Politics
[INTERVIEW] We Need To Retire Old Politicians In 2023 Elections- Olagunju, LP Senatorial Candidate For Kwara South
Honourable Abidoye Olagunju, the 2023 Kwara South Senatorial Candidate under Labour Party shares his life, political journey, aspirations and view with Biztellers in this exclusive interview.
Introduce Yourself, Sir
I am Honourable Abidoye Olagunju, the 2023 Kwara South Senatorial Candidate under Labour Party.
I hail from Igosun in Oyun Local Government Area where I attended primary school. I went to Oyun Baptist High School, Ijagbo in the same local government area before I proceeded to Tunland College, Benin-City. I subsequently went to the University of Ilorin where I had a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science.
I served as Whip at 200L, Clerk at 300 level and Senate President at 400 level.
I also have my Masters in Public Administration.
What Led You Into Politics?
Actually, I was born into politics. My father, Retired Chief Major Afolabi Olagunju from Igosun is a politician, and I studied politics in school, hence I felt the need to practicalise what I learned. I believe with my person and my knowledge we will deliver our people from the present bad government that we have in Kwara State and in Nigeria as a whole.
Why Labour Party?
I joined Labour Party few years back. In 2019, I contested as Kwara South Senatorial District Candidate under the party and in 2022 again I won the ticket to contest under the party.
You can find Labour Party all over the world; in the UK, US, Brazil and all other because it is an international party. It is a defined party and not a quark party.
Our major objective is that we believe in equity and we believe everybody must have a life.
We have been given the mandate to contest the Senatorial district to save our people from the present menace and I believe, with the support of the masses come February 2023, I will emerge as the elected senator for Kwara South by the grace of God.
What Is Your View Peter Obi’s Presidency?
My view about the presidency of Peter Obi is of the fact that people actually want to change the change, and if we are changing the change we believe a new set of politicians should come into power especially the South-Eastern part of the country should also rule Nigeria because you know we’ve been playing a partial politics all these while.
Now we felt the need for Igbo to come and rule Nigeria because Obi is a vibrant candidate and as the only young and highly intelligent candidate. We have seen what he did in Anambra during his tenure as a governor he will certainly deliver Nigeria from this present situation we find ourselves.
We want to industrialize the country again. We want a country where everybody will have what to do and where everybody will be earning a living. We want a country where we won’t be running helter-skelter again.
We pray and we hope and we plead with our people to please support the candidacy of Peter Obi and of every other candidate of Labour Party. By the grace of God, we won’t let you down.
What Should Your People Look Up To, If You Get Elected?
If I am elected as the senator of Kwara South District, my first bill would be on unemployment. I want what is practiced in the USA and UK be reciprocated here (Nigeria).
I want to sponsor a bill that will make provision for our unemployed youths that they will be paid stipend at the end of the month.
I will also raise another one for the senior citizens, that they will be paid at the end of every month, too and by so doing I know comfort will come to stay in our country. I believe when you know that something is constantly coming at the end of the month, it would be a succour to oneself. Crimes would drastically reduce. One will be able to eat, pay rents, buy clothes and other life amenities.
We will also work on the security. I am a member of Nigeria Vigilante Group, Local Hunters Association as well as adopted member of the OPC and these three groups are security networks that we can refer to as the community police. We will create a synergy among the three security networks to provide adequate security for our people within the Kwara South in order to curb menaces, kidnappings, stealing, robberies and other related crimes in our senatorial district.
We also want to work on our health facility. we want to make sure that we have hospitals in every ward within the Kwara South. We want to work on our road networks. We want to open up the villages so that the people living in rural areas will have access to our towns. They would be able to bring farm produce and buyers can go into villages to access whatever farm produce they want to buy.
We will harp community development projects. I understand that what works in Community A may not work in Community B, hence we will be asking people what they want us to do for them.
Furthermore, we will empower our farmers by giving them money to boost their farming activities. There will be availability of tractors, farm equipment and every other things will be available. By so doing, we know our economy will improve in Kwara State.
We will also work ‘ready-made market’ for our farmers: we’ll have standard market for whatever produced in Kwara South.
How Do You Feel About Other Contestants, Especially In The APC and PDP?
Actually, I am not bothered with the other contestants from the APC and PDP because I have had the opportunity to meet them in some public gatherings in Kwara state and I have told them that the first objective we youth have is to retire them from active politics, because all these our grandfathers that are contesting with the youths is unacceptable by us. We will use our votes to unseat and retire all old politicians because most of them are corrupt. We want a new system of government. We want to bring new blood into politics. The present government in Kwara south is a failure and I know our people are ready to vote him out. The PDP counterpart is not acceptable by the people, too.
I know by the grace of God that Labour Party is the party of the day and we are going to form synergy with all other third parties so that we will work together and win the coming election for Labour Party.
I believe that our youths, civil servants are ready to work with Labour Party. I know by the grace of God, victory will be ours come 2023.
In an effort to reduce Nigeria’s debt burden and stabilize the economy, President Bola Tinubu announced on Monday that the country’s debt service-to-revenue ratio has fallen from 97 to 65 percent over the 17 months since he took office.
Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony for seven new ministers at the State House, Abuja, Tinubu emphasized the government’s progress in stabilizing the economy despite challenging conditions.
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“For us, it was a challenge when the nation was servicing its debt with 97 percent of its revenue. It was nothing but the edge of the cliff,” Tinubu said.
“But today, I can report to you that we have brought that down to 65 percent, and we have never defaulted in meeting all obligations, both foreign and domestic.”
His remarks follow Afreximbank’s recent projection that Nigeria’s debt service-to-revenue ratio could reach 110.4 percent by 2024.
Afreximbank’s 2024 Nigeria Country Brief warned of a troubling upward trend in debt servicing, which could see the ratio surge from 33.8 percent in 2017 to a projected 110.4 percent next year.
However, with continued reforms, the report suggested the ratio might decline to 62.6 percent by 2025.
In the first nine months of 2023, debt servicing consumed 66.9 percent (₦5.79 trillion) of Nigeria’s total revenue, a slight improvement from 99.3 percent (₦4.23 trillion) during the same period in 2022.
Tinubu, while optimistic about economic recovery, acknowledged the ongoing struggles faced by Nigerians due to a sharp increase in the cost of living triggered by recent economic reforms.
“We have taken the bull by the horns,” the President asserted. “We have stopped the scavengers. We will fully put an end to the profiteers and smugglers of our resources across the country. We are not shirking our responsibility; we are confronting it head-on.”
He further expressed confidence that Nigeria was on a “good path” toward recovery, emphasizing that the government remains committed to re-engineering the economy.
He cited the introduction of a new minimum wage as one measure aimed at mitigating rising living costs.
Monday’s ceremony also saw the swearing-in of seven new ministers, part of a recent cabinet reshuffle.
In two batches, ministers including Idi Maiha (Livestock Development) and Dr Jumoke Oduwole (Industry, Trade, and Investment) took their oaths.
The reshuffle, which saw 10 ministers reassigned, five discharged, and seven new appointments confirmed by the Senate, reflects Tinubu’s stated commitment to reshaping his cabinet to meet Nigeria’s evolving challenges.
As the administration continues to implement reforms, President Tinubu emphasized a long-term vision for economic sustainability, not only for the current generation but also for future ones.
“Despite the challenges, we must undertake the job of re-engineering and retooling this country’s economic path,” he said.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has mandated that Godwins Omobayo, the Deputy Governor of Edo State, appear in person on November 26, 2024, following allegations of contempt of court stemming from his failure to comply with a previous ruling.
Justice James Omotosho issued the order on Monday, asserting that Omobayo, described as the alleged contemnor, must be afforded a fair hearing in accordance with Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
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The court action was initiated by Philip Shaibu, who was reinstated as Deputy Governor after the court invalidated his impeachment by the Edo State House of Assembly on July 17.
Justice Omotosho ruled that the impeachment proceedings lacked due process and that the grounds for Shaibu’s removal did not constitute gross misconduct.
Shaibu’s suit targets several parties, including the Inspector-General of Police and the Edo State House of Assembly, seeking enforcement of the court’s judgment and demanding that Omobayo vacate the deputy governorship position.
Omobayo assumed office on April 8, following Shaibu’s impeachment.
During the court proceedings, it was revealed that Omobayo was served legal documents but failed to appear.
In response, Shaibu’s attorney, Ayotunde Ogunleye, SAN, urged the court to compel Omobayo’s attendance, citing the need to uphold judicial authority.
In delivering his ruling, Justice Omotosho adjourned the case until November 26 for further proceedings.
He directed that hearing notices be served to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th defendants involved in the charge.
“In the interest of justice and to provide the alleged contemnor with an opportunity to defend himself and receive a fair hearing, in accordance with Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), I hereby order that the alleged contemnor appear in court in person on November 26, 2024,” the judge stated.
It is noteworthy that the current tenure of the state government is set to conclude on November 12.
On the heels of the salvo fired by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria’s 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, signalling what might be a long-drawn hot exchange of words, the Presidency has made what it called ‘our initial response to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’.
This was contained in a statement put out on micro-blogging site, X, Sunday by the Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy), Bayo Onanuga.
The former vice president had detailed the shortcomings of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, making efforts to detail what he would have done differently, that would have better results for Nigeria.
In a swift response, the Presidency countered that Atiku and his ideas “were rejected by Nigerians in the 2023 poll”, based on his antecedents.
The statement reads, “OUR INITIAL RESPONSE TO ALHAJI ATIKU ABUBAKAR
“We have just read a statement credited to former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in which he tried to discredit President Bola Tinubu’s economic reform programmes while pushing his untested agenda as a better alternative.
“First, Alhaji Atiku’s ideas, which lacked details, were rejected by Nigerians in the 2023 poll.
“If he had won the election, we believe he would have plunged Nigeria into a worse situation or run a regime of cronyism.
“Abubakar lost the election partly because he vowed to sell the NNPC and other assets to his friends. Nigerians have not forgotten this, nor would they be comforted by Atiku’s antecedents when he ran the economy in the first term of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government between 1999 and 2003.
“As vice president, Atiku supervised a questionable privatisation programme. He and his boss demonstrated a lack of faith in our educational system, and both went to establish their universities while they allowed ours to flounder.
“Talk is cheap. It is easy to pontificate and deride a rival’s programmes even when there are irrefutable indices that the economic reforms yield positives despite the temporary difficulties.
“Despite the futile attempt to hoodwink Nigerians again in his statement, it is gratifying that the former Vice President could not repudiate the economic reforms pursued by the Tinubu administration because they are the right things to do.
“His advocacy for a gradualist approach only showed that he was not in tune with the enormity of problems inherited by President Tinubu.
“It is so easy to paint a flowery to-do list. It is expected of an election loser.
“President Tinubu met a country facing several grave challenges. Fuel subsidies were siphoning away enormous resources we could ill afford, and there was criminal arbitrage in the forex market.
“No leader worth his name will allow these two economic disorders to persist without moving to end them surgically.
“While advocating for gradual reforms may sound appealing, Tinubu took measures that should have been taken decades ago by Alhaji Abubakar and his boss when they had the opportunity.
“Alhaji Abubakar calls for empathy and a human face to reforms. We have no problem with this as it resonates well with our administration’s focus. President Tinubu has consistently emphasised the need for compassion and protection of the most vulnerable.
“The administration has prioritised social safety nets and targeted support for those affected by recent economic transitions.”
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