PDP’s shame in Edo will be child’s play in Ondo after ACN’s victory —Akeredolu

The Action Congress of Nigeria’s candidate in the October 20 governorship election in Ondo state, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, in this interview with SUNDAY ABORISADE and KUNLE FALAYI, denies ‘importing’ crowd from other states to his campaign in Ondo, among other issues It is just two weeks to the election, how prepared is the ACN to wrest power from Labour Party? Well, we are upbeat. We are battle-ready to send Governor Olusegun Mimiko and his Labour Party parking from Ondo State. The massive turnout during our rallies in three Senatorial district — Ikare in the North, Ondo town, which is Mimiko’s native town from the central, and Ore in the South, has sent a message to him (Mimiko) that his time is up. The ACN has taken a firm root in Ondo State and the entire South-West. Ondo people are eager to join their kith and kin in the South-West to enjoy the massive progressive developments in the zone. So, we are ready, with the senatorial rallies over, and having toured all the wards in the state, our campaign will hit the ground running again to all the 18 local government areas in the state, before our final mega rally in Akure. The LP alleged that the people at the rally were brought from Osun, Oyo, Ekiti and other states. ACN as a political party does not pay money to anybody to attend our rallies. The people at the rallies were Ondo indigenes, supporters and lovers of ACN, who came out in their numbers to witness history, to witness change and development. Whenever we are going on campaign, people troop out of their homes with brooms in their hands shouting “sweep them away!” They are referring to a government that has refused to employ a single teacher, with the population of youth unemployment growing by the day. No industry is working while investors have kept the state at a distance. So, those we saw on the road to the venue of the rallies came out as result of bad government in Ondo state in the last three and a half years. All these are imaginations in the minds of LP leaders and Governor Mimiko. But let me assure you that we have yet to show our full strength, wait till the final mega rally in Akure, Mimiko is shaking now. You have consistently clamoured for the transfer of the state police commissioner, what is the reason for this?  The man has become partisan. He has taken sides, so he cannot be around for the election. The duty of the police and indeed the security agents is to protect the citizens, but it seems that the police commissioner has become the acting chair of LP in Ondo State, the Deputy Commissioner of Operations, and the deputy chair of the LP, while the Police Public Relations Officer of the state command has become the spokesman of the LP. That is how bad the situation has become in Ondo. A police command such as this has lost respect. LP is using them. Look at Ondo town, which is Governor Mimiko’s hometown, he could not complete the road dualisation project in three and a half years. Do you trust Independent National Electoral Commission conducting a free and fair poll in Ondo come October 20? I have confidence in the leadership of INEC under Professor Attahiru Jega to repeat the feat he achieved in Edo State. But my fear is the security agents. If Jega is determined to conduct a free and fair poll and the security agents decide to compromise as they have been doing in Ondo, the man may become helpless, because he has no control over them. Therefore, the Inspector General of Police and the heads of other security agencies must look into this before the election to avoid chaos and violence in the state. Apart from this, the state INEC must be careful with the voters’ register because there are rumours about its officials planning to help Mimiko rig the election. History is beckoning on them to do the right thing. Can you tell us how much you have spent since you started your governorship campaign? We are spending a lot but we have not spent up to a quarter of a billion yet. We are raising funds from friends and associates as we spend. I know that by the time we go into the election proper, our spending may become higher. I know that we do not have enough money to waste like the present government. We are not going to borrow money to do this election. It is the belief of some people that if you are elected as Governor of Ondo State, you will be an Ajele (stooge). What is your take on this? I remember that when we were fighting that battle, (to regain Governor Mimiko’s stolen mandate) a number of people assisted us and a number of people were advising us as lawyers. Today, those who came in then asAjeles and benefitted from the struggle are now saying others will become Ajeles. If I get assistance from where they got assistance, I will take it and that does not turn me to any Ajele. That only exists in the imagination of those who believe that I will become Ajele. It is only in the imagination of government led by Mimiko that somebody of my status will become Ajele. The people of this state are wiser and they know that such a thing is not possible. Does it not make sense if I am Ajele to Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu rather than…? Why not! Bola Ahmed Tinubu was a two term governor of Lagos State; Tinubu played a prominent role in the NADECO struggle and has been fighting for the emancipation of Yoruba race. What are we saying? Any reasonable Yoruba man will praise the effort of that man. Tinubu is a busy man and he does not concern himself with what does not matter to him. He has no time interfering in the affairs of any state in the South-West. When last did anyone see him go to Ekiti, Osun or Ogun states? He does not have the time except when there is an important function in any of these states. Yoruba are wiser. Tinubu is a friend of the Yoruba and the people of Ondo. I am going to win this election and that is the reality by the grace of God. The shame that the PDP faced in Edo-State will be child’s play after my victory. Is it true that a White Paper published by the state government on the report of the Justice Rasheed Fawehinmi panel indicted you and banned you from holding a public office for 25 years? People have been saying a lot of things about me that never happened but I do not care. I say to you today that I know for a fact that Mimiko is running helter-skelter after a panel that was set up in Ondo headed by Justice Rasheed Fawehimi to probe (past) administration. I did not attend that panel because I felt it was a false panel. Fawehinmi said I had N5m to construct a court and that they valued the court at about N500,000 because of that, I went to court against him and the Ondo state government submitted the judgment and the case was set aside. Since about three weeks ago, Mimiko has been running after the panel members to help him sign papers that Akeredolu was found guilty. Let Mimiko know that he is wasting his time. Assuming I am found guilty, will that prevent me from contesting and winning election? Punch Nigeria