NNPP’ll dislodge APC, PDP, other parties —Popoola, Oyo guber candidate

Governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Oyo State, Popoola Olukayode Joshua, in this interview, speaks on his ambition and other issues of national interest. BOLA BADMUS brings excerpts:

Why are you keen on contesting against governor Seyi Makinde?

I want to take over from him because he is not doing what the electorates that voted for him expect. For instance, there is a lot of insecurity in Oyo State. People find it difficult to move around freely whether in the day time or at night. People are being terrorized; so many people have been killed and properties have been damaged. Apart from insecurity, there is infrastructural deficiency in Oyo State. Those are the reasons behind my wanting to contest for governorship of Oyo State in the 2023 election.

NNPP is relatively new in the country, the PDP and the APC have been around for some time, how do you hope to get the needed popularity to defeat the two big parties?

NNPP came to Oyo State less than four months ago. We started organising the party in the state around March. If you see the number of party members that we have now under the NNPP, you would be surprised. That is an indication that people are tired of the PDP and APC. Why are they tired? The PDP was in power at the federal level for 16 years and the APC would complete eight years by 2023, what have they achieved? They have not achieved anything, which is why everybody welcomes NNPP. The leaders of the party are men of integrity. They are people that have been tested, someone like Dr Rabiu Kwakwanso, he was the governor of Kano State. Today, Kano State is the safest in the country, which is due to the foundation laid by Senator Kwankwaso. By 2023, the party would spring a surprise and take over the leadership  of the country at the federal level.

What programmes do you have for the youth, women and others in Oyo State, if elected as governor in 2023?

The youths would not be relegated; they will be carried along in government activities. The mistake people make is that everybody should go to farm. It’s not everybody that can go to farm; it is not every youth that can do farming because of unemployment. Farming itself is a profession. If you want to go into farming, NNPP government in Oyo State will encourage you, we will assist you, give you farm implement and cash to make sure you succeed as a farmer. If you are not interested in farming, there will be skill acquisition to train auto mechanics, electricians and others. All these are the things people can do. What is in vogue now is ICT, we are going to encourage the youths to be IT compliant. There is a lot of job that can be created through IT.  We will assist them with IT hub in the state and we will do it across the three senatorial districts in the state so that it would spread across the state. Youth empowerment would be my priority in 2023 under NNPP. Elderly people from 75 years of age would be supported with stipends across the senatorial districts. We will provide a data base for this. We will provide the stipends on a monthly basis. In addition to that, urban renewal would be emphasised.

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You spoke about insecurity in Oyo State, how do you hope to tackle this menace. Moreover there is already Amotekun coupled with the regular security agencies.

Yes, there is Amotekun, the police, Nigeria Army, Nigeria Civil Defence Corps but they are not enough and not as efficient as they ought to be. This means that something is lacking. All you need to do is to carry the people along. We have the traditional rulers. Some of these people live with us, they are the children of some people. So you have to bring the traditional rulers in, bring the parents in, work with them and strengthen the security of the state. It is not enough to provide gadgets, this would be provided, modern gadgets would be provided, what of the people. They know all these criminals; by the time you carry them along it would be better. Everybody wants security of lives and properties. Bring them together, dialogue with them and see whether there would be positive results or not.

What are the chances of your presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwakwanso, who is up against the likes of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,  Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Mr Peter Obi?

If you put the four of them on a scale, Dr Rabiu Kwakwanso has the needed pedigree. He has served as a member of the Federal House of Representatives, governor of Kano State. He was able to govern the state successfully for two good terms, and after that he went to the Senate, from there he also served as minister of defence. You would see that he is more qualified than others. With all these you will agree with me that the NNPP has a better chance than others.

What is your message to INEC on the 2023 General Elections?

INEC has been working well, they should continue like that. They promised that our votes will count and we have seen it in the recent election in Ekiti State. It showed that our votes will count. The people spoke and their voices were heard. That is why we rely on them that by 2023 our votes would count. When we were doing our primary, the INEC Electoral Commissioner in Oyo State was there and he said whoever would rely on rigging should go and find another country. He said it would not happen in Nigeria of today and he said people should go out and register. I want to advise that INEC should test run as many machines as possible and see if they would work. I believe that the people’s votes would count in 2023.