Rt. Hon. Victor Olabimtan, a former Speaker of Ondo House of Assembly and presently the chairman, Ondo State University Basic Education Board (SUBEB), is a frontline aspirant for the Chairmanship of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state. He speaks in this interview on why he is vying for the position and recent developments in the polity. Hakeem Gbadamosi brings the excerpts:
You have been a member of the PDP and and now you are in the APC, What are the major differences between the two political parties?
Each of the two political parties has its own uniqueness. Even though some people are of the opinion that there is no difference between the two political parties, but I disagree. There are many differences between the APC and PDP. One of the major differences is tradition. APC has the tradition of inspiring loyalty which the party inherited from the defunct Action Group (AG) and Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Another main difference is party cohesiveness. The APC is strong in party administration and success’ management. Since the return of democracy in 1999 to Nigeria, have you ever heard of division in the APC and its forebears? Despite human imperfections and diverse nature of members, the APC always has a way of settling its internal rancor and overcome disputes occasioned by hurdles. The APC is also different in governance and policies implementation.
How would you describe your political journey from being a member of House of Assembly till your present position?
My political journey started with my leader and mentor, late Dr. Olusegun Agagu. He was my political pathfinder for which I am eternally grateful. I was elected as a member of Ondo State House of Assembly when he was also elected as our Governor. I became House of Assembly Speaker during his first term. In his second term he appointed me as the Chairman of TESCOM. After he left office, he also influenced my appointment as a federal commissioner in the Federal Civil Service Commission where I represented Edo, Ekiti and Ondo States. Governor Rotimi Akeredolu on his part appointed me as his Special Adviser before reappointing me as the Chairman of Ondo SUBEB. The incumbent governor, His Excellency, Lucky Aiyedatiwa in his wisdom decided to retain me, for which I am grateful to him. All of these are made possible because I am blessed with political leaders and associates that appreciate my modest contributions. I will forever cherish these three governors for their amazing impacts in my political journey. Whatever political goodwill people ascribe to my name now is because each of these governors gave me the opportunity to serve and make my own positive contributions to the growth and development of our people.
What is your perception of Governor Akeredolu and Ayedatiwa as your leaders?
I will say that both governors have different unique features. Despite this reality both were and are passionate about the development of Ondo State. The late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and I were acquaintances before his foray into active politics. Fate brought us closer when I joined the APC in 2014. Even though both of us contested the APC primaries of 2016 together I gladly accepted to serve as the Director General of his campaign because of our shared passion for the development of Ondo State. He shared some of his dreams for our state with me and because some of his plans tallied with my campaign promises, it was easier for me to join hands with him. I saw in him, the determination to make a difference, not only in infrastructural development, but also in the lives of our people. Akeredolu was a purposeful leader with sheer determination to make life and living more comfortable for our people, not only in Ondo State but also in the South-West and Nigeria as a whole. Before the manifestation of the ”Lucky” the incumbent governor, His Excellency, Lucky Aiyedatiwa and I were jolly good fellows and confidants. The bond between us became stronger when the late Governor Akeredolu picked and anointed him as his deputy. We worked closely together all through the electioneering process of the second term election of Governor Akeredolu. This brought us closer and availed me more in-depth knowledge about his true characters. I can attest to the fact that Ondo State is indeed truly lucky at the moment to have the incumbent as our governor. Ondo people should expect a more impactful dividend of democracy through inclusive government. Under Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa Ondo State is having the best of attention in Education, health, infrastructural development, and improved security architecture. I am sure that Governor Aiyedatiwa will leave Ondo state better than he met it. However, there is one major difference between my two governors, Akeredolu was bluntly outspoken and somehow predictable. Aiyedatiwa is subtly reserved and resolute.
What is the situation with the contest for the chairmanship of the APC in Ondo State?
My interest in the chairmanship position of the Ondo State APC is a step to further strengthen my support for the governor. He has started well, what he needs next is a united, formidable and stable political party structure to back him up, and that is what I hope to bring on board if considered. As aforementioned, I am interested in this position to join hands with Mr. Governor to strengthen the APC in Ondo State. Governor Aiyedatiwa in his wisdom retained me as the chairman of Ondo SUBEB for which I am grateful. To whom much is given, much should be expected. It will gladden my heart to support the governor further by managing the affairs of our political party in Ondo State for him after the current chairman. Development can only thrive in a peaceful atmosphere. Lagos State is politically stable and developing at enviable pace because of the political tranquility of the APC over there. We need such political tranquility within the Ondo State APC to enable Mr. Governor to face governance without distractions. My number one interest is for the governor to succeed and for my party to be more united and stable. There is the need for us to strengthen the bond between our elected officials and the electorate. My quest to make the party a true vehicle through which our people can understand, embrace and appreciate government policies, programmes and activities informed my decision. That is why I am showing interest in the chairmanship of the Ondo State APC.
What do you think stands you out among the people already showing interest in the chairmanship seat of APC in the state?
APC is a party with a very strong political culture from the Action Group, led by the sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo. The national leader of the APC as at today is President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The leader of the APC in Ondo State is Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa. His Excellency, Abdullahi Ganduje is the present national Chairman of the APC because the president believes that with him as the national chairman there will be cohesiveness and tranquility at the national level. The current influx of political bigwigs into the APC from other parties across the country evinced the fact that indeed Ganduje is a round peg in a round hole. The next chairman of the Ondo State APC will be at the discretion of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa. For him to enjoy utmost loyalty that President Tinubu is enjoying from Ganduje, Governor Aiyedatiwa has to be interested in who leads the APC in Ondo State. For him also to face governance squarely without unnecessary distraction through political rancor the governor will surely pay special attention to who becomes the next chairman of his political party. However, the governor isn’t going to pick or endorse who doesn’t have interest in the management of the party structure. Therefore, in my opinion, we that are showing interest in the chairmanship now are just making the job easier for Mr. Governor. Instead of him searching or looking for the next chairman, all he needs to do is to critically study and analyze the background, character, experience, exposure, equanimity and capability of all the aspirants and, in his judgement, pick the best for our party.
Many people believe you’re too blunt, candid and might be too rigid for the position, how do you want to handle this?
I have heard these from people several times and I have never denied the fact that I am principled. Being principled comes with lots of discipline, dedication and sacrifice. What is termed as blunt and resolute simply means I am straightforward and cannot be easily manipulated, which are actually good attributes. But Victor Olabimtan an functional team player that will never derail for no just reasons. Majority of our people like rules to be bent in their favour and sometimes come up with requests that are not in tandem with my convictions. When such request is turned down you will be tagged as unyielding. If we are pursuing a cause as a team and somebody want me to jettison the struggle in order to derail the process or betray my people, I can be stubbornly unyielding. It was instances like this that led to my incarceration, for which some people still tagged me as stubborn till today. On my part, I simply like to uphold team spirit in the overall best interest of the majority. There are several routes that leads to Lagos from Akure. If we all agreed to take Ondo-Ore-Shagamu road to Lagos, and we already journeyed halfway through before somebody suddenly ask us to go back to take Ilesha-Ife-Ibadan road for no just cause, I will definitely resist such detour, even at the risk of standing alone. I respect and adhere strictly to collective responsibility in the overall interest of the people. Naturally, I am unyielding to attempt to compromise due process. My stubbornness is just my own way of expressing strong, unwavering determination and conviction, often in a positive light. Simply put, it is my ability to stick to my goals and beliefs, even when faced with consequences. Despite my imperfections, people will readily tell you that Victor Olabimtan is a loyal, reliable and dependable team player. That’s an incontrovertible truth about me.
Your tenure as the Special Adviser on Community Development under Aketi was adjudged to be docile. How do you react to this allegation?
It is actually not an allegation but a statement of fact. However, those who alleged knew nothing about the cause of that noticeable seeming inactiveness. Aketi appointed me as his Special Adviser on Community Development to fulfil one of his dreams for Ondo State. He wanted to reduce rural-to-urban migration in by making the rural areas more exciting and comfortable to live in through the provision of social amenities like rural road, potable water, electricity, standard markets. He shared this dream with his bosom friend, a former Secretary to the State Government, SSG, of Oyo State, Otunba Dele Adigun and myself. We jointly came up with a working document to enable him actualise these laudable goals. The target was to transform selected rural locations across every LGA of Ondo State. Unfortunately, the ideas didn’t see the light of the day, eventually.
What in your observation was responsible for that?
Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. That’s why I always tell people that our leaders need more of our prayer than condemnation. We are governed by humans, not spirit and therefore they cannot read our minds. The biggest challenge of leaders is that they receive countless conflicting advice on every issue. Two things led to the jettisoning of that laudable idea: political sabotage and economic meltdown. Some people weren’t comfortable with the mutual respect and cordial relationship between me and Aketi. They told him series of lies against me, especially that I may use the community development agenda to promote myself and afterward work against his second-term ambition. This made the governor slow down on the implementation of the agenda contrary to his initial plan to hit the ground running immediately after his inauguration. As our people say, no matter how far a lie travels the truth will always catch up with it one day. Aketi eventually found out that my loyalty to him was absolute. However, by the time the truth prevailed the global economic meltdown was already having its toll on all the layers of government, and Ondo State was not excepted. Luckily, Ondo State embraced the World Bank RAMP (Rural Access Agricultural Marketing Project) initiative to solve some rural roads problems.
End.
READ ALSO: Ondo APC chairmanship: Olabimtan most qualified — Groups
and then