2015: Labour Party ’ll take over Oyo State —Akinyo, gov aspirant

Chief Akinyo Nurudeen Owolabi is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) in Oyo State. He speaks with MOSES ALAO on why the party has become the beautiful bride in the politics of the state; need for youthful elements to govern the state and his chances at clinching the party’s ticket.

AS a young man, why did you just wake up and decide to contest the governorship election of Oyo State. What gives you the impression that you stand a chance and what is even your antecedent in politics?


I did not just wake up to seek to become governor; I am coming from a background that is rich in politics. My late grandfather, who was an Otun Olubadan of Ibadan land, was a strong member of the NCNC while my father was a member of the House of Assembly representing Ibadan Central under the UPN from 1979 to 1983. Today, I have found myself in politics and I can tell you that it is a long term thing and a product of good thinking and serious planning. I have the structure on ground and if you ask anyone at the grass-roots, I cut across and have relationship with people across all political parties in the state. I believe the people love.

You asked about my antecedent. Politics is not about where you coming; it is about what you know and can do to address your environment, your people and their needs. And I am from Ibadan, I know what the people of Oyo State want because I was SA on Local Governments to Governor Abiola Ajimobi from 2011 to 2013.

I also want to tell you that we need a generational shift in Oyo State’s politics. Look at what age Papa Awolowo; Zik and even Raji Fasola of Lagos State began making impact on the society in terms of leadership? They worked at full capacity because they were young; we should not continue to lie to ourselves in Oyo State, age is an important factor that should be put into recognition when talking about performance. So, if people are calling for a young governor, they are right and I am volunteering to take the responsibility.

If you have once worked with the incumbent governor, why did you leave the APC?

I was never in APC. I was a member of ACN and they came up with the idea of APC; they told us the slogan was change but some of us knew it was not a defined change. When they started the movement for APC, we noticed that the national leaders were hobnobbing with those they once called rogues; they want the same set of people to join the party so they bring about the change. So, my colleagues and some of my followers decided that we were not going to APC; we went to the Labour Party instead.

In what areas has Ajimobi done things wrongly to make you want to unseat him?

I will not say he has done things wrongly; I will just say he has tried his best but the people of the state have expectations that are beyond what he has done. We thank Ajimobi; he did his best but what the people of Oyo State expected from him is not what they are getting.

You sound too confident; are you not overestimating your chances of becoming governor?

I am not overestimating my chances at all, because this project is not about me alone; it is about team work. I believe that I have the team that will take over the reins of government in the state in 2015.

Which team, a team that is in the Labour Party and not the All Progressives Congress (APC) or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)? Does your party even rankle in the politics of the state?

The people that will vote now understand the values of their votes; now, it is no longer about the party but the personality. If the politicians are making mouths, they are lying; it is the electorates that hold the power on who becomes the next governor and they are giving me that mandate.

You asked if the Labour Party matters in the scheme of things; let me give the example of 2007 when we brought the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) to Oyo State about three months to election. People were not aware of ANPP but due to the quality of people we paraded for state and federal legislative seats, ANPP had a good showing. The party even won the governorship election in 2007 if not for the Maurice Iwu and Obasanjo’s scheme, which rigged that election.

Can Labour Party boast of having any presence outside Ibadan?

There is a change going through Oyo State. Go to Oke-Ogun today, there is Labour Party on the ground. Go to Oyo; Ibarapa and Ogbomoso, the party is taking over everywhere. And when we talk about personalities; there are many good people surrounding me in their domains, people who will deliver those places. So, when we are delivering in Ibadan, they will be delivering those places too.

But there are insinuations that your party is only fronting for one of the big parties and would easily be collapsed into either APC or PDP when push comes to shove.

There is no truth in such insinuations. Our party is the only party with unity in Oyo State today and by the time other parties conduct their primaries, Labour Party will be the beneficiary, because they will have crisis managing their parties.

What specifically do you have for the people of Oyo State, which you seek to govern?

We can only discuss a bit of that, as I cannot reveal my manifesto for now. But with my understanding of the environment and my people, I can tell you that in Ibadan, one of our major problems is lack of planning. Another issue is the fact that most of our people are petty traders and you cannot just send them away without providing alternatives.

When you go to Iseyin and the rest of Oke-Ogun, they are clamouring for a higher institution of learning. So, our programme will be a bottom-up approach and not what we think the people need. We have made a lot of consultations about the people’s needs and I know the challenges of each zone. We will immediately move into action and people will be happy because we will not impose any project on them.