The immediate past National Vice Chairman (Southwest) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Eddy Olafeso, in this interview with ADEWALE MOMOH, spoke on how the absence of Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, from the state has stalled governance, and by extension bemoaned policy gaffes of President Bola Tinubu at the federal level.

Why has the PDP been silent over the current issues between the governor and his deputy?
We’ve not made enough noise, I admit. But the tragedy of this is the abandonment of the people’s business, which the APC has sworn an oath to do. It’s so tragic that it has become a personal issue rather than dealing with the extreme poverty that our people are living with.

For us, I think they are just trying to destroy themselves, and they are welcome to do so. Ondo State people are watching, and at the appointed time, they will say goodbye to rubbish. It is so unfortunate that this is what the government has turned into. Children are dropping out of school; people are dropping dead on a daily basis, just as extreme poverty and unemployment are ravaging the people. The indices show the absence of governance. It is sad.

What is your take on the non-availability of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu in Ondo State since his return from medical vacation a few weeks ago?
Being human, certain things could happen to you that may render you unable to perform your duty. It is only decent for you to resort to the constitution you swore to and ensure there is no vacuum in governance. But as it is, it is becoming a secret affair, and nobody seems to know the whereabouts of the governor.

I sympathise with his circumstance; unfortunately, it is leaving a lot of chaos and drama in a country that really needs leadership to get out of extreme poverty. It is still part of the game that we say APC is playing that makes everybody assume that they are a curse upon Nigeria.

For me, while wishing him a good recovery, I pray that he, as much as possible, becomes a statesman and makes sure that the constitution prevails by transmitting power to whoever is next to him.

What should the House of Assembly do in this situation?
Unfortunately, the state assembly has exposed themselves as incompetent, that they don’t understand the constitution to which they swore, and they are now partisan. They are no longer as independent as we thought they were. We have three tiers of government, but they have taken sides with the executive, and the mess shows them as representatives who don’t care about the people.

Over time, the entire system must be overhauled to provide quality leadership by ensuring that we get people with education, experience, and the knowledge to serve at the Assembly. It is so unfortunate that everybody is looking for money, and wherever it comes from doesn’t matter. The system is dirty, and the environment has been polluted.

In this matter, the constitution is very clear. Even the doctrine of necessity may not apply because we know who actually should take over from the governor in the event that he is unable to perform his official duties. They’ve led the state into a quagmire.

What is your assessment of President Bola Tinubu’s administration so far?
These people are thinking that it is business as usual. They are revelling in Abuja, spending the people’s money as if it were their own. They are living in affluence, and allowing Nigerians to die in numbers. There is no infrastructure, the roads are bad, and there is nothing you can point to.

Look at the currency. Even the economic decision is beginning to lead to further hardship. How do you explain the opening of the border of Nigeria to the floodgates of goods from the entire world? You have restricted importation to grow exports and to grow internally produced material things by the Nigerian people, so that you can begin to advance your independence. Then, after eight years, without any discussion with Nigerian people, you said okay, you have removed the restriction, and everything can come in. This is the centre of insanity in the world. The political class is insane. I make no qualms about saying that they are insane from bottom to top. Who will love Nigeria? Who will care about the ordinary man on the street? How come everybody worships money? How come everybody is pursuing a position? When are we going to get over this? I don’t think Nigeria will have redemption under this APC-led government.

I feel frustrated; I feel like returning to America because this is not the country where I was born; it gave me everything I have today, and suddenly nothing is working anymore.

The naira that was less than N500 has gone to over a thousand. We are no longer competing with the rest of the world. Despite this scenario of the naira becoming toilet paper, you said everybody should be bringing everything they have into Nigeria. So, what do you think the competition for the naira will be?

You will go to the petrol station, buy fuel at N600, burn it in traffic where the road is bad, spend about four to five hours there, and then the fuel is gone. Who is putting Nigeria through this?

Till today, where are the palliatives? How has it impacted the lives of the people? If you say you are giving N10,000 as palliative to somebody, what do you do with N10,000? It is unbelievable how much we can be mean to ourselves.

If you want to stimulate the economy, all you do is create an enabling environment for all and watch out for what can make them succeed. I feel sad for this country.

During the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, some Nigerians, including you, accused him of nepotism. Is such not playing out again?
We abdicated meritocracy from day one. We picked people on the basis of the doctrine of ‘Emilokan.’ How do you explain this?

Sometimes, it is not an issue wherever somebody comes from, but are they the best? In a country like this, you do everything to balance whatever you have until we begin to grow together in a way and there is no suspicion from one tribe, zone, or ethnic group. But today, it is not like that. If people are suspicious of nepotism, it is really happening.

As the 2024 governorship election in Ondo State approaches and with about five months to the primaries, only one candidate has expressed interest in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket. Is your party’s popularity declining in the state?
It’s still early in the day to assume that there won’t be more candidates. Everybody is jostling to come out to serve, and the leadership is watching what is going on. Nonetheless, I must admit that we are dealing with a lot of challenges in uniting the party and making sure that we are prepared to redeem this state from the rudderless Ondo State APC. I’m sure so many of our highly qualified members will come into the game as soon as we progress.

Local council elections will soon be held in Ondo State. Is your party still participating in the polls following the recent creations of Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs)?
The people insisted they would participate. Here we are in Ondo State, of the 18 local council areas, nothing is happening in all of them. Somebody woke up in his bedroom and started confusing and continuing to tweak the brains of our people. They have turned everybody into robots.

The new government will reevaluate that decision to create further LCDAs on the basis of the availability of resources, and it will be done in a way that people are not arbitrarily put into one LCDA or the other, creating community clashes and problems where there shouldn’t have been any.

It’s been 10 years since the death of former Governor Olusegun Agagu. As one of his staunch disciples, how would you describe his legacies a decade later?
Ten years later, we begin to see that the void he left behind us is getting bigger. Agagu was an intellectual who was equally a politician of rare breed whose total commitment was to the people. And in the process of conspiracies, blackmail, and abuse, he died.

With his death, nothing has ever happened to us; this is the state 10 years later.

However, the man lives because his legacies are still here. I’m one of his legacies. Without Dr. Olusegun Agagu, Eddy Olafeso wouldn’t have existed politically. I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity to learn under the best of the best.