INSIDEPOLITICS We target 2 million votes for Buhari in Oyo – Shittu
Adebayo Shittu, a lawyer, is the Minister of Communications. In this interview, the aggrieved governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State spoke about his sour relationship with Governor Abiola Ajimobi, the national chairman o
Why did you close the Buhari campaign office in Ibadan?
I think the whole idea that I will stop campaigning for Buhari is nonsensical. I was the first cabinet member who started campaigning for Buhari’s re-election. I am still part of this government and part of the APC. In fact, I am a foundation member of the APC and my interactions and relationship with Buhari is not just starting. I was his party’s governorship candidate in Oyo State in 2011.
Buhari has continued to earn my respect and adoration because he was either the first or second president to willingly reduce his salary by half. The first leader to do that was the late Murtala Mohammed. Why would I do that? The story is mere mischief.
We had a rented apartment at N3million per annum and we simply could not afford to pay and the landlord was impatient with us. He said we should either pay or get out. So we simply took the most sensible part by vacating the place. We are in the process of looking for another office space for the campaign. We hope to get something cheaper. So it is not true that, for whatever reason, I am no longer campaigning. It is the handiwork of mischief makers, and a section of the media cannot be exonerated from that. They started carrying that report without seeking my own side of the story. That simply is not patriotic. It is self-serving and politically motivated.
You tried to be the governorship candidate of the APC but could not achieve that. What is your view on those who say they will not campaign for the governorship candidate in their state but will campaign for Buhari?
I would be a bastard to be defrauded out of a primary process and simply behave as if I were a slave. It will not make sense. I have been a foundation member of the APC, and twice I aspired to be governor. In 201I was defeated by the incumbent. In 2015, I was defrauded from the primary at that time and I challenged the process which gave Governor Ajimobi a second term. I went to court, and was still in court when my appointment as minister came out and I had to abandon that case. Instead of the governor thanking his God that he was relieved of the case, he started campaigning against my confirmation by the Senate. He was blackmailing me and asking the Senate not to confirm my appointment. At the end of the day, common sense prevailed and I was confirmed. Since then, he has continued to attack me because he believed, and wrongly too, that he and his cohorts could not have a Buhari at the federal level and another Buhari in me at the state level. He tells people close to him that if Shittu succeeds him he would be in jail. Why he think so, I simply don’t know.
If the party asked us to pay N22 million, and after we paid, screened and satisfied, the chairman of our party unilaterally, and in violation of the constitution, got me out of the way so that they could impose a new comer into the system, somebody who is barely two months in the APC, of course you cannot expect me to support such candidate. I have given enough warning, and now they are talking about reconciliation. I have said that before you talk of reconciliation, you must first talk of restitution. You violate somebody’s right or take his property, and instead of delivering what you have stolen, you are coming for reconciliation. It is akin to saying that we must have peace even when there is no justice. Justice must be done even if the heavens will fall. But I want to assure you that if you do justice, the heavens will not fall.
I don’t recognise the candidate of the APC. I am in court and I am sure that I will triumph over those who were less than intelligent in foisting a stranger on our party in Oyo State.
Don’t you think that would amount to anti-party activities?
What is anti-party? They had an opportunity but they missed it, so the party will certainly pay for it. With all sense of humility, I have gone beyond the stage where any party will threaten me. I am in court, and if the party thinks they have better basis for what they have done, let us meet in court. You don’t start threatening me who feels unfairly treated, thinking you can get me out of the justice system.
Obviously, there is no synergy among APC members in Oyo State. Don’t you think this will affect the chances of President Buhari?
Let me assure you that by the grace of God, on January 5, 2019, we are going to inaugurate a coalition of grassroots campaigners for Buhari/Osinbajo’s re-election. The personality of Buhari goes beyond party. He has supporters in all the parties, including the PDP and all these supporters will be galvanised into one campaign force. By the grace of God we hope to gather 2million votes for Buhari in Oyo State.
What would you consider as the heaviest pain the APC inflicted on your political career?
I always tell people that if God loves the people of Oyo State he will make me the governor irrespective of whatever impediment mischief makers may bring. I know that if I become governor I will make all the difference because I have a lot of experience. I have been in politics for over 40 years. I learnt politics from Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who was the greatest political I have told you that Buhari is the product of more than just the APC. He is the product of Nigerians, irrespective of party affiliations. By the grace of God you will see what will happen. Oshiomhole was my friend and I had confidence in him. Today, I can say he is my former friend. leader in this country. Nobody in Oyo State has the experience I have working in the Ministry of Communications. I will use information and communication technology to develop Oyo State.
The people of my state deserve the best. Governance should not be dictated by how much money you have. It must be by those who can take the state to the next level. I am working to ensure that my president is re-elected and for justice to prevail within the party. I know that at the appropriate time, those who seek to frustrate me now will themselves be frustrated.
Do you have confidence that the Oshiomhole-led APC would deliver for President Buhari?
I have told you that Buhari is the product of more than just the APC. He is the product of Nigerians, irrespective of party affiliations. By the grace of God you will see what will happen. Oshiomhole was my friend and I had confidence in him. Today, I can say he is my former friend.
Why is it difficult for Buhari to bring the warring parties together?
Buhari is the leader of the party, but that position does not confer any extra- ordinary power on him. He does not want to be a dictator. You would recall that with Olusegun Obasanjo as president, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP became a toothless bulldog. It was Obasanjo who was calling the shots and ensured that the NEC was under his jackboot. That was a violation of the democratic credentials of political parties. So, Buhari, as a symbolic leader, has no role in the constitution of the party to overrule what the NEC of the party decides.
You must understand that Buhari was also an aspirant like the rest of us. As an aspirant in a clime, you have to be very careful in dealing with some executives of the party, who might even jump boat and embarrass you. I don’t blame him because I know that he sympathises with those of us who have been unfairly treated. He has been giving the moral support he needed to give. I don’t believe that in trying to nurture a better political party, Buhari could have dictated or insisted on a particular course of action. To have done that would have meant putting himself above the national executive. As things are now, if anything goes wrong, he would be exonerated from blame and the NEC would have to take the blame for whatever befalls the party.