WHY AKURE NORTH/SOUTH BYE-ELECTION MAY FAVOUR BABTUNDE FARO-ANALYSTS
The vacant seat of Akure North/South Federal Constituency at Lower Chamber of National Assembly following the demised of Hon. Adedyo Omolafe, popularly known as EXPENSIVE is being contested by over 20 different aspirants from different political parties in Ondo State.
National Assembly officially declare Omolafe’s seat vacant on November 16, 2021 after two months of his death to give room for Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct bye-election to fill the position.
The leadership of PDP in Ondo State has said that the party is awaiting INEC guideline on the modality of the choice of the party candidate.
“Since this is not a general election. We need to wait for the INEC on how to make choice of our candidate whether through concession or primary, but all we know is that PDP will produce correct candidate that is going to win the bye-election.
Of all the aspirants vying for the membership of National Babatunde Faro was described as a man of special breed and of a large heart with competence, courage and impeccable character.
According to them: “Faro is ever ready to serve. He is prepared and focused on the task ahead of him .
“He is bold, brave, courageous and audacious to continue, facilitate and influence needed developmental projects that will lift our Federal Constituency out from the current state.
“Babatunde Faro is hospitable, generous and transparent. He is intelligent and humble, a very brave man who knows where and how to lobby the Federal Government in achieving our collective Community Development.
“If Babatunde Faro is given a chance to represent Akure North/South Constituency, we are going to be rest assured that Akure Federal Constituency will experience a positive change we all demand for.
“If people Akure North/ South need good representation Babatunde Faro is the answer .His type is all we need to represent us and continue the good legacy of the past 2 years.
I WILL BRING RAPID DEVELOPMENT TO SOUTH/NORTH -FARO
Mr. Babatunde Emmanuel Faro is a native of Akure, in Akure South Local Government Areas of Ondo State. He is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) and one of the leading aspirants vying for Member House of Representatives to represent Akure North/South in the upcoming bye election to fill the vacant seat. In this interview with ALABA ALIU of The Democrat News Magazine, he spoke about his political activities and why he is the best for the job and many woes that have been bedeviling Nigeria economy among other sundry issues.
Excerpts:
PEOPLE BELIEVE YOU ARE A GREENHORN IN POLITICS. CAN
YOU PLEASE SHARE YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN POLITICS UP TILL DATE?
This is the first time I am coming out to vie for a position but I
have been in politics for about 5 years now. I believe there
must first be a foundation and so for the last 5 years as a
member of the PDP, I have been learning the ropes. In those 5
years, I was also in the private sector in the financial
institution. I decided to come out now because I know that I
have gotten the required experience. I was actually supposed
to run for the House of Representative seat in 2019 but after
due consultation, I stepped down the idea because of the
ambition of late Omolafe Adedayo. If you follow some of my
activities on Faceboook in the last 6 months, you will see that
there is a leaning that something might come up in 2023 but
when this sudden death happened, we had to consult again.
For me, political office is about service and it has nothing to
do with being in office for 15 years or more but the core of
political office should be empathy, wanting to help the people
and adding value. In the last few years, I can boldy say that I
have gotten the required knowledge and exposure to occupy
this position.
IF GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE THE PEOPLE – WHAT ARE YOUR FOCAL POINTS AGENDA?
The fundamental objective for this is that Akure North/South
which is probably the biggest in the state with an estimated
population of 1.5million people in 23 wards, is yearning for a
lot of government intervention. We are fortunate to be a state
capital so most of the government project is domiciled here
and what comes with that is the issue of population density.
The state government is doing the little it can do but in truth,
we need something drastic. Our infrastructures are decaying,
the cities are turning into slums and we are bombarded with
erosion issues starting from Ayedun to Isolo and coming to
bars of Ala, some months back, we saw the massive flooding
that happened. We have issues with our roads. Just take a
look at Akure-Ikere dualization – what is the percentage of
implementation on this because the funding required for that
project is not coming. So, we need lots of pressure groups to
ensure that government implements it. An average Akure home
enjoys power supply between 4-7 hours a day. Why is it so?
One of the issues is that of the sub-station that has not been
completed after 6-7 years. I have lived in Abuja for 13 years
and I know all the nooks and crannies of power and I have the
drive to make things work. It does not have to necessarily be
a superman doing everything but I will work to energize the
base of our people. We need the contacts of our people all
over the world to see how we can develop our community.
The time is short and I think I have the know-how to deliver. It
is not about money. I have said it in different fora, I dont
intend to take a dime from every money that is paid,
everything will go to the people. How to energize our people to
drive a change in this place will be one of our missions.
WHY THE CHOICE OF PDP TO ACTUALIZE YOUR NOBLE VISION OF AKURE SOUTH AND NORTH DESPITE OTHER BETTER POLITICAL PARTY?
I have been a member of PDP for a while and let’s look at it
really, PDP had left power since 2015 and if I may ask, which
of the party fairly has the spread and listens to the people?
Looking again at the peculiarity of Akure South/North and if
you flash back to the last 4 elections done in this city, despite
federal and state government influence, PDP won the seat.
This constituency no doubt is a stronghold of the PDP. When
you also look at internal mechanism where leaders and
candidate emerges, I feel PDP is the best platform for now.
A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE THIS IMPRESSION THAT YOU ARE AN ELITE HOW
DO YOU INTEND TO WORK WITH PEOPLE AT THE GRASSROOTS?
I was born here and I grew up here. I had my primary
education at Bishop Hughes and my secondary school at St.
Thomas Aquinas. In this same city, I have sold kulikuli and at
Iloro market, I sold beans and so, I can tell you categorically
that I understand the problem of our people. I may not have a
thousand people following me openly but I have the
followership. I often tell my people to calm down so we can
listen to the people without the usual noise. I know that
leadership will emerge and by the time the real campaign
start, people will see the followership. Or how do you explain
in a city of 1.5 million people with a youthful population of
70% why we cant have youthful representation! I tell you,
people will listen and they will join the movement when the
time comes. I am just a symbol of this movement. A lot of
young vibrant brilliant people will emerge and I am doing this
to energize them that it is possible to be youthful and aspire
for a leadership position. You dont have to be 70 years to
aspire for office or to have been running for 10 to 15 years.
The critical element you need in leadership is empathy, love
and a listening ear. Once you have that, please come out and
attempt.
MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT WITHOUT A GODFATHER IN POLITICS, YOU
CANNOT ATTAIN CERTAIN HEIGHTS – WHAT CONFIDENCE DO YOU HAVE
THAT YOU WILL GET THE TICKET OF THIS PARTY?
I have over a thousand godfathers, as every leader of the party
is my godfather. I believe in the supremacy of the people.
Nobody is bringing me from somewhere to come and impose
me on the people. As I talking with the leaders, I am talking
with the delegates and those in the state executives as well as
ordinary party members. I believe that nobody should be left
behind. All of us are too important in the process because at
the end of the day, all the joints will come together. I give
kudos to the leadership of the party because they have held
the party together over time. They have been a symbol of hope
and provided fatherly support and guidance. Power absolutely
comes from God and he gives to whoever he wishes and
enthrones and dethrones, so I believe in the supremacy of
God.
But my own philosophy will be to take the message of hope to
the people and I believe our people are yearning for something
different. Have you ever imagined a legislator that everyone
can reach by SMS, phone call or twitter and in 24 hours get a
response. A legislator that is vibrant, that you can be proud of!
A legislator that understands the problem of the people and
that has a clear road map. We are not going to solve all the
troubles in one day but we will take it one day at a time. I can
assure you that the party people are listening and they are
observing and making decisions. I know that at the right time,
I will emerge and even if – which I know is not going to
happen, we will all come together as a party and support
whoever emerges.
AS AN EXPERT, WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY OF NIGERIA?
Let’s face it – the issues are many. Is it inflation, debt ceiling,
exchange rate, rising unemployment figure, poverty index
among others but what I want to say is this- we can not only
rely on government to fix this problem. It is going to be all of
governments approach and all of citizens approach. Nigeria
had a GDP of about $400billion and when you take that to
Naira, we are looking at a GDP of about 200trillion. FGs budget
for next year is 16.4trillion and by the time you add states
maybe you have another 3trillion and the MDAs anther 10
trillions. All spending next year should be about less than
35trillion. The truth is that the engine room of the economy is
the private sector. MTN sales alone in 2020 was in excess of 1
trillion same with Dangote. We need individuals to scale up to
create more jobs. If for instance your company can with a little
injection of funds, employ more, then that will go a long way.
We also need to reduce our penchant for foreign goods – that
is how we can help this economy. I know it is tough now but
let us keep the faith; things will get better, by the special grace of God.