Hon. Femi Adekanmbi, a one-time candidate for the House of Representatives in Ondo State has seen the rough side of politics. He told the nation at the weekend that he had been kidnapped and shot at several times.
Adekanmbi, a chieftain of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the state, has, however, vowed to put the ordeals behind him and work towards unseating the Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olufemi Mimiko of the Labour Party. He claimed that Mimiko had not performed, adding that the ACN candidate, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu would force the governor out of Alagbaka, the Governor’s House in Akure.
“I am no longer a novice in the Ondo state elections. This coming gubernatorial election will not favour the incumbent Governor Mimiko, but the ACN, under Akeredolu who has the potentialities to lead the state to El dorado,” he said.
“I am being wooed to back to the Labour Party I had dumped, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is also calling me to come but I refused, seeing the way the two parties are playing politics which is different from that of the civilized ACN. I have been vilified, hunted like an animal but politics is not what is fetching me money; rather, I am spending money on it. I have my business that I use to sustain the family. I don’t make politics a do or die affair. After losing the election, I was advised to go to Court but I said no, I went to church to thank God.”
He further said: “ACN is a good party with egg-heads and technocrats. If you look at Ondo state politics, it is entirely different from the way others are playing politics in Nigeria because the state believes in integrity, and hence, believes in Akeredolu. If you look at the state over the years you will see that the state is not doing well. The performance of the state and local government is below expectation, as the state government has been blowing the trumpets that they are performing, but this is only on paper.
“How would you expect the state government to be building markets and motor parks, which are the primary functions of the local government? Apart from that, Ondo state is a state that believes in one term only .I remember Mimiko was once against the late Baba Ajasin’s second term; he was against Adefarati era; he came to join Dr. Olusegun Agagu, and he once said it on NTA that he was going for only one term. I am attacked by the Labour Party in a daily basis because of my support for a good party, ACN. They are after my life but, for goodness sake, I am not the issue in Ondo state.”
Further narrating his experience in the hands of political thugs, he said: “I was once kidnapped and shot at many times. Not only that, guns and ammunition were also deposited in my compound to frame me up. Recently, Indian hemp was deposited in my compound in Owo in order to cow me and make me kowtow and force me out of politics, yet I remain undeterred,” he continued, adding: “I am in ACN and I have told PDP people that I cannot leave the ACN. I did not join the ACN because of my pocket or what I want to eat. I joined politics because of Ondo State people who are suffering, and it is very important for me to support Akeredolu (Aketi), a former commissioner, an Ondo state man who has an excellent record and also from Owo where the post is zoned to.”
He spoke further on the coming election in the state: “Nobody is really asking Mimiko to come for second term. If you are talking about performance, he has not performed; you cannot tell us that the water fountain construction that was constructed for about N12 to N15 million which is put for N250 million is right. I am into construction and I know how much this costs. This is when a lot of people are hungry and don’t have jobs in the state and you are talking about water fountain, which is uncalled for. In Edo state, Adams Oshiomhole created a lot of jobs for youths. He constructed roads and people could see them, but look at Ondo State that has got up to N60 billion and cannot tell us what they did with the money. The Labour Party in Ondo state has made us believe in the government of building market, motor parks and water fountain. What we need in Ondo state is infrastructure – good roads, potable water, good shelter and food. When you see the condition of Ondo state people you feel sad. Each time I go to Ondo state I see people begging for N100 to buy food, this is sad; but I can assure you that ACN has come to solve all these problems and will make sure the state reaches higher heights.”
Speaking on Dr. Olu Agunloye’s defection to the Labour Party, he said: “As at the time Dr. Olu Agunloye was leaving, I gave him my advice that Mimiko would mess him up. You can see what is happening today; he is being messed up. I advised him not to leave our party, ACN. Saka Lawal is a very nice, young man and he is articulate and matured. He has his own mind but since he left we have no choice than to accept. We that are bona fide ACN members are sure that ACN in Ondo state will eventually emerge the winner in October election.
On President Goodluck Jonathan, Adekanmbi argued that Jonathan will eventually be the best president in the country. Jonathan is on that throne not by power but by the grace of God. He has good, wise, bureaucratic people that can perform and working for him. He did not start Nigeria problems, Nigeria problems started long time ago and he has come to assist in putting them right. They cannot be eradicated within one year or two years and these are things we need to know.”
