INTERVIEW: Oyo APC Is Intact, AJIMOBI Remains The Leader. | Rt Hon Alarape

In a bid to ensure adequate representation in the 9th Assembly of Oyo state, www.naijatodaynews.com has taken it upon itself to put our legislators on their toes by often reminding them of their electioneering promises and inquire to see how well they have been kept.

Below is an excerpt of our interview with Hon. Asimiyu Alarape, a one term Speaker of Oyo state House Assembly and currently the Minority Leader of Oyo State House of Assembly, representing Atiba state constituency in the same. He featured on the program Hot🔥Seat💺anchored by Prince Adetunji Fabode...

Excerpt :

Qs:  I do believe you are enjoying the present 9th assembly Sir?

Hon Alarape: Definitely! If you are called to do a job you must be passionate about it and since it is not my first time here I must keep the ground running. There are lots of improvements from what we left here 17years ago, I am happy to be here again.

Qs: In the Alao Akala led administration  you were appointed Special Adviser to the Governor, you later worked with senator Teslim Folarin as his Campaign Director General both in PDP but now you are in APC, what brought about that your sudden change of party?

Hon Alarape:I don't know what you mean by sudden change! What am sure of is that politics is about conflict management and it is also constitutional wherever there is picketing, slandering you have to leave. Let me remind you that I was also in A.D  between 1999-2003 and now am back to the progressives family. There are lot of misconceptions out there, that somebody who had been a honourable speaker of the house now a minority leader? Personally for me ‘what it means is that I am the leader of the APC in the 9th assembly. It is not about having been the honourable speaker ANYBODY CAN BE MADE SPEAKER, It is the choice of the members. I don’t feel anyhow! One thing about life is that you have to be contented with what you have bearing in mind that politics is a game of number and that is what is playing out now but I am here to serve my constituency people and to equally bring dividends of democracy. Nobody is elected as the honourable speaker from his/her constituency. The most important thing is to serve your people and serve them well.

Qs:  Presently the political atmosphere in oyo APC is seemingly unsettled even as a vote of no confidence was recently  passed on the former governor Ajimobi. Based on what is now happening and the party's preparations towards the upcoming elections, do you think you still can get it right Sir as a party?

Hon Alarape:We are  definitely going to get it right. Like I said earlier, politics is about conflict management and there is no political party in Nigeria without its internal rangling, so preparation for 2023 every party will equally have such problems. Gradually the thing will be heating up and like the Japanese will say:  "the beginning of every journey will start with a step". They are only exercising their constitutional right of expression and that does not mean that it is their own position that will be acceptable to the majority of the party members so there is no correlation between their vote of no confidence passed on the former governor  of the state, the most important thing is that the party is one in Oyo state and remain intact. AJIMOBI REMAINS THE LEADER OF THE PARTY.

Qs: Former governor Ajimobi is a candidate for ministarial appointment. What can you say about this? 

Hon Alarape: Are you the president who makes the choice of the ministers? What you believe may be far from the reality. Anybody can be named as the minister, the choice rests on the president himself. Nobody can stop Mr President from naming him minister if he so chooses.

Qs: in the future are you seeing yourself in the pdp?

Hon Alarape: Well for foreseeable reasons that has not happened. Am in APC you are talking about PDP. Am I in the Pdp yet, why? Can you place a scenario of someone who is deeply rooted in the APC?  Will that be in the dream?

Qs: Before you were voted again Sir you must have performed wonderfully well. What do you think earned you the re-election votes you got Sir?

Hon Alarape:I can only thank my constituents for this confidence imposed in me again after  leaving here 17 years ago, am deeply touched. Anybody who wants to become something don’t die empty and because I have impact on others it will be difficult for people to remove such and in legislative business you don’t retire unlike the executive that does not exceed 8 years and that is what is happening to me now, I am happy for the acceptance and it has shown that what we did years back still speak for us. So many times people sit me down to tell me what I have done for them years back, I want to tell you that during the campaign period people printed posters for me from their purse. This one will equally afford me the opportunity to do more for the people.

Qs:I expect  you to move higher by contesting for Senate or Federal reps. why state assembly?

Hon Alarape: Politics is about addition and substraction. Some people asked me to contest because the house of assembly was going to be zoned to our constituency but because my party had lost to two different parties consistently in our constituency I saw myself as a king maker. But when I did my calculation, listed my party position and my financial power to contest with a thought that, would I be sellable to my people, for example, if I want to go to the federal house of assembly and the incumbent also wants to go for another term? Can I really drag it with him?  The mistake we make sometimes as politicians is that we don’t do our calculations well. If you are capable of running for a councillorship and you are gunning for a state council position after serious consideration I knew senatorial position couldn't be for me same as the federal house of representatives, so why will I waste my time on what may not happen?

Qs: What different things should the people from your constituency expect from you?

Hon Alarape: People often expect a legislator to tar their road when the right is not there  but the most important thing to be done is to facilitate social amenities for my people. When people have good roads, access to good health care facilities, access to education, potable water, almost all the problem is gone and we will partner with this government to see that all this things are put in place.

Qs:People expect a lot from this government not taking the NURTW leadership issue out. In your position how will you advise the governor?

Hon Alarape: As far as I know the proscription has not been lifted. I want the government to look inwardly there must be an attraction that is bringing up that violence and that is money, the concentration of the government must be how to tap revenue from that sector beyond individuals becoming rich immediately they become the sector head. what is supposed to be remmited to the government purse goes to an individual. The government must use its own ingenuity to make sure that  appropriate IGR is made from our garages, adequate revenue must be tapped from that sector.