I remain the candidate to beat —Odeneye

Honourable Kehinde Odeneye is a two-term member of the House of Representatives representing Ijebu Central Federal Constituency on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The lawmaker, who has declared his readiness to seek a third term in the lower chamber of the National Assembly, in this interview with SEGUN ADEBAYO, speaks on various national issues, particularly the recent invasion of the National Assembly.

You are currently preparing to return to the House of Representatives for the third time. If you recall, getting the ticket for the second term was quite dramatic. What is taking you back to the House this time and how are you sure you would get the ticket?

There is no limitation to the number of times one can aspire for legislative positions, and one thing that is very important that people must know is that the constant changing of our representatives at either the state or National Assembly has not helped in strengthening our democratic structure. The more time you spend in the National or state assemblies, the more experience you would gather. You would also be able to make more constructive contributions on the floor of the house and add value to the lives of the people that gave you their mandate to represent them at the National Assembly. If you look at other developed countries where democracy is well entrenched, you will find people who have spent over a decade in their legislature. This has helped them to put the right structure in place, one that would ensure that the people’s needs are met.

So, there is the need for us to strengthen our democracy, that’s why I am going back to the House of Representatives for the third time. In Ogun State, as a matter of fact, there have only been two former members from Ogun West Senatorial District that have had the opportunity of being in National Assembly thrice. If you go to their constituencies, you will see what they were able to do during those periods that they were in the national assembly; this is because they had the opportunity to stay for more than two terms. Again, we have only had the opportunity to have somebody from the state to become the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, he was not elected the Speaker at the inception of that Assembly. He was only lucky to become the speaker after the impeachment of Olubunmi Ete. If not for that accidental ascension, there would not have been anybody from Ogun State in the leadership position in the National Assembly be it a Senator or a House of Representatives member. The reason for this is because we change our members rapidly and often.

Are you already eyeing the Speakership position?

No, that’s not the reason. I am trying to let you know that being a member of the House for three consecutive terms puts Ogun State in a very vantage position of producing one of its members in the leadership of the National Assembly. When that is achieved, it is not only to impact positively on my constituency, but the state at large and this will no doubt help us to facilitate developmental projects to the state. Meanwhile, I have no fear as far as 2019 is concerned because I have done a lot for my people in Ijebu Central Federal Constituency and I will do more given the opportunity to return to the national assembly.

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But there are insinuations that the governor may not hand over the ticket of the party to you for another term. What are your fears?

I have no fear whatsoever because the people of my constituency appreciate my representation, my empowerment programmes and the various developmental projects that I have facilitated to the constituency and they want these to continue. Our governor also appreciates the fact that experience cannot be compromised for experiment, most especially at this very critical time that our party, APC, does not just want to go for election but wants to win the 2019 general election at all levels. I am very confident that with God still being on my side, my victory is certain. Our governor is an experienced person and he knows that experience counts. I say with all sense of modesty that I am an asset to APC because for the first time in the political history in Ijebu area on any political platform, I am the only one that has been returned to the National Assembly for the second time. I am not aware of anybody being anointed by the governor because everyone is the governor’s candidate.

With the gale of defections that we have been witnessing in the last few months, particularly from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by some members of the National Assembly, what does this portend for your party and your chances of returning to the House in 2019?

What is happening now is not new. It is a common thing, and it is about interest. Usually, when people feel threatened wherever they are or they feel they may not win the ticket of their parties in their constituencies or they feel someone is coming against them for one reason or the other, definitely they would move. If you look at those people moving from APC now, they are the same set of people that came from the PDP, where they complained about lack of opportunities or comfortability. They came to the APC because they felt they could actualise their dreams on the popularity of the party. Now they are moving back to the party they left; where they said was not good for them. If you look at them, you will realise that some moved because they were not sure of their return on the same platform while others moved because their political leaders moved.

But let me make you know that whether they stay or move, it would have little or no impact on the chances of APC both at state and federal level. Look at when they moved from PDP to APC, one would have expected that the difference in the number of votes that President Muhammadu Buhari would use to win the Presidential election 2015 would be so significant. But If you look at it critically, you would discover that jumping from PDP to APC did not really make much difference. Anytime there is a matter of interest, you will realise that there is no way you can satisfy those people; they will always move to anywhere their interest can be protected. If you look back in history, how many people have changed parties and succeeded in winning the election. Let me tell you, Nigerians are wiser now. They know who and what they want from anyone aspiring to be their leaders or representatives. It is your performance that will count for you at the polls. You might win the party ticket but if your performance in your constituency is bad, you are going nowhere.

Some days back, men of the Department of State Service (DSS) laid siege to the National Assembly in a commando manner in what many perceived as an obvious agenda to intimidate, harass and perhaps cow the leadership over the worsening relationship with the executive. What did you make of the invasion?

I was shocked and really disappointed by the attitude of the DSS. I saw no need for that particular action by the DSS. The reason is simple: It was the leadership of the National Assembly that was supposed to have a meeting; not the entire members of the National Assembly. If that is the case, I wonder who they want to prevent. There are a number of issues pending that the leadership wanted to deliberate upon; the issues are very important to the progress of the country. I really don’t know who they were trying to prevent from entering the National Assembly. So, their mission was out of place and uncalled for. It was very unfortunate that they acted in such barbaric manner. I think we need to get to the root of this matter and find out why that action took place. The meeting was called to decide whether or not the National Assembly members should resume. I salute the courage and reaction of the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo on the immediate action taken to axe Lawal Daura as the DG of DSS. It goes to show that this government is a responsive and responsible one, and it also confirmed that under this government that the rule of law should prevail always. The action taken so far was simply to show Nigerians that APC led government is responsible.