Sunday Adepoju represents Ido/Ibarapa federal constituency in the House of Representatives. In this interview with SAKIN BABALOLA, the lawmaker spoke on various issues including his views on the pension fund scam, the achievements of the ACN governors and the possibility of reviving the rail transport system in Nigeria.
As a lawmaker who hails from the South-West on the platform of ACN, many of you did not see the need to vote for Hon. Mulikat Adeola Akande the present Majority Leader of the House. If you had voted for her, she would have been the Speaker which was clinched by Tambuwal. What informed your hard line position?
Thank you. Akande is a very brilliant and articulate Lawmaker. We are seeing that in her now. But we did not vote on sentiment. Those who sponsored her, people like the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo and others have nothing to show the Yoruba for their leadership. They cannot impose their candidate on us.
Do you see Aminu Tambuwal living up to expectations?
Oh Yes. He does not allow his party leaning to influence our oversight function in the House. The Speaker is very frank, transparent and patriotic. The Speaker does not sell out the House to the Executive.
Different views have been expressed about the debate on Sovereign National Conference and with a consensus view in the National Assembly that it is irrelevant. What is your personal position?
Whether we call it Sovereign National Conference or just National Conference or whatever name we adopt, I support it. Lawmakers in the NASS cannot solve the identifiable problems of Nigeria which prompted the advocacy for SNC. Nigerians should be able to sit down and address our problems. Anybody saying NASS can solve them is joking. One question is to ask how many members rightly got to the house. Many PDP Lawmakers got there fraudulently. They know these themselves. But PDP is in the majority; its members will not allow it to work. I see nothing wrong in convening SNC. Nigeria will not break.
What is your reaction to the virus called corruption in the country? The pension fund saga and the concept of plea bargain?
The issue of the pension fund scam is barbaric and ungodly on the part of those stealing pensioners money, money which was supposed to be paid to those who had served their country for decades but was kept in banks by cabals. A large part was misappropriated. The internal control in the organization is weak. God will deal with the perpetrators. What is worsening the issue of corruption in this country is this concept of plea bargaining. For example, how much did people like Igbinedion steal and how much did he return? If the punishment recommended for convicted corrupt public officer is harsh, none of them will go and steal again.
ACN is almost one year in power. Can you sincerely say its governors have lived up to expectations?
We have not absolutely met the expectations of our people. This is because a lot of things have gone bad. You have to put many things in place. But one year is just not enough to do this. You should, however, note that in Oyo State things have changed for better. It is no longer Amala and Gbegiri politics. There is peace. Thugs and hooligans have been check mated. Roads constructed now will be durable not getting washed away after few months. We have departed from the era of NURTW holding the state to ransom. But there is still room for improvement. Lagos state is a benchmark. Our leaders are listening. We advise them and they take corrections where need be.
Transport system is one of the problems confronting us. Much has been said about the plan to revive rail system. What is NASS doing though it is the responsibility of the executive?
I agree with your view that rail system would ease our transport problem. But unfortunately most of those who did not want it to work are the cabals in the ruling party, the PDP. Most of those benefiting from its failure would not allow that sector to work. The PDP chieftains are afraid of taking the bull by the horns. I know that many of us did not vote for them and they prefer that the country should continue spending fortunes on the road repairs. God will touch their hearts. The PDP will be voted out in 2015.
As the saying goes, Charity begins at home. How have you impacted on the lives of the people of your Constituency?
I am going to give the people the best and we have started just doing that. The people of Ibarapa/Ido believe in me and Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s administration and the ACN agenda. We are going to transform the society. I am a public service oriented person. I have sunk 40 deep wells for my people. I made N500, 000 revolving loans available for youth empowerment. I also have elderly allowances to ameliorate the problems of our people.
