Honourable Lucky Orimisan Ayedatiwa, the Ondo State NDDC board member and the deputy gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the fast-approaching election in the state. The politician who hails from Ilaje Local Government in Ondo South Senatorial District spoke with EMMANUEL ADENIRAN on his emergence as the man to contest on the side of the incumbent governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu. Their election, which comes up on 10th October, 2020 is still trending. He used the opportunity to discuss other issues too. Excerpts:
Can we meet you?
I am Honourable Lucky Orimisan Ayedatiwa, the deputy governorship candidate to the Ondo State Governor, Mr. Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu (SAN) in the forthcoming governorship Election in Ondo State.
Do you wish to talk about your academic background sir?
I had my Primary School education at St. Peter’s Primary School, Okenla between 1970 to 1976 in the riverine area in my hometown where I originated from – it is an oil rich community. Thereafter, I attended Ikosi High School, Lagos. I later went to Lagos State College of Education in Ijanikin where I obtained my NCE Certificate (Nigeria Certificate in Education). I taught for a while before moving out from the teaching profession. I worked at a Pharmaceutical Company as a Marketing Officer and in the course of that, I went back to school. I went to the prestigious University of Ibadan where I bagged my diploma in Business Management. I later went to the University of Lagos where I obtained my Master’s Degree in Business Administration.
Equally, the Ondo State Governorship election is coming up on October 10th, 2020. How ready are you and your party, APC?
Our Political Party is ready so also our flag bearer Arakunrin Akeredolu and the party members are all fully ready. The electorates are only looking up unto God and us. Our Campaigns have also started in earnest and part of it is the just concluded local government election that was held recently. The local government election is all part of the process. The election season is here. We had the local government election on August 22nd and by October 10th; the governorship election will be coming up. This is more like a rehearsal for the electorates ahead of the forthcoming Gubernatorial Election in the State. The turnout, the exhortations, the message, the excitement and the joy that they are actually electing their Council Chairmen and the councilors, the people are excited about it. So, I am sure that the spirit and enthusiasm of the recently held local government election will take them for the next one month when we will be having the Governorship Election in the State. So, we are looking forward to it and we are sure my party, APC will be victorious at the end of the day.
Few weeks ago, the Governor of Ondo State announced your name as the deputy governorship candidate and he took you to the National Leader of the APC in Lagos Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, how do you see this development?
Well, all Glory to the Almighty God that made it possible for me to be elevated into that position. This is because promotion comes from no one except from God alone. For anyone to be called upon to assume such a position, God Himself must have had a hand in it considering the situation and circumstances surrounding the deputy governorship seat in Ondo State. Every other individual and the party members are also qualified in their own right. Many others showed interest in the position which became vacant as a result of the exit of the former occupier of the position. But I was chosen at the end of the day. I also want to thank Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu for chosing me as his deputy. I also thank the party leaders who allowed the Governor to make his choice by himself without interference. They did not force him or put pressure on him to pick someone else. It was the Governor that discussed with the party stakeholders and the party leaders and they accepted his nomination. So, I want to thank the national leader, the national chairman and the leaders of the APC in Ondo State as well. Most especially, all the governorship aspirants that contested the primary election with Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu (SAN) for allowing him to make his choice at the end of the day and the choice was well embraced by all. I was excited by that and I was well received by everybody. In fact, some of the governorship aspirants even made some categorical statement that the decision taken by the Governor to choose me as his running mate is one of the best decisions ever made in governance. So, it was a good feeling for me and that speaks volume. And we have been tracking the events since then. And all the wards, unit caucuses and shades of opinions and groups within the Ondo State APC before now, such as the unity forum, and other groups have all collapsed their structures under the umbrella of the APC in the State. So, there is oneness in the party now, APC in Ondo State is one again.
Is this because of your personality?
Well, maybe it’s a coincidence. I just give all the glory to God. Whatever the reason is, my governor once said, I had to rule it out and credit this to all the other governorship aspirants that feel that we should be one at this time and they should work with us because this is our party, we don’t have any other political party apart from APC. This is why we must all come together and work together for APC so that the forthcoming election will be won. You know, we are feeling the air of victory already. It is a good thing we are all together, working together, believing in oneness of the party and also the support from all the state leaders and national leader.
Do you see this your new position as an act of God or as a result of the good things you did when you worked at NDDC?
Well, I will first of all say all things work together for good. If you say it’s the act of God, you are not far from the truth. And if you say it’s because of my contributions to the party; my steadfastness, my commitment, loyalty, perseverance, you are also not far from the truth. These are some of the words that were used by the Governor the day he was unveiling me to the leaders of the party. Those are the reasons that the Governor considered in arriving at my choice – as his running mate. While he was addressing the party leaders on my own issue, the Governor said “Lucky has been with us from the beginning of this journey to where we are right now. He has been so loyal, committed, consistence, focused, and has not said anything bad to the leadership of the party and the administration despite the fact that he has not benefited”. As it were, my time in the NDDC was very short. I only spent about six or seven months on the board. And the board had been running for over 25 years before I joined and thereafter, after six months of my being part of the board; it was dissolved. And so, there was not enough opportunity to contribute the way I would have loved. Despite the shortness of the time spent at the NDDC, I was still able to influence a lot of projects and ensured that the existing projects that have been awarded to the contractors were completed. I was also able to bring lots of things back- for example, the projects that were awarded years back; I was able to encourage the contractors and they came back to the site and they were there working before the board was dissolved. Other aspects of my intervention during my days at the NDDC included the issue of electricity- power transmission was more like abandoned in my time at the NDDC. I was able to talk to the board members and the management to look at the projects; and payments were made to the contractors to go back to the site. So, some of these things are there and some other roads were done in my time. So, I will rather say it is the act of God apart from my personal perseverance and loyalty. Although, my loyalty is one of the key values that earned me the position of the Ondo State Deputy Governorship seat. Apart from what I can also bring to the table, I am somebody with verified credentials and good degree certificate. So, I will be able to contribute my quotas considering my experience in the private sector where I worked before joining politics. So, all of this was added together, so I cannot say this is the particular reason, so if you say it is the act of God, yes, because all of these good values in me can only be given by God, let’s leave it at that.
Can you speak more about your achievements when you worked at NDDC?
Well, don’t forget that NDDC has a budget in their own way. Unfortunately, during my own time, because my time was short, we did not make any proposal into the budget. We depended on projects that were in the budget at the period when we got to the NDDC. There was an existing budget. There were a lot of laudable projects in those budgets. They were the projects that had been awarded for like two, three, four years earlier, and which funds were appropriated for them to be executed. So, I looked at the one in my area, the area I represent at that time which is Ondo State, I looked at them and I called the contractors, that they have received mobilization, they must come back to site, that it will be totally unacceptable for them to receive mobilization and the jobs are not done because you said NDDC have not paid substantially. And I told them to come, now, you have the representative who will talk to the board management team to look at your project so that you can be paid substantially, and a lot of those contractors were fully supported. There are lots of them in charge of roads, scholarships, health programmes like Lassa fever and the outbreak of Lassa fever in Ondo State. While, I was still there, we supported Ondo State and donated hospital consumables and assets, ambulance vans and others.
What do you think about the Seaport project, the project initiated by the Governor, what stage is it now?
The seaport project is basically an initiative of this present government, the government of Governor Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN). The Governor has gone far on this. The business case file has been presented and investors are ready. And don’t forget that the seaport project must have the nod of the Federal Government, the Nigerian Maritime Authority as well as the Nigerian Seaport Authority. A lot of efforts have been given and made on the seaport project. So many preliminary works and projects have been done and business case has been presented. What is next right now is to move to the next stage of getting the approval of the federal government and once that is done, then, we are there. The investors will move in and construction work will start. It’s a very big, laudable, and landmark project that will help the economy of Ondo State grow. It is a project that the Governor has given a lot of attention and concentration to and he has ensured that resources are deployed. You know, many millions, even up to billions have been spent to get it to the stage where it is right now. So, it is not something small. It’s a very big project. That is why, we are appealing to the people of Ondo State, they should vote for us so that we can continue with some of these laudable projects and also, the new ones that is in the mind of the Governor of the State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, that he still wants to do for the people of the State. Four years is not really enough to execute projects that stand beyond four years from the beginning to the end. Example of this is Port Ondo, it is not what you can finish under four years. It takes someone that has the urge, the courage and the passion to deliver these kinds of projects that span through decades and generations to come; to stand up and say give us another four years that will help us turn Ondo State around for good and delete it from the lists of those states that seek loans and solely depend on the monthly federal allocations from the federal government.
The governorship election is approaching, what do you think are the factors that will play out during the poll?
The factors that will produce the next Governor in the State from the political angle are the political party, the individual flag bearers of the party, then, the electorates. On the other political party, how strong are the political parties in Ondo State? Are they well known to the people and who is the flag bearer from that political party? Is it somebody they can trust to be their leader to serve them as the current governor is doing?
How will you assess the performance of the current governor?
What the Governor has done within the few years he was the Governor, you will definitely see the roads and the entire infrastructures on ground in the state now. He met seven months’ unpaid salaries when he came in 2017- which was owed by the previous administration. He came in within a year; he was able to offset six months out of the seven months unpaid salaries. And as we speak now, he no longer owes workers’ salaries. He has been able to pay up till date – even at a time that the Ondo State government was getting a less allocation from the federal government in Abuja. So, even within these limited resources, he was able to prioritize his spending to be able to put in place so many infrastructures and this is somebody we can attest to – that he has true integrity. He doesn’t know how to deceive people. That’s why the people of Ondo State do call him ‘talk and do’. Whatever he promises, he will do. He will not tell you what he cannot do. He has fulfilled his first term promises to the people of Ondo State. Look at some of the landmark projects at Oke Alabojuto in the North Senatorial District, that has always been a death trap but today, if you pass through the area now, it has become a dual carriage way. Another one is the Redemption bridge at Ore township in Ondo south area. The traffic logjam on Ore road has been there for many years, accidents here and there but today, an inter-change has been constructed in that place thereby paving way for free vehicular movements on the busy and popular road.
These are just few among so many things that Governor Akeredolu has done for us in the state. These are the things that will count and work for us in the October 10th, 2020 governorship election in Ondo State. Don’t forget also, that there are unwritten zoning and political formulas that exist in the state. Like for instance, the central senatorial district did it for eight years under His Excellency, Dr. Rahman Olusegun Mimiko. So fairness demands that the people of Ondo State should give the incumbent Governor Rotimi Akeredolu another term of four years to also complete his eight years in office as the governor of the state so that he can finish what he has started, and the people of the South senatorial District will want to align to that unwritten arrangement with Governor Akeredolu so that the governorship seat will come to Ondo South Senatorial District where I actually belong. The South senatorial district will prefer to vote for Governor Akeredolu now to enable them have the governorship seat for a period of eight years also. These are some of the facts that are staring us on the face. But the overall decision still lies in the hands of the electorate.
Recently, the immediate past Governor of the State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko attacked Governor Akeredolu alleging him that he has abandoned his initiative in the area of health, what do you have to say about this?
Everybody is entitled to his own opinion and every leader has its own approach to governance as well as programmes and projects to be executed. Dr. Olusegun Mimiko has his own approach too. If the present government is achieving the same objective of giving the people of Ondo State good medical services, by bringing renovation to existing one, that is not out of place as long as it is reaching out to the people of Ondo State in the area of health and giving them qualitative health delivery.
What is your assessment of the last Local government election held recently in the state…?
The election was generally peaceful and the turnout was encouraging. It was peaceful.
How would you sum up your working experience?
I have always worked and I have been a teacher, marketer, trader, financial consultant and CEO. I have embraced a lot of new things. I have received so much training in the area of business and that is why you can’t go to Lagos Business School and come back the same. I also had my MBA from the prestigious University of Lagos. You cannot do an MBA without a working experience. I also attended a University in Spain and acquired a certification on new product, crisis management and leadership among others.
