The Oyo state government led by your principal, governor Abiola Ajimobi will be eight years in office by May next year. For somebody who is currently serving as the state’s Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Planning, how would you rate the performance of this government in the last seven years?
I will score this government A1 in terms of service delivery to the people of Oyo State. This government has shown how governance should be run to the extent that it has changed the whole landscape of the state in a way that has never happened; one that challenges future governments that would come after this government. Before this government came on board, there was lack of pride in the state: not as a citizen of Oyo State but the way the affairs of the state was run by successive governments before Governor Ajimobi took over the reign of power. I have worked in other parts of the world and whenever people asked me where my state of origin is, and I mentioned Ibadan, Oyo State, people just started to laugh. I mean all the jokes were on us at that time. It tells one of how backward we were. One thing that was constant amongst the people I interacted with was that Oyo State was a filthy, backward and crude one.
Widow demands DNA, relations weep as army buries slain soldiers
Fast forward to when Governor Abiola Ajimobi came into power, a lot of serious minded people now come to the state to do businesses, people that hitherto would say they never wanted to have anything to do with the state. Today, you can see that sophisticated people, polished individuals are coming to the state in droves. You just need to drive down to locations in the state and see that things have changed for better. You will realise that a massive change has occurred in the state. If you look at the commerce, trade and even real estate in the last seven years, you will find out that things have really changed. The standard of living of the people has changed just as the earning power has also changed. Before now, nobody would touch Oyo State with a long stick, but today people are happy. Look at the security situation before now, you will agree with me that Oyo State is now relatively peaceful. Even in the civil service, the mindset of the people has changed; their attitude to work has changed. You have soft changes and hard changes. The governor is an enigma, who has had a lot of exposure in the corporate world and he was a CEO of multinationals before he joined politics. So, you can’t expect less from somebody, who has a bottomless reservoir of energy. Oyo State is very lucky to have a governor like Ajimobi because he has raised the stake of governance in the state that it will be difficult for anybody coming in to bring down the level.
Some people have argued that the governor’s decision to contest for senatorial was a slap on their faces, as they claim that he has not done enough as governor that would earn him the senatorial ticket of his party. How do you react to this?
I see this as a function of service. When you have somebody, who has service in his DNA, you don’t stop people like that. This is not even about the governor’s aspiration alone; it is about the people, who are clamouring for him to go back to the Senate. There is a biological clock that clicks in him, which is about service to the people. You will agree with me that we have not had the best representation in the state, with all due respect if you look at the representation Governor Ajimobi gave to the people during his first time in the Senate. He has lawmaking experience and is very charismatic. In finance, politics, management, culture and agriculture, Governor Ajimobi has excelled in the last seven years. This is somebody who broke the second term jinx in the state. This man knows what he wants for the people and his people love him. He knows exactly where the shoe pinches the people in the state. So, the people are asking him to go to the Senate to represent them because they know it would add more value to their lives. It is only normal that the governor continues to serve the people in the capacity of a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
You talked about civil service and the mindset of the people. One thing that has plagued the administration of this government since inception is the issue of industrial actions. Till today, workers are still being owed for months, especially in Emmanuel Alayande College of Education. But you claimed that things have changed. Those who are affected by this ugly development don’t see the change you are alluding to.
I don’t just believe things have changed; I am convinced that things have truly changed in the state because I am very involved in the salaries of workers. Many times, a lot of these strikes are due to misunderstandings between the labour unions and the state government. For example, the strike of 2015 when labour went on strike due to backlog of salaries, they claimed that the state government had collected some humongous amount of money. They claimed that the state refused to pay salaries. After sometime, the state and labour leaders sat down at round table to iron the issues that led to the strike. The state government tabled some of the issues and how the money that came into the state’s coffers had been expended. After the discussion, the labour leaders asked what they could do to help the state come out of the quagmire. That’s why we arrived at the decision to suspend some facilities such as house loans and car loans for some time. I should let you know that the state government does not pay salaries of workers in the higher institutions, it only gives subventions.
Much like Abuja gives the states FAAC, which we call subventions at the end of the month. I believe the strike was as a result of misunderstanding. The labour unions need to be scientific when they present their cases to the government so that there won’t be unnecessary misunderstanding. The issue of lack of money in the economy is affecting every sector in the state. It is not that some people are feeding fat while others are suffering. We are all in the situation together as whatever affects one affects all.
Sometime ago, the governor approved the payment of all backlog of salaries and sent workers into frenzy, but after some weeks, news came to town that the directive was not fully implemented. What exactly was wrong with the pronouncement?
I can confirm to you that it was not true. By early mid-2015, the state government owed seven months’ salaries. But as I speak with you now, the state government does not owe any worker a kobo. As a matter of fact, we just paid November salary some weeks ago. It will interest you to know that all the refunds we got from the Federal government had been used to pay salaries of workers. I know that there are pockets of complaints from the primary school teachers and local government. The local government runs a totally different salary structure even though the state government oversees the affairs of the local government. But I can confirm to you that we have committed to the welfare of the workers and we still do.
and then