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Four Years Of Audu Better Than PDP’s 12 — Adeyemi

By John Akubo
04 October 2015   |   1:49 am
I think we are going to vote November 21, 2015. If they have performed or outperformed then let them outperform in their votes. But for me as a young man, a politician and a Christian progressive I have not seen any government that has superseded the development portfolio of Audu.

Abidemi-Adeyemi,-PDP says it has outperformed Audu in office as governor, what is your take?
I think we are going to vote November 21, 2015. If they have performed or outperformed then let them outperform in their votes. But for me as a young man, a politician and a Christian progressive I have not seen any government that has superseded the development portfolio of Audu. I am not an outsider; I was in opposition for good four years and I have contested for the seat of the Senate. I think I know what I am saying; he is still outstanding.

So what will that make for APC in the election?
There are issues to identify with. Since Audu left power over N2trillion has accrued to the and in the last eight years well over N1Trillion have accrued to the State. In the last four years close to N500Billion has accrued to the State and still his legacies cannot be surpassed. The man achieved so much, with few hundreds of millions of naira, less than N250Billion. So there is a wide gap between his achievements and what the PDP has done in twelve years. When you look at Kogi State and housing estates, if you remove Phase one, Phase two, remove 500 units and in other areas remove Confluence Beach, remove the FM station and remove Kogi State University, what remains in Kogi State? It is not about sentiments. In this new generation, we believe Audu had laid a springboard and a clear foundation for basic politics to emerge. Politics is not about oneself; it is about interest, it is about people and it is about progress. If people really want to be sincere about development, I think Prince Abubakar Audu is more like it compared to all the candidates parading themselves.

What are the chances of APC against the incumbent?
The chances are endless; we have all combined forces to work together to make sure there is change. At this rally, everybody is here that tells how far we have gone.

In the last general election you dumped the APC for the Labour Party where you contested for the Senate, Kogi West, why are you back to the APC?
There was an agitation. We wanted free and fair contest and that was what brought Prince Abubakar Audu on board. So we don’t argue with democracy; the emergence of Audu was democratic. It was conducted by a decent man; Governor Nasir el-Rufai.  We never had that kind of opportunity that was why there was wrangling. So fighting Audu is like fighting against democracy. Audu went through a clear and decent process and that is what we all respect. I identify with the emergence of Abubakar Audu, I identify with his legacy, I identify with his vision and most importantly he won a democratically, transparent primary election.

The choice of Faleke as Audu’s running mate, has been generating some noise, what can you say about that?
I don’t know what people mean by coming to reap where he did not sow. He had been an APC member and he is not coming from outside the party. He is actually an Okun, even when Audu became the first executive Governor it was what people said, that he was coming from the banking sector. What of the incumbent Governor they said the same thing about him. They said he was not a core politician. Was former Governor Ibrahim Idris a core politician? It is God that gives power. The combination of Faleke and Audu is a perfect one, so I don’t see anything wrong with it. It is bedrock of progress. We are not saying it automatically solves the problem but it can be the foundation for better things to come.
Audu won the primary election, but some people think he should not be the candidate of the party; what with many petitions here and there?

It is not about what you think, but process. There is a process there is an institution and there is a guideline. A free and fair election was conducted and someone has won and it is only one person that can win and he has won. So it is not about what we feel. Democracy is not a personal issue; it is an institutional process.  If the man has passed through the process and he has won we have to support him.

You were aggrieved with the emergence of Senator Dino Melaye, are you still…?
It is still the same; injustice is injustice. Either here or there, injustice is injustice. The injustice was that primary election was not conducted and the kind of opportunity that was given to Prince Abubakar Audu was not given to us and as human beings it was natural for us to be aggrieved. We bought forms but ballot materials were stolen and there was no round table negotiation. Nobody would be happy in such a situation.

The issue of power shift has been on the front burner; what is your stand?
Those of us from Kogi West and central agitating for power shift have to work on ourselves. There is an idea that when it comes to the issue of power shift selfishness takes center Stage. There must be a rallying point; everybody cannot be beneficiary of power shift at the same time. The moment we accept within ourselves and create a rallying point we will achieve it. There is nobody that can make power shift possible except Abubakar Audu. There is no leader in Igala land that embodies the interest of the Igala people other than Audu. It is such leaders that can effect powershift. Audu is like the Awolowo of Igala land. Those are the kind of people that can actualize power shift, unlike this mushroom governance that emerged through patronage. We know our leaders and our leaders know us. So if it is power shift, there is nobody better placed than Audu to effect it. I am confident and he has assured us that power shift would happen. Anywhere it goes whether it is Okun land or Ebira land let us support but the moment there is power shift and everybody wants to be governor at the same time then we would have crises. That is the issue.

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