arm with that in the executive arm where you served for many years?
I am a first timer in the Senate, and coming also from the executive arm of the government of Ondo State. In the executive, I was in government spanning close to ten years. I have been chairman of a local government; I have been secretary of a local government. I served as a Commissioner, Information, Youth Sports and Culture in Ondo State; I served as Commissioner for Education, I served as Commissioner Lands and Housing; I have even served as Commissioner for Works. Not only that, I have served as chairman of Housing Corporation in Ondo State. So, I am coming from the executive arm of government to a new clime. This is a new experience.
They are two different ballgames. Even if you are Mr. President and you are coming to the Senate for the first time, you are a “journey just come.” There are governors that are coming for the first time; we are the same. Here we are discussing national and international issues. We are discussing issues that border on the lives of generality of Nigerians as a whole.
Coming from a region that is dominantly All Progressives Congress, how did you find the battle that brought you to the Senate on the platform of the PDP, which is now in opposition?
Well, when you say that APC predominates in the South-West, you are thinking of Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, and Osun. There is no big deal about that because the PDP is holding its head high in the South-West too; our two governors in Ondo and Ekiti states are doing very well and our party’s popularity is soaring by the day. You are also aware that the PDP has commenced the “Re-start PDP Project,” which is designed to reposition the party. Reconciliations are on-going in the party and we are settling our differences with the view to boucing back starting with the elections in some states any time now.
Imagine the success we would have recorded in Lagos and Oyo states if our aspirants in the last governorship elections were very united. Imagine if Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, Senator Teslim Folarin and former governor Rasheed Ladoja have worked together. Imagine how far we would have gone in Lagos where the APC was declared winner with about 150,000 votes, if there was a strong synergy. When you look at the number of lawmakers the PDP got in Lagos House of Assembly and in the House of Representatives from the state, you will agree with me that our popularity is on the increase.
Now to my state, it is the fact that out of the three Senators that contested election in Ondo State, only one is from the PDP. Yes, from experiences, we are grounded enough; we have been in the game for over 20 years and we know how to collaborate for the development of our state and how to draw the line when necessary.
When you came to the Senate, you met a crisis that rocked the Upper Chamber for almost two months. Were you really disappointed by the situation you met on ground?
Thank you very much. I did not meet any crisis in the Chamber. I am coming from the PDP, so, I can’t say much about the in-house arrangement of the APC. PDP is in opposition, is in the minority and our house is in order, and that’s why we addressed a press conference last week Thursday. I can assure you that the PDP is in order. May be the house of APC is unsettled but at the same time, on June 9, we went into the election of the Senate President and the Deputy Senate President.
Perhaps the APC has its in-house arrangement, I don’t know because I am not one of them. But coming to the Senate, that’s not the business of anybody; we are equal at the Senate, and when it comes to election, you will elect whoever you like, not minding the PDP.
What if a PDP candidate had emerged as the Senate President, what would have happened since there was an election? So, I don’t see it as a crisis. I can see it as misinformation or misunderstanding of the whole thing or some ego -flexing is going on somewhere or that some big boys are really flexing muscles with those who claim to own whatever party they have. But at the Senate level, I don’t see any crisis.
During the PDP Senate Caucus briefing recently, you people pledged to offer credible opposition to this administration. How are you going to make it differently from what APC offered the immediate past government?
You should know that the PDP has been on the saddle for 16 years. So, you should know that PDP knows what it is doing. Therefore, if for whatever reason we find ourselves in opposition, and having being in the government for 16 years, definitely we will give credible opposition, meaningful opposition, opposition that could bring development to Nigeria. Whoever is there is a Nigerian; and should be a Nigerian proper with a pan-Nigerian outlook.
He should think generally, think globally and think about the way forward for the entire country. So, the experiences of the past 16 years are still there. These people are just new comers; they are JJC (Johnny just come).
They might not have got the nitty-gritty of governance. And so, if somebody has been there with experience, he will be able to say, why not it do this way. This is a government of change; if we want to change from the old to the new, well, it could be radical, it could be gradual but I see that it is going to be a change that will benefit all of us; building on past achievements of government. So, we will give credible opposition.
Also the PDP Caucus accused the APC-led Federal Government of indulging in selective crusade against corruption. How is President Muhammadu Buhari selective in his anticorruption crusade?
First and foremost, I want to commend President Buhari for having the courage to wage war on corruption. Any right thinking person should appreciate and applaud him. We cannot continue to worship and orchestrate corruption in this country, where some people have billions somewhere and millions of people are suffering in a country where we own the commonwealth. So, if any patriotic person can be courageous to say ‘this thing must stop,’ I don’t see anything wrong in it. Look at the billions of naira which have been reprotedly stolen.
The discovery during the President’s last trip to the United States has been very upsetting. You are aware that the governor of Edo State and his counterpart in Gombe State are in one of the committess investigating some of the accounts. This is interesting and the figures we are hearing are mindboggling. If it is true, we need this money in government coffers for the development of the country. Besides, it will also serve as a means of clearing some former government officals whose names have been soiled by speculations.
A few days ago I heard that even civil servants are being quizzed here and there. That means that it might not even be against politicians alone. So, since we don’t know the extent it will go, let us watch but from the few we have seen, it is like it is targeted at the people that worked with the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. If it is targeted against such people, then it is selective and it is condemnable.
But I will advise that we go back 16 years, forget about the military juntas; go back 16 years when democracy started. If in four years, President Buhari can sanitise this nation that will be kudos to him. But if he narrows this probe down to the person he contested election with and his government, that is selective and unjust. I am not saying the last government has done well or has not done well, but I am a Nigerian.
Anything that is unacceptable must seen as such. But we must do it in such a way that is credible, that is transparent. Let us go back 16 years when we started our democracy. Start from Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; start from Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; start from all these people. It is then that I will say yes, this man has arrived.
Everybody is saying that he is selective now because only our party members are being singled out for investigation. Look at the report in the media about a former governor in the South-South who is accused on mismanaging billions of naira of state fund and I think a group has even petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, yet nothing has been done about it. As it is now, the investigations and probes are one-sided, but we want to give him the benefit of doubt that he will direct the searchlight everywhere.
What are the issues uppermost in your heart, which you will pursue within your tenure as a Senator of the Federal Republic?
First, I determined through God’s intervention to come to Senate because I have had it almost all at the state level. I have not prepared my mind to be a governor. And that is about the only thing one has not been with all I have told you; I have seen it all. And I think at this age I should move up.
The Senate is for elderly people like us. So, the best place is to come to initiate and contribute to bills and laws that will engender good governance and national development. Whoever comes to the Senate must have a mission.
Look at senators in many developed countries- they are highly experienced people from all walks lives who are tested and trusted. Beyond that, my mission is to attract development to all parts of the country, especially to my senatorial district in my state. I will initiate such developmental activities and lobby for them. These include constituency projects and employment for my people. If there is something like disaster, we should cry to the Federal Government, bring it to the attention of the Senate for proper orchestration, management and provision of relief materials.
There are some students from my constituency who have flooded my phone with many requests. These are the things we have come to do to bring back dividends of democracy to our people. But primarily, we want to make good laws for Nigerians and this is a collective responsibility.
Are there legislations that are of particular interest to you which you would want to sponsor bills on?
I am working of a number of people-oriented programmes and motions to raise at the floor of the Senate but because of our relative newness here, I am bidding my time. Our assistants are not in place now. So, we can’t do all these things on our own. And we will have committees here and there but at the same time, I am concerned about the education of our people. I come from a rural area; I come from the Niger Delta and there are a lot of problems there. There is sea incursion; there is water hyacinth problem in the riverine area. I am proposing that I will bring all these things to the Senate. I will also embark on any other interventions that will come.
It was reported that some areas within your senatorial district are in darkness as electricity supply was cut off from there for quite some time now. What are you doing to address this problem?
For almost a year, more than half of my senatorial district has been in darkness including my own town. Five out of six local government areas are affected by this pathetic situation, simply because they say that the people are owing so much to the old Power Holding Corporation of Nigeria which is now DISCOs and GENCOs following its privatization.
Upon investigation, I heard that the man who was handling the Benin axis of it, which links our area, is now dead and his wife is now handling it has insisted that unless people will pay, they won’t be reconnected to power. And you know that it is not easy for a Senator to just put down the money. So, we are meeting with our people; we are talking to our people, we are talking to the investor too so that that we can have a middle-of-the-road solution.
This is what we are doing currently to alleviate the suffering of our people, and we will continue in that stride. You see, it is an irony that that area which is the oil producing segment of the state, an area that even has the Omotosho Power Plant which is being prepared to grow the economy of the entire state is plunged into such level of darkness for so long a time. But as I said earlier, we are addressing it and the end is in sight.
Most of the crises often witnessed in the nation’s politics are caused by godfathers, who want to impose their will against the will of the people. For instance, the crisis that rocked the current National Assembly was generally believed to have been caused by this syndrome. How can this be solved?
If I understand what godfatherism means, one, a weaker force clinging unto a stronger one to achieve an end; perhaps the stronger force wanting to have a domineering effect on the total entity, either in politics or whatever, so that even if I am not there, I should plant my people there; and without me you cannot get there. That is godfatherism. I have not experienced it and it does not happen in my own party. So, the problem in the Senate or in the National Assembly you are referring to, which I am not aware of, is not within the PDP and that’s the much I can say about that.
In Nigeria, it is difficult for the poor to go for election because so much money is involved. It is also evident that because of the emphasis on money, those who have what it takes to deliver good governance are excluded from getting into leadership positions. How can this be addressed?
It might be difficult or rare, but I can say that it is possible to be elected without having much money. I will use myself as an example. I have contested election to the chairmanship of my local government, where some people in government fought with me, fought the election with me, yet despite the fact that I do not have money, I still won the election because I have the support of my people.
So, money didn’t affect it. In my case, it was God’s intervention. Some people I never knew gave me a lot of support. But in some places, you are thinking of politics and you are de-emphasising funding or money, then you cannot get there. You will print posters and do all the publicity. You will face radio and television station; you will move from village to village and town to town. You will hire buses, print vests and cards. All these things cost money. And when some people know that you are contesting election, all their problems now become your problems.
So, the little you can attend to, you attend to it. So, there is no deceiving one’s self; even in advanced countries, they spend a lot of money on publicity, and publicity is about money. So, you cannot just wake up one day and say that you want to be a Senator without any source of livelihood. You have never been known; you have never assisted people to be governor, to be a Senator. I have assisted so many politicians to be governor; I have assisted not monetarily but working along with them and for them. So, when it came to my turn, they worked with me and really assisted me by talking to the people to go and voting for me. But you can’t get this without money because you will print posters, print leaflets; you will do all these things. So, there is no way you can downplay the role of money in politics.
How would you describe the Senate you met; is it the kind of Senate you expected to be part of especially in accordance with the expectations of Nigerian people?
I think what Nigerians need and expect from the Senate is to make robust laws, come up with robust motions and advise the Federal Government on issues of national interest. However, no much has happened. The list of ministers has not been submitted to the Senate; there hasn’t been any appropriation. And these are the duties of the Senate because until the executive sends these things to the Senate, there is nothing the Senate would do about it. The only thing the executive has sent for the approval of the Senate is the names of the Service Chiefs, and they have been cleared and have decorated with their latest ranks.
Are you concerned that three months into the inauguration of this government, list of ministers are not yet submitted to the Senate for approval?
Well, it depends on the man on the chair. Everybody has his own style of administration. This is a government of change, and we are seeing the changes. Before now, ministers would have been nominated and approved; they would have been working but Mr. President knows what he is doing, he knows why he is delaying the appointment of his ministers.
And it is not for anybody to question his authority. He knows when to appoint his ministers, and he is doing his job gradually; sacking some public office holders and appointing new ones. He is not loitering about his business. He is making some foreign trips in the interest of the nation and chasing the Boko Haram issue which had caused great harm to the nation; appointing Service Chiefs, and granting bailout to states.
These are acts of governance but if what should come to the Senate for approvals don’t come, you cannot force the executive to send them. But we are passing motions on good governance and whatever is affecting every state. That’s what we are doing now.
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