A former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State and former commissioner for environment, Bisi Kolawole is the preferred governorship aspirant of ex-governor, Ayodele Fayose. In this interview with ‘YOMI AYELESO , the former member of the state House of Assembly speaks on his chances at the party’s primary, the crisis within the party and others.
You have toured the 16 local government areas campaigning, especially to PDP members. What has been the feedback?
Don’t forget the fact that ‘Bisi Kay’ is a grass-rooter and politics is local because we have been around for a very long time. Having been director general of campaigns to two strong candidates in the past namely, Dayo Adeyeye and Olusola Eleka, I am very familiar with the situations at the grass roots and that has given me an edge over and above other aspirants, because most of them are restricted to their senatorial districts. Somebody from the North cannot boast of happenings in the Central because they have never have the reasons to move around the state, but I have cause to move in the past on two occasions selling the candidacy of the two candidates I earlier mentioned. So, moving round the state in the course of this election, the feedback has been encouraging, nice and favorable. People are familiar with me and have confidence in me, because I am one of them, not a visiting politician. Some of these aspirants fly to Abuja and Lagos and come home whenever they have events or programmes. So, my campaign tour has been very rewarding.
Why are you running for the office of the governor?
I am contesting because we are very familiar with the situation in Ekiti. We know where the shoe pinches because the present APC government in the state has not done enough. People are suffering with no care from the government. The workers and pensioners are being owed as we speak. The roads and other facilities are bad and dilapidated and our youths are not being encouraged to go into farming and other opportunities. With me in the saddle, all these will be looked into. Let me tell you that the totality of all these things will make an average Ekiti person comfortable and well. Don’t forget that I am familiar with governance, having been a member of the House of Assembly, and a commissioner in the state. All these are important. The people are not asking government to make them millionaires. They just want to be comfortable. Provide adequate social services to them. The totality of all I have said is one of the reasons that have prompted me to go all out for it and by the grace of God, with experience and support of the people, the situation will improve.
What are your chances in the primary?
We have very brilliant chances of clinching the ticket of the party. On the issue of politicians complaining, I want to tell you that we politicians are not up to 30 per cent of voters and luckily for us, the government of the day has not made life comfortable for the Ekiti people and everybody is fed up with them. People are waiting for the PDP and whoever emerges the candidate of the party will be the next governor of the state.
Obviously things are not going well within your party. Don’t you think this will have adverse effect on the chances of the party during the June 18 poll?
I want to tell you that as an experienced politician, nothing is strange, nothing is new and this is not the first time it will happen. Everybody contesting knows that it is only one person that will emerge. You cannot have runners up. It is well-known to the aspirants. So, when people are agitating, of course, you know they will when things are not coming your way or not in your favour. Of course there is bound to be agitation. The conflict resolution mechanism within the party is very effective and I believe the leadership of the party will deploy it. I am very optimistic that we will come together. There is bound to be misunderstanding. It is normal in politics and PDP will solve its domestic problems.
You are the preferred aspirant of the former governor, Ayodele Fayose, who is using everything in his political arsenal to support you ahead of the primary. How important is his support to you?
Let me say this clearly that, his support is morale booster, because he has been there on two different occasions and when he supports you, he doesn’t relent. Fortunately for me, I am enjoying the support now and that is what other aspirants are not enjoying that is causing problem. They all sought his support openly, secretly, day and night, but he knows my antecedents. He knows what I can do. You will hear some mischievous people saying Fayose is running for a third term through me but he knows I have my own character. He knows I have my own name to protect. He is supporting and promoting me because he has absolute confidence in my ability. I am team player because I have worked with him for four years as commissioner for environment. So, I can tell you he knows what I can do.
Don’t forget, this man, Ayodele Fayose, is a political wizard. He understands the game very well. Give that to him any day. I have served in the local governments as a supervisor; I was a member of the House of Assembly, which was a legislative experience. I was a commissioner under his administration and he has absolute confidence in my ability. I won the election of the chairmanship of the party, and considering those political credentials, it is very rare to come by. I cannot mention any of those that have ruled Ekiti that can parade those credentials. So, the man knows what he is doing by throwing his support behind me and he knows I am a sellable candidate. He knows I am closer to the grass roots and familiar with Ekiti politics. My gain from him which others have lost is making them to gang up against him. I am on speaking terms with other aspirants, and that is why they call me, ‘The Bridge.’ My influence goes beyond the political party. I have friends left and right and even admirers. The man (Fayose) has only capitalised on my character. Let me quickly add this that there are mischievous persons saying that if I become governor, Fayose will not allow me to breathe. The man is not like that and I have my own name to protect. I can assure you that I can only tap from his wealth of experience. Don’t forget he has been a two-term governor. The legacy he left is what people can point to in the state. The legacy is a parameter to what anybody can work within or work beyond. He has set a standard and I don’t intend to fall below it. I can only improve on it.
The people and stakeholders from Ekiti South are clamouring vociferously for power shift to the zone. Since 1999, no one from the district has been governor. As an aspirant from the Central, don’t you see merit in their agitation?
If you are familiar with the situation in Ekiti, there has never been a time a southerner was deprived the right to contest in elections. Let me start from the recent one. It was PDP that fielded southern candidates (Adeyeye and Eleka). Are they from the central? They are from the south. The people of the state didn’t vote for them and you see a southern man Dayo Adeyeye in 2018 defecting to the APC to support a northern man in Governor Kayode Fayemi. Unless the agitation is a personal agenda, otherwise I am aware now that Dr Wole Oluyede has left the APC to contest under ADC. He is a southerner. Nobody is tying anybody’s hands. Unless you are saying that north and central should hands off and make it only a contest for those in the southern district. It has never happened. So many people have been contesting to be governor from the south and if it has not worked out. It will definitely work out one day. It has only been an open contest and you can see three aspirants (Biodun Olujimi, Olusola Eleka and Kayode Adaramodu) contesting now from the south in the PDP. I don’t understand what the agitation is all about and if they have not been lucky now, they will be in the future. The situation in Ekiti is that everybody will always contest because it has become the tradition in the state.
