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A member of the Ogun State Local Government Service Commission, Hon. Oluwasesan Abolaji Fagbayi has scored the Chairmanship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government, Hon. Sheriff Musa high.
Fagbayi said in this exclusive interview that the youthfulness and experience of Musa are enough for the development of the highly industrialized local government. Excerpts...
Can you introduce yourself to us sir?
My name is Hon. Oluwasesan Abolaji Fagbayi. I am a member of the Ogun State Local Government Service Commission, full time Commissioner 3.
We understand that the LG election is coming up in the next few days and the APC has chosen Hon. Sheriff Musa as the candidate of the party for Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government, what do you know about him?
Hon. Sheriff Musa is a young man with vision. He is someone I have known for many years. We have been in the same political group since 2015. He is a very humble man, very nice, respectful and very committed to the party. He is also very loyal to the party and he is very responsible.
Do you think he will be able to deliver on his mandate if given the opportunity to rule this local government?
This is what we have bee saying that the law on “Not Too Young To Rule” must be allowed to operate. When we want to compare the ages of those who have ruled this local government in the past, may be we will see him as number two or number one in terms of young age. If you don’t give them an opportunity, you would not know their capabilities or what they are up to or what they can put on the table. He has excelled in his chosen field as a banker and we believe that if we translate the experience he has got in the private sector he will deliver.
From your point of view and if given a free hand to operate, which areas do you think he should concentrate on?
It will be hard for me to say he should concentrate on road, health or any other area. It depends on availability of funds. I belong to that area of government, with my present position in the Local Government Service Commission, we oversee the administrative aspects of the 20 local governments in the state. You know, due to the paucity of funds that affects every area in the country, his area of concentration would depend on his agenda and vision. If he decides to say he is concentrating on road rehabilitation because he cannot construct, he can only maintain or he wants to concentrate on education or any other thing, it depends on what is available for him to work. That is what will drive him into executing his own agenda.
Agreed that he would have to make do with what is available for him, but we believe that Ado-Odo/Ota is one of the most robust local governments in Ogun State that can meet up with some LGs, even in Lagos State. So, it seems he should work on his IGR or what do you think?
Oh yes, number one, Ado-Odo/Ota is one of the best local governments in terms of IGR and IGR drive. I have seen some of their data, they are really trying. But there is no amount of IGR that he will generate, he cannot concentrate on one sector. Remember that the IGR is also from our party loyalists, and sometimes we need to be very fair to them in pushing them in terms of getting something from them. But I believe that the Governor will open his arms to them better than the caretaker committees. You know they would be elected unlike the caretaker committees. There would be a difference about how the government will deal with them, but I know that Ado-Odo/Ota will excel.
There are fears in some quarters that the previous government took all IGR to Abeokuta and they now allocated some money to the councils. Do you think the trend would continue or Prince Dapo Abiodun will chart a new course?
His Excellency, the Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun (MFR) is a responsive Governor, he listens and he is a Governor that does not want to follow some of the things that his predecessors did and say that IGR should be taken to the state. Discussions are ongoing so that some of the IGR that have been take would be given back to them. But all these things are being worked on by the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and by the time they come in as Chief Executive Officers of the local governments, most of these things would be addressed. Our Governor is a listening person that is ready to do what will make them to succeed.
Do you think the APC can match the PDP in terms of money and other factors in the forthcoming local government election in the state?
Well, I won’t go to the route of money for money, but we have God. We are all living witnesses to what happened in 2019. We don’t have money, we don’t have the resources, but we have God and He is there for us. God delivered for us then. I don’t see the people in the PDP we are talking about. We have Gboyega Nasir Isiaka (GNI), we have Otunba Gbenga Daniel, we have Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole in the APC. The camp of the late Kashamu Buruji is in APC. So, who are we talking about, is it Hon. Ladi Adebutu (Lado) that is outside the APC. Let them come, it is free for everybody, but we will make sure that we do our best to deliver Ado-Odo/Ota for the APC on July 24.
Do you think that Hon. Sheriff Musa would be the next Chairman of Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government?
By the grace of God, we will win in a high way with responsible winning.
What advice do you want to give the members of the APC in the local government?
It is for us to be patient with the Governor. He is trying, look at the meeting we just had. He has a lot of visions for the state. He has a lot of passion for the state and like I said, there are serious fund challenges that he is still coping with. You can see so many things that are happening in other states, where they are reversing the minimum wage, but he stood his ground that no, these are my people, I will not do that. He also has right to say that he didn’t have the capacity that he wants to reverse it, but he didn’t. He has really tried within two years of governance in the state. He has done so man things, but we should give him more time.
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