Osun people’ll ensure APC continues in office beyond 2018 —Former commissioner

Mr Sunday Akere, a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), is the immediate past Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Osun State. He speaks with OLUWOLE IGE on the preparedness and chances of his party ahead of the 2018 governorship poll. Excerpts:

 

IT is about two years to the governorship election in Osun State but with the outcome of the Ondo State governorship election, attention has shifted to the state. What do you think are the chances of your party in the poll?

The 2018 election is less than two years away. The APC has been in government in the past six years and we have provided responsive and positive governance to the people of Osun State. Added to this is the fact that the victory of our governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, in the August 2014 governorship election had given our party the impetus and confidence to believe that another electoral victory is achievable. This belief eventually led to our winning at the federal level. Today, APC is in charge at the federal and Osun State levels and at the local government level. Therefore, our chances are very bright as far as the 2018 governorship poll is concerned.

 

There is this belief that the current economic challenges confronting the people have somehow made them to develop apathy for the APC. Don’t you think this can affect the electoral chances of the APC in the 2018 gubernatorial election in Osun?

The issue of economic recession in the country is not only peculiar to Nigeria alone. It is a global problem. Everybody knows that the economic recession is not the making of the APC. Our party came into the saddle about one and a half years ago at the federal level and we met a very terrible economic situation. Price of crude oil, which is the mainstay of our economy in Nigeria, had gone down. Any right thinking person knows that the problem facing us today is as a result of the planlessness of the past administrations. President Muhammadu Buhari is not a magician and we don’t expect him to just turn around the economy within a day. We can see that APC today, though under a biting economic situation, is laying a solid foundation for a prosperous nation. I know that an average Nigerian is aware that the government is working really hard to tackle the economic recession. They held an election in Edo and Ondo states and APC won despite the economic recession. That is to tell you that for us to be able to move forward, our people have to support the APC and government, with a view to ensuring continuity so that the turn around that the government is doing can be total and achievable.

 

There is this insinuation that members of your party are polarised along the interests of aspirants who want to vie for the ticket of the party. There is seeming division among your members. What is your take on this?

For the benefit of those that are not with full information of the goings on in our party, the APC in Osun is one and solid. You can see that sometimes ago, the party leadership issued a statement that people with governorship aspiration should keep it within themselves and should not allow their ambition to tear the party or disrupt the peace in the state. The party is one solid entity in Osun and I want assure you that there is no aspiration or interest that can tear us apart. At the appropriate time when the whistle is blown for people to come out and show clearly their aspirations, I know that interested party members would come around. We have a disciplined party in APC and we are a party that respects leadership structure and believe in oneness and unity.

 

As one of the major stakeholders in the APC in Osun, what message do you have for the people regarding the 2018 governorship poll?

I want them to remain committed, dedicated and resolute in the yearning for the progressive governance we have to continue. The current economic situation, as I said, is not peculiar to Osun and Nigeria alone.