The Deputy Minority Whip of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abdel-Majid Adesegun Adekoya (Attacker), representing Ijebu North/Ijebu East/Ogun Waterside Federal Constituency, in an interview with Great Achiever Magazine at his Ago-Iwoye residence, disclosed that he would contest for third term in office to enable him continue the good works he started.
Hon. Adekoya, who has M.Sc in Elections and Party Politics from University of Benin, also spoke on other topical issues.
Excerpts:
Q: There is a rumour going round that you want to defect from People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressives Congress (APC). How far is this true?
A: There is no iota of truth in that. It is just a rumour from politicians who probably want to gain political mileage. But unfortunately for them, they have lost it if they want to come out from that angle. It shows clearly that they don’t know the mechanism of politics if they have to say that probably to win certain things. That is their own cup of tea.
I am a bona fide member of PDP. We started PDP together, and most of them that are now agitating were nowhere then, while some of them were still in schools.
On December 5, 1998, during the first Local Government election which PDP participated in, I was a candidate. I stood as the Chairmanship candidate of the PDP in Kosofe Local Government of Lagos State to be precise. Let them go and check the records because I have documents to show for that. So, we started PDP together, and I’ve been a member of PDP since then.
Presently, I’m the only PDP elected member of the House of Representatives in Ogun State. All the 26 members of the House of Assembly in Ogun State are in APC. All the 3 Senators in Ogun State are in APC. The government of Ogun State is APC. Out of the 9 House of Representatives Members from Ogun State, 8 are in APC while I am the only PDP member. If I can stand on ground since 1998 till now, I laugh when they talk because most of them do not know the man, Attacker. Therefore, I want to say it because I’ve said it severally, and I’m repeating it that I am a staunch member of PDP.
I’m a member of the National Executive Council of PDP; I’m a member of National Caucus of the party. Therefore, in Ogun State today, I’m one of the foremost leaders, particularly among the top 5. I’m not talking about the elders, but the leaders. For instance, for 8 years, I was Commissioner in Ogun State under a PDP government. So, I’m a PDP man who has never contemplated leaving the party.
Yes, they may see people coming around. Senator Ibikunle Amosun was a Senator of PDP, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Governor of PDP who made me Commissioner for 8 years. Therefore, I cannot severe such relationship on the altar of political affiliation because politics will come and go.
Q: Has there been overtures or pressure from APC chieftains on you to join APC?
A: Of course, there are several pressures. During my new year party which my governor emeritus, Otunba Gbenga Daniel attended in Ago-Iwoye, the people chanted PDP upon his arrival. When he took the microphone to address the audience, he said, “You people should be looking at us; Attacker is dragging me, I am dragging Attacker. In the end one of us will drag the other”. That was his statement.
Therefore, naturally, any responsible and genuine political party will want to lure people from other party, particularly people that are electable. For instance, some people will have political relevance but are not electorally relevant.
I don’t want to mention names here, but I know of some people in this country today that when they sneeze, the whole world will catch cold. But when it comes to election and electoral values, they have none. But in political values they are larger than anything you can think of. So, as a politician, when you know that your association with someone can fetch you something, there is no crime in that.
For instance, Atiku was the groom’s ‘father’ during the wedding of Buhari’s son. The bride was handed over to Atiku, a presidential candidate of PDP. That is why sometimes when I look at the northerners, I see them as politically sophisticated people, but administratively, economically and financial engineering wise, give it to Yorubas.
Q: The feelers we are getting from your camp suggest that you want to contest for the third term as a Member of House of Representatives. Can you confirm whether you have such ambition?
A: Affirmatively, I am confirming that it is my desire to go to the House of Representatives for the third term from 2023 to 2027, basically for me to be able to complete so many developmental programmes that I’ve started. I can only do that if there is continuity.
Pelosi in America entered the House 40 years ago when she was in her 40s. Today, Pelosi is above 80 years old, and she is an encyclopedia of anything American Law and Policy. The same goes for President Joe Biden who entered the Senate at the age of 29 which gave him a serious advantage.
Coming back to Nigeria, we have Hon Mutum who entered the House in 1999. Our Majority Leader, Ado Doguwa has been representing his constituency since 1992. They are so powerful when it comes to decision making.
For your information, House of Representatives is where they respect seniority. Lawan entered the House in 1999, spent the first 8 years in the House of Representatives and now in the Senate. That is why during the 8th Assembly, he was the Majority Leader in the Senate, and now he is the Senate President, the number three citizen. There is no way you can compare the number three citizen with two, three, four governors in terms of protocol. I’m not talking in terms of influence, but in terms of protocol.
The same goes for the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, the number four citizen, from Surulere, Lagos, who entered the House in 2003. He is on his fifth term. He had served as Minority Leader and Majority Leader before he became the Speaker. You can imagine the power and influence of these people. It is only when you are there that you realize that the more you are there, the more you gather experience.
Q: You mentioned continuity as the major reason why you want to go back. Is it that if you don’t go back, what you started will not continue with the new person?
A: Your guess is as good as mine, and you have your opinion going. Assuming you are from Oru-Ijebu, you, my journalist friend asking this question, will you continue the Ago-Iwoye Stadium and abandon Oru-Ijebu? Will you as someone coming from other area of the constituency continue the FMC Annex project in Ako, Ago-Iwoye? Even if you have the political will to continue, where will you have the fund to continue?
As a principal officer, I don’t want to tell you figures, but if you are an ordinary member, nine of you from Ogun State will share N1billion zonal intervention. Each member will be entitled to N111million which will be shared into the various towns that make up the Federal Constituency in terms of project execution. Will that be enough to execute tangible projects?
For instance, how can such amount be enough to continue the billion naira stadium project including road and street lights in Ago-Iwoye; billion naira Federal Medical Centre project in Ako; millions of naira Orimolusi palace project, Ijebu-Igbo; Buruji Kashamu Skill Acquisition Centre, Ijebu-Igbo; Mushin Ajina Ultra-Modern Shopping Mall project, Ijebu Mushin; Oni Water Front Jetty in Waterside? As a new member who is entitled to N111million, where will you get money to continue these projects? It is as good as turning those legacy projects to public waste.
Q: Do you think you have done enough to justify a third term in office?
A: I’m not competent enough to say that, rather, it is my constituents that are competent to say that. Yorubas will say salt cannot commend itself inside soup, but it is the people that taste the soup that will do that. In essence, the taste of the pudding is in the eating. It is only God that can say He has done enough and wants to go and rest on the seventh day.
Hon. Onamusi from Itele was in this position. From 2003 to 2007, Hon Lekan Mustapha was in the position, Hon Segun Aloro, my brother from Ijebu-Ife once occupied the same position. From 2011 to 2015, Hon Abudu Balogun from Abigi was in the same position. As an investigative journalist, show me what previous occupiers of this position have done in your ward. I have done a lot of projects running into billions of naira which time will not permit me to reel out, but a visit to all parts of my constituency will give you an insight.
Q: With all the achievements that you have recorded, why do you think there are still oppositions on ground wanting to take over from you, and how do you intend to manouvre these oppositions?
A: God has said all our wants are with Him and it is only He that gives to whoever He pleases. Therefore, it should be handed over to God whatever one aspires to be. Secondly, it is within the fundamental rights of those who are agitating. There is no crime in agitating, there is no offence in anybody aspiring to become anything, even president of Nigeria.
It is only madness that people don’t compete for, but anything good needs to be competed for. Therefore, I welcome those people that are agitating, particularly those engaging in healthy and progressive competition. If people are not competing, you may not know the area of your weakness. There are areas that may be untouched which you want to touch when you see opposition left, right and centre coming up especially when they are good opposition.
In response to your question on maneuvering, I want to tell you that there is no question of maneuvering in politics. Rather, it is negotiation and persuasion that needs to be embraced. If your programmes persuade me, without saying I surrender, you will see that I’m surrendering. Anytime I see my opponents agitating or being too harsh, I will send message to them.
Q: Before you can realize your ambition of a third term, there are two major hurdles that you must cross. First, you have to emerge as the candidate of your party, and second, you have to contest in the general election. How confident are you that you will emerge the candidate of your party in view of the oppositions that are confronting you within your party?
A: I believe that any serious political party must put its house in order, particularly a party that wants to contest against a sitting government when it has nothing. Look at Yewa side, what is the stand of PDP there? Senator Yayi is massively entering Yewa. Gboyega Nasir Isiaka (GNI), Bisiriyu Popoola, Iyabo Apampa, Senator Anisulowo, Waliu Taiwo are all members of APC from Yewa.
All the three House of Representatives members from Yewa belong to APC. All the seven House of Assembly members from Yewa are APC members. All the five Council Chairmen from Yewa are APC members. All the Councillors in Yewa are APC members. All the Commissioners in Yewa belong to APC.
Go to Ogun Central Senatorial District; former Governor Amosun is APC member, former Governor Osoba is APC member. The Minister from the central belongs to APC, the Ambassador to United Kingdom, Sarafa Tunji Isola is a member of APC. All the three House of Representatives members from central belong to APC. All the eight House of Assembly members from central belong to APC. All the Commissioners from central belong to APC. The six Council Chairmen from central are members of APC.
Coming to Ogun East Senatorial District, Otunba Gbenga Daniel is an APC member, the governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun belongs to APC, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo belongs to APC. So, this is to tell you that if PDP is serious in confronting a ruling party that has the capacity to fund anything; that has all the apparatus of government that will sway electorate to its side, can it confront APC with kid gloves? If you are a serious minded person, can you as a coach bench Messi or Ronaldo in a competitive football match? Not only that the match will be lost, but the entire stadium will be empty because spectators have come to watch Messi and Ronaldo play.
Therefore, if you feel strongly that a principal officer, the only candidate of your party that stood firm and refused to go to other party inspite of pressure on him; if you feel that the only way to compensate him is to say come and sit down, let me go and try a new hand without maturity and political acceptability.
I was a Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Ogun State. I have access to almost all the Royal Fathers in Ogun State. As a former Commissioner for Works, mention anywhere in Ogun State that I don’t know. As a former Commissioner 1 in the Local Government Service Commission, if you are a senior staff in Local Government in Ogun State today, if I don’t know you, you must know me. Either through appointment, promotion, transfer, pension, training, you must have come across Attacker.
I’m offering, if whoever becomes the governorship candidate of PDP does not appoint me, I will appoint myself as the DG Campaign Organisation for PDP because I know I have the capacity.
Q: In politics as they say, anything can happen. We have seen a new comer defeating a sitting Senate President, while we have also seen a new comer defeating Speaker of the House of Representatives despite all their achievements. If you are defeated during the primary election of your party, what will you do?
A: A Yoruba adage says, “To take Orunmila’s wife is no big deal, but to profit from the relationship remains to be seen”. If you want to take Orunmila’s wife because you are rich, no qualms, but you should be prepared to face the consequence. I am still persuaded that my party will not make mistake because they will want to conduct free and fair primary election. I know other people doing some unprintable things, saying that they are the ones holding the EXCO. I ask, do they know the guidelines of the party? Are they part of those who are going to decide the guidelines? Are they sure that the EXCO they are bragging of having will be used? Don’t you know that the party at the national level will not close their eyes to lose a formidable team? If you are a governorship candidate of this party, sincerely speaking, can you afford to say Attacker, go and sit down? The person you want to pick, is he more mature? Is he more known in the party or the state? Is he more acceptable?
Let’s go on the streets of Ago-Iwoye; let’s go to Ago-Iwoye market and see how people will be chanting Attacker. Coming to the example of former Speaker, Dimeji Bankole that was defeated by a new comer, you probably don’t know what happened. What were the contributions of Bankole then? We were in government then. He almost frontally beat an incumbent governor. I was the one hosting the Minister of Works then. We were in the bus when he was pointing and punching the sitting governor. So, don’t tell me what happened, I knew what happened to him. He regretted it. You can go to interview him, he will tell you why he lost. Never again will he touch a sitting governor.
Apart from that, today, go and interview anyone from Abeokuta and see if they are not regretting voting against Dimeji Bankole then, because if Bankole had returned, he would have become the Speaker again because undoubtedly, he had the structure. I pray that my party will not make such mistake of telling Ronaldo to leave the field and bring on an amateur.
Q: If in a free and fair primary election you were defeated, will you remain in the party to give support to whoever emerges as the party’s candidate?
A: In the first instance, I’m not going to answer your question directly, but I will answer by the way you asked the question. I have said that if you want to take something from someone, you should be prepared to face the consequence. Therefore, my answer to you is, when we get to the bridge, we will cross it. If I know that clean and clear I am defeated, I am a loyal party man, I will remain there and work for the success of the party. But if I see any hanky panky, I will fold my hands while my followers will decide where to cast their votes.
I told them that emerging as the candidate of the party is not the same thing as being sworn-in in the House of Representatives. I know of somebody aspiring from Ijebu East Local Government. I called someone close to him to go and ask him that if he emerges as the candidate of the party, won’t he need the votes of Ago-Iwoye and Ijebu-Igbo people? His boys are insulting somebody from there who mostly has capacity to speak to his own followers too. Therefore, let your campaign be based on issues instead of abusing and attacking personalities.
Q: You have enumerated your achievements and various projects you facilitated to your constituency. But some people are saying that all the achievements you are flaunting are your statutory responsibilities on which basis you were elected and there is no need for you to lay so much emphasis on them, because you are doing your normal duties.
A: Don’t let them mislead our people. Law making is what we were sent there to go and do. I’m not in the Executive arm. Senators and House of Representatives Members were elected to go and make laws. For you to rate me, you should ask me how many bills have I sponsored, how many motions have I moved. Basically, people should see projects as bonus. We are 9 House of Representatives Members and 3 Senators from Ogun State, making 12 members of National Assembly. Let them ask these members, excluding me, to present the list of their projects to know if truly that is what they have sent me to go and do.
Those people you are talking about are four in number, I don’t want to mention their names but you know them. I celebrated my annual New Year party recently, and without any prompting, I had ten Obas in attendance without inviting them. The entire Obas in a particular local government in this Federal Constituency conferred Chieftaincy title on me both individually and collectively in appreciation of my stewardship.
Q: Recently, President Buhari refused to sign into law the amended electoral bill on the basis that direct primary cannot be forced on political parties during primary election. What is your take on this?
A: The last time I granted an interview, I said that I have my doubts and not persuaded that Mr President would sign it. This is because the president had always declined signing progressive bills that would have turned this country to your dream and my dream.
I leave the challenge to the youths because this decline by the president has thrown again another challenge to the one he has assented which is Not too Young to Run. If you say not too young to run and you are declining assent to direct primary, asking that some big wigs and god fathers should just hand pick one, two, three…, then what is the fate of the youths?
In 1989 and 1992, I was a State delegate in Lagos through direct primary. In 1993, I was a National delegate of SDP through direct primary. My parents were in the village in Ago-Iwoye, while I became Councillor, Vice Chairman and Chairman in Lagos through direct primary. If not for that opportunity of direct primary, I would not have won those elections because I’m not from Lagos.
Mr. President would have written his name in gold and etched his name in the hearts of Nigerian youths if he had assented to the bill.
Q: Are you afraid of any opposition to your third term ambition?
A: I’m not afraid of anybody coming out. Let them come out in their thousands, subject to the will of Almighty Allah, I will defeat them in millions.
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