Aderemi Abass Oseni is Chairman, House Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA). He spoke with journalists on the deplorable state of roads and also analysed the challenges facing the Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress. SEYE OLUMIDE was there.

Most federal roads in the South are in deplorable condition. What are you doing to ensure that FERMA rehabilitates all these roads?
We have gone beyond that stage. Barely five months ago, there was a committee meeting that went viral. I was then concerned about the activities of the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi. Before I ran for election, I had travelled around the federation because of my profession. There is no part of the federation I have not travelled to.

Before now, if you travelled from Shagamu to Benin, you would curse the Federal Government. From Benin to Asaba, you would do the same thing. From Onitsha to Enugu, you would think that we did not have any government in place. From Calabar to Uyo, you would ask whether we are in this country together. From Ibadan to Ife, you had to prepare for medication when you got to Ilesha. From Ibadan to Oyo, it was nothing to write home about. From Oyo to Ogbomoso, it was the same story. These are the problems we inherited.

That was why I was concerned about the state of federal roads. As Chairman of FERMA, I needed a roadmap for these roads to be fixed. We did not cause it. It was not a problem our government created. But immediately we took over, my thinking was that we should be diplomatic. We should place emphasis on the rehabilitation of existing roads rather than new ones.

If I want to start the reconstruction of a 100-kilometre road to a 200-kilometre road, it will require at least two years to complete. It means the government will not be able to fix all federal roads within four years. If I were the Minister of Works, I would understand the strategy to adopt, which would bring results immediately.

In this situation, how best can the minister address the deplorable conditions of federal roads nationwide?
The best approach is to meet with the President and request intervention funds to fix all deplorable federal roads across the federation. While we are rehabilitating existing federal roads, the implementation of legacy projects will still continue.

We need a strategic roadmap that is very clear and objective because the people are concerned about the conditions of federal roads. It is not the problem of President Tinubu to go and fix those roads directly. He has appointed the Works Minister to handle that assignment, and I believe he has been responsive.

Good enough, the Works Minister is a certified civil engineer. He has been solving the problem for the President. You do not need to start the reconstruction of all federal roads simultaneously. What you need to do is to start from Lagos and structure how people can get to Abuja seamlessly. After the journey, people will praise the President for efficient utilisation of taxpayers’ money.

We do not reconstruct federal roads that are less busy at the expense of those with high vehicular movements. For instance, 80 per cent of commuters ply the Lagos–Abuja and Lagos–Onitsha routes. Once we fix key federal roads with high vehicular movements, everyone will sing the praises of the President after six months. Then, we can move to other roads.

For me, we must sustain the aggressive rehabilitation of existing roads to ensure that they are motorable for the masses. Don’t reconstruct them first because we cannot complete them in record time. But we should make them functional. This is my position, and it has nothing to do with me personally. This is basically what I have been advocating for many months.

I am passionate about it because the minister can approach President Tinubu and explain the need to make existing federal roads more functional. I know the President, being an unrepentant progressive, will promptly provide much-needed interventions.

While the minister is focused on fixing existing roads, he should provide Nigerians with daily or weekly briefings on progress in federal road rehabilitation. If the Works Minister does this, there will not be any criticism of the legacy projects. That was my message during the meeting of the House Committee on FERMA.

Has anything changed since your engagement with the Minister of Works over the condition of federal roads?
Except for one who wants to be deceitful, there is a clear difference between what we had then and what we have now. It was good that I engaged him with every sense of humility and patriotism. I think the engagement made him realise that his strategy was not helping the government enough. I think he retraced his steps, and there was a major departure from the way they were managing federal roads before and now.

Can you spotlight the efforts being made by FERMA across the federation to assist commuters and reduce travel time?
I’m on top of the game. Things have really changed. I do not know where the Office of the Minister is. But as a concerned citizen who wants the best for Nigeria and who daily prays for the success of President Tinubu, I can tell you that work has improved on road maintenance and rehabilitation.

Four weeks ago, China gave us so much equipment for the maintenance and rehabilitation of federal roads. The equipment will really assist FERMA to fast-track road maintenance across the federation. If you look at the Shagamu–Ijebu-Ode axis now, major construction work is ongoing to ease vehicular movement. Also, rehabilitation is progressing on the Benin–Warri route. In fact, the reconstruction of the Ife–Ibadan expressway has already been awarded, and its rehabilitation will take off very soon.
When will the rehabilitation start?

I may not be able to give a specific date for the commencement because I don’t control the budgets.

Similarly, the Federal Government has awarded the Ibadan–Oyo and Ogbomoso–Oyo routes. The Calabar–Uyo road has already been awarded. Work is equally ongoing on this corridor. I can tell you that there is a major departure from what we used to have.

Amid rift in the Oyo APC, you set up the Remi Oseni Committee of Friends (ROCOF). Does this suggest a lack of confidence in your party?
This is not so in any way. ROCOF is not a rival to APC, and it can never be. Rather, it is an initiative that complements what our party is doing in Oyo State. The vision transcends Oyo State, though it started there. It is a movement we are using to mobilise support for the re-election of President Tinubu in 2027 and for my own political aspiration. Its membership cuts across political parties, religious groups and ethnic nationalities. It is a movement of like minds resolved to mobilise support for President Tinubu and me. The reason is not far-fetched.

The task ahead is huge. We cannot leave it to our party alone. To achieve at least 75 per cent voter turnout in 2027, we need to deploy diverse approaches to mobilise popular support for all our candidates.

Why did the APC lose woefully in the last by-election?
First of all, let me explain a little about the last by-election in Ibadan North. Our party did not understand that it was running a by-election. As you know, a by-election is not a conventional election; it is not like a general election. It is an election where you contest against the ruling party in the state or the main opposition, depending on where you stand. For us, we were contesting as the opposition party. But my party did not quite understand that aspect, and that was our first challenge.

Also, if you want to fight against the ruling party in a state like Oyo and win, the strategy must be carefully designed to achieve results. It should not be hurriedly put together. I think we got it wrong there. Already, we have learnt our lessons. We have gone back to the drawing board in preparation for the general election, and I believe our approach to 2027 will be different.

Ahead of 2027, what is the leadership of Oyo APC doing to avoid a repeat of what happened during the by-election?
I am happy everyone now acknowledges that fundamental mistakes were made. The issue is how to get out of where we are now. Like I said earlier, we have returned to the drawing board. It has become our collective responsibility to work out how to bring Oyo APC back on track. We have realised our mistakes, particularly before and during the last by-election.

In that process, we managed to poll 8,312 votes compared to the 18,404 scored by the PDP. This outcome does not truly represent the standing of APC in Oyo State; it only exposes the weakness of our approach to the by-election. The good thing is that we are now working together to reposition APC for victory.

One thing that has been causing issues in the Oyo APC is desperation. Can we say your founding of ROCOF and other initiatives is a form of desperation for 2027?
I am not overly ambitious. My primary interest is to see Oyo APC back on track. That is what I am working for, along with other leaders of our party. Once we resolve our internal challenges and the party is positioned for a landslide in all contests, other things will fall into place naturally.

My decision to venture into politics is essentially to serve the people and nothing more. If I am privileged, I will serve wholeheartedly. If not, and the decision of my party prevails otherwise, that does not mean I will quit. My aspiration to serve is not a do-or-die affair. But when desirability is not available, availability becomes desirable. That is why I chose to present myself to support my country.

People often argue that Christians have no business in politics. I have challenged that notion because politics is the business of governance. It should not be left to people who have nothing to offer or who lack the people’s interest at heart. It is not meant for everybody, but for those who can make a difference in power. If you abandon it, you risk being governed by just anybody who presents himself.

To be precise, is there any force in the presidency pushing you to contest the 2027 governorship election, given the role you are playing to unite Oyo APC leaders?
This question suggests you have been following my position. In life, if you want to be great, you must finance greatness. If you are not ready to invest in it, greatness will not come. What I am doing now is positioning myself for higher responsibility. I am presenting myself to my party to show that, when challenges come, it is not that we lack what it takes to win. All the party needs to do is look inward and identify the right candidates for both executive and legislative offices.

That is what I mean when I say, if desirability is not available, availability becomes desirable. What I have built through ROCOF is enough for us to win any election. That is my own contribution to Oyo APC, apart from peace initiatives aimed at putting the party back on the path to victory. Already, we have over 200,000 registered members, all with identity cards.

Why is Ibadan in Oyo South always against zoning the governorship to Oyo Central or Oyo North?
This is a recurring question. For me, it is a matter of grace. You cannot fight grace in life. But it is not the sole responsibility of the Ibadan people to produce governors from Ibarapa or Oke Ogun. It is the responsibility of the elders of Oyo State to meet, consult widely with people across Ibarapa, Ibadan and Oke Ogun, and work out an understanding on rotation of the governorship. It is possible, but it requires deliberate and decisive action.

With proper understanding among state elders, we can rotate power zone by zone. I have given more than enough advice on how Oke Ogun or Ibarapa can produce governors. If I were the Governor of Oyo State, I would hand over power to someone from Oke Ogun. If Governor Seyi Makinde already has plans to hand over to Oke Ogun or Ibarapa, there is no need to alter that narrative; it is his prerogative.

If I were in charge, I would convene a summit of notable Ibadan indigenes and educate them on the need to allow other senatorial districts to produce governors. When I complete my tenure, I will hand over to other zones. You negotiate with them, you bring them on board, you invite Oke Ogun leaders and agree collectively. Such decisions will then guide project distribution by the incumbent administration. It is possible, but it requires genuine commitment.

Do you think such an understanding can be brokered with the population of Ibadan?
The probability is very high if we bring all elders on board and no attempt is made to reduce governance to sectional politics. One of the ways this can be done is for other zones – Ibadan, Okeogun, Ogbomosho and Ibarapa – to organise a summit and decide to present a candidate who will contest for the office of governor.

This is irrespective of the party the person may belong to. They will also agree that no zone should accept its son as deputy to any candidate. Once this happens, all political parties will narrow their candidates to one zone. When the election comes, they can decide as a zone that, irrespective of the number of votes from Ibadan, they will vote for the candidate their zone has presented for the contest. If you look at the way our elections are, Ibadan accounts for about 40 per cent of the total results. Okeogun has about 30 per cent of the total votes.

You must understand that they vote in blocs. This is due to the communal lifestyle where everyone relates peacefully. In my federal constituency, there is a ward where 90 per cent of the people are non-indigenes. I know this due to my grassroots knowledge. If you are not on the ground, you cannot persuade the people to vote in this direction. But once they talk to themselves, they call it “Ibo Olojukan” (a unidirectional voting pattern). That is how other zones can produce governors in Oyo State.

Given that Governor Seyi Makinde played a crucial role in delivering Oyo State to President Bola Tinubu in 2023, don’t you think he may be too politically sophisticated for the APC in Oyo to undo in 2027, especially as that level of collaboration may not repeat itself?
Let me quickly make some clarification at this point. First, I’m a modest person by all standards. Second, as I said, I’m a minister in the temple of God. As Apostle Paul said in the scripture, we are what we are by His grace. In the 2023 election, Governor Seyi Makinde might have worked for the APC, just as you said. I did not say that. In my federal constituency, however, he did not do a single work. If he did, let him prove it with hard facts.

I will tell you clearly, and it was in this constituency that the governor invited all the traditional rulers three days before the election and asked them to work against me and ensure I did not win the poll. I stand to be quoted. He embarked on this mission because he clearly understood my strength among my people.

At present, the challenges in Oyo APC are centred around the governorship aspiration of the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu…
(Cuts in…) This question is personal. I would not like to respond to it. I can only say that, with the recent development after the last by-election, I think each one knows that some things need to be handled more professionally than they were previously. The honourable minister is my brother, and we are working together for the rebirth of Oyo State.