Dr. Rotimi Adeyemi is the running mate to the governorship candidate of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Ondo State, Hon Olugbenga Edema. In a recent interview with Babatope Okeowo, the retired local government administrator spoke about the chances of his party in the November 16 election in the state among other national issues. Excerpts:

There is a belief within the political class that the NNPP is not popular in the South West…
Many of us are myopic about history, and more often than not, we forget what happens. In this state, before Dr. Olusegun Mimiko became governor, the parties we heard about in those days were AD, ACN, and PDP; there was no party like the Labour Party (LP). But when Governor Mimiko felt cheated and decided to try his opportunity elsewhere, he pulled out of the PDP, and today history can justify his leaving; he won and had his two terms before he left the office. What I am trying to say is that thank God that NNPP is not a party that just came yesterday; it has been in existence for a long time, and today we have governor in our fold, senators, House of Representatives members, and chairmen, among others. That time of the Labour Party, they did not have any structure anywhere, and they won. And going by last year’s presidential election, when Peter Obi came and said he wanted to be a presidential candidate for the Labour Party, what they told him was that there was no structure, but there was surprise in Lagos State, which is the home state of the current President of Nigeria. So, what are they talking about? NNPP is a household name and has a state like Kano. We are saying that in this state of our own, people have not been taking cognizance of NNPP, but we are bringing it into the limelight with Gbenga Edema and Rotimi Adeyemi, and we will see how the wonder will flow.

What are your chances of winning the election?
I just told you of a party that came from nowhere and won election. Something that stood for them: the pedigree of those that carry the governorship flag of the party, and that is the same thing we are having in the NNPP. Whether you like it or not, the standard-bearer of the party, Hon. Gbenga Edema, is a household name. Some people have not even met him one-on-one but they have heard about him, whether when he was in the legislature, when he became OSOPADEC Chairman, or in the NDDC. Flowing down from him is his deputy, who just retired from the service of Ondo State, but I can tell you to go to any local government in Ondo State and any ward where there is a health facility and mention Rotimi Adeyemi, which is a household name. So, it is a combination of a good pedigree from the political frame and a grassroots mobiliser, Rotimi Adeyemi, who has been so involved in the grassroots politics of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE). To ice the cake, Rotimi Adeyemi is from the Akure speaking area, and they have so neglected the Akure speaking people in the permutation of elections in this state. Let us go back to the last election of 2020 and look at the voting pattern. You will see that Akure South alone had over 50,000 voters. That is, those who were accredited and voted at the last governorship election. Ifedore has about 25,000 voters, and Akure North has over 22,000. When these three are put together, it is about 100,000. In Ondo State today, for any candidate to win the governorship, all you need is about 300,000 votes, because if you go to other local governments, Idanre has about 15,000; the four local government areas in Akoko do not match up with what Akure has. I studied in Idanre. All who are in politics in Idanre today are my colleagues and contemporaries, and many of them are even rooting for me. By the time we aggregate all these, you can see how high flying NNPP is in Ondo State. I can assure you that come February 2025, we will be in the government house.

What is your take on the local government autonomy?
I am an advocate of local government autonomy. I have written several articles on this, and we have organised several peaceful rallies to support this purpose, and we were on it when I was still in the service. We have been to Abuja, and we have sent emissaries to all the State Assembly Speakers, traditional rulers, and governors. At the close of the last administration of former President (Muhammadu) Buhari, of the 36 states and FCT, we need just two-thirds to get it. At that time, 16 agreed that local government should be given autonomy. One of the few states that never did it was Ondo State. It is said in the constitution that the local government shall establish and maintain markets. Today, all the markets in Ondo State are being run by the state government. We also said that they should allow local governments to take tolls at the park; today, the state government is the one in charge. These are the things that have been taken away from the local government and ought to be returned to the local government. The election of local government chairmen should not be at the whims and caprices of the governors or assembly members. The way governors are voted for is the same way the chairmen are voted for. So, they should allow the local government chairmen to enjoy the votes they got from people who voted for them. But instead, the governors want to put their surrogates and stooges there in an attempt to steal money from the local government. We in the NNPP are saying enough is enough; allow local governments to breathe. Let them have what belongs to them by constitution, because what comes to the state government is enough for the state government to manage. The NNPP government stands to support local government autonomy.

But some of the local government staff are not in support of the autonomy…
I pity the local staff because, by statute, code of conduct, and practice of engagement, they are to be seen and not heard because they are employees of the government; they are not policymakers or decision-makers. They don’t make laws; they don’t make statutes. But they can take cover under the umbrella of the union, under which they are all together. The union has the right to protect the interests of all the workers, and that is what the union has done. The very day when the Attorney-General of this state issued a statement that Ondo State would object to the federal government’s decision to give local government autonomy, there was a directive from the union that there should be a peaceful protest. I know that in every local government of the state, workers carried placards to the palaces of traditional rulers and stakeholders. It is unfortunate that other states are seeking to give autonomy to local governments, but Ondo State decided to say no and opposed the federal government on it.

Do you subscribe to the argument that INEC should take charge of the election of local government chairmen and councilors?
There is no to duplicate the electoral body. If they are doing the same thing, why duplicate them? Elections in the local government and the state in the past were done by FEDECO, and they were done at once. State Electoral Commission is another branch of government because it will come in hand with the government for money. If the governor says there is no money, the election cannot be held. The election will only be held at the mercy and convenience of the governor.

Do you think the NNPP has the financial muscle to compete in the polls?
Money is not the thing; it is the individual that will put the money to use. NNPP has productive money, not electoral money. Productive money is the money that we need to mobilise, sensitise, educate, and bring the people’s consciousness to what is in their voting power—that is, their tomorrow is by their fingertip. If they wish to mortgage their tomorrow for another person who will come for N10,000 in a matter of three to four days, they will finish spending it, and after four years of suffering, it is left to them.
Often, they don’t know the implication. What we have done is educate them that they should not mortgage the future of their children and our development. Our cornerstone is that everybody should be educated. When we get to government, education shall be free from primary to state-owned universities because being educated is a privilege.

What will you do differently as deputy governor if your party wins the election on November 16?
The first thing I will do differently is that I will give my principal, Hon. Gbenga Edema, 100 percent of my time and all I have because his success is our success. We have seven cardinal objectives that we are out to canvass, which include health, agriculture, local government autonomy, and infrastructure.

How do you feel about being the deputy governorship candidate of the NNPP in Ondo State?
I want to thank the wisdom of the NNPP, our great leader, the distinguished Senator Rabiu Kwakwanso, the Kano State governor, and the governorship candidate in Ondo State, Hon. Gbenga Edema, for their decision to come and pick an Akure-speaking person as deputy governorship candidate. I am fortunate to be the Akure-speaking person they have picked. I want to say that, without mincing words, the people of Akure were looking forward to being considered for a very reliable and appointing position, but unfortunately, they were all let down by both the ruling party (APC) and the supposedly opposition (PDP) in the state. So, the only party that is left in Ondo State that is now known to have considered an Akure area speaking person is the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP). Since my emergence became public knowledge, the people of Akure, the high and the low, have been calling me to have interaction, and they have even sent me to thank the party leadership for considering me and considering Akure for that position. People have been meeting at the ward and unit level, even in the motor parks, to discuss the new thing happening to Ondo State through NNPP. I can assure you, we will see it through to the end, God helping us.

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