CITIZENS COMPASS— Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, yesterday, attributed his victory in the governorship election to his administration’s performance, grassroots accessibility and the love of the people, saying the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) underestimated him because of his public image and dancing skills.
Adeleke, who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme, said his victory was particularly satisfying because many people initially dismissed him as unserious and incapable of effective governance.
“At first, a lot of people underestimated me because of my dancing skills. A lot of people believed I wasn’t a serious person; that I would just go there, dance and have fun.
“But for me, I like people to underrate me. When you underrate me, I hit you from the back,” the Governor said.
“So that was what really happened. Before they knew what was going on, what the APC could not achieve in Osun in 12 years, I had already achieved in three and a half years,” he said.
“Immediately we came in, we had a blueprint and I had a very fantastic team, so we got to work. Before they could know what was going on, we had done infrastructure, connectivity of roads and health,” he said.
“For the first time in history, there has never been a strike for one day. Even when the minimum wage issue came, I told them: ‘Go and negotiate. Go and do what you have to do. Bring it to me and I will sign it.’
“So they are very happy. I kept wondering whether they would say thank you by giving me another chance for the second time. And they spoke loud and clear,” Adeleke said.
“I think it’s my person. It’s my person. They love my personality. I give them joy. I’m very accessible. I’m grassroots, so I’m free with everybody. I love my people, and they love me back. And, of course, performance. All of these joined together to make it great.
“Sometimes I shed tears. I’m overwhelmed. I’m overwhelmed, and this is so organic.
“And I said, ‘Wow!’ So that is why I promised myself, between man and God, that I will not disappoint them. So I worked so hard. I worked so hard.
“He called me and, well, I see him as a father. So he called me and said, ‘Mr Governor, what’s going on? How is the election going?’
“I said, ‘Your son is cruising to victory. I’ve won,’ and all that.
“When I see Mr President, I will talk to him about it. I will tell him, ‘Listen, the election is over, and I think we should do that,’ because it’s not easy.
“I wish I had more money to fix a lot of things. There are some projects that are almost completed, but because of funds, they seized our local government funds for almost two years. No Government can survive it. No Government can,” he said.
“Our IGR has really improved greatly. But by the time we finish paying salaries and doing other things, there is no more money.
“Leave that one now. Those are propaganda.
“I put flyovers where I think they are necessary because of traffic congestion,” he said, adding that his administration had also dualised numerous roads in Osogbo and undertaken projects in Ife.
“Because I’m from Ede and I’m governor, Ede is part of Osun State, so I have to fix Ede too. But the development cuts across the state. There is no local government that I did not touch,” he said.
“Those people are just talking. Why would I go and hire somebody who is not competent? No, no, no, no. That’s not right.”
—Tribune
