‘Poll will be massive victory for Omisore’

There have been allegations and counter allegations by the PDP and APC ahead of the Osun state gubernatorial poll. What does this suggest?
Elections all over the world are often contentious. The only problem here is that most of the issues raised by political parties ahead of elections lack factual basis. For example in the case of Osun, we’ve heard all manner of allegations from the APC about plans to rig the elections. They even went to court asking that the president be restrained from deploying troops for the election. This appears to me as very mischievous. Historical facts have shown that one of the methods politicians use to subvert the electoral process is massive violence. This is why many decent people run away from politics. More than 10 youth corps members were killed by political thugs during the last general elections. But from our experience in recent elections in Ondo, Edo and Ekiti States, the deployment of soldiers has helped keep thugs and hoodlums away from pooling booths. In 2011 when the then ACN won all elective offices, soldiers were deployed. So, if they don’t intend to perpetrate violence now, there should be no cry about that. I expect all stakeholders to cooperate with the INEC and security personnel to ensure hitch free polls on Saturday.
The two major political parties have been pulling large crowds in their rallies, does this suggest a tight race?
Definitely no. We, politicians, know ourselves. The crowd you see at PDP rallies, unlike those in APC, are registered voters in localities where campaigns were held. We didn’t allow people even from neighbouring local governments to attend rallies in other local governments. So, that is the crowd you can reckon with as a determinant factor on the election day. I was amused each time I see hundreds of buses moving people from one senatorial district to another during APC rallies so they ended up addressing the same crowd all over. That is self deception. The only rally of the PDP that brought people together from different zones was the grand finale addressed by Mr. President last Saturday and the whole crowd you saw there are people from Osun. When the APC held its own, there were hundreds of buses with Lagos State colour ferrying people to the state. Will these people vote on the election day? This election will not be a close call at all.  It’ll be a massive victory for the PDP.
Why are you so confident that the PDP candidate will defeat an incumbent?
When Aregbesola came in 2010, some of us thought that his supposedly Marxist background would give us a people-friendly government that will set a new standard in public service. Sadly, the opposite is the case. He has inflicted the most vicious pain on the masses of Osun. Talk to the traders, artisans, teachers , public servants and pensioners in the state and all you hear are tales of agony, denials of rights, destruction of means of livelihood without compensation, breach of trusts and dashed hopes.
Could you substantiate these?
Let’s start from education. You promised to make school uniforms free. You gave pupils the first set and insisted that they must buy subsequent ones from a single vendor at a cost that is five hundred percent above what these poor parents used in kitting their kids. You took bulldozers to school buildings constructed by your predecessor on the pretext that you were going to build new modern ones. Three years down the line, pupils are crammed in classrooms without the new ones. In my own local government of Egbedore, no single block of classroom has been constructed in four years. You merged schools, forcing pupils to travel 10 to 20 kilometres to get to schools. You promised to increase bursaries and students gave you very loud ovation. Three years after, you refused to implement. He promised in April 2011 that the Osogbo-Iwo road would be dualised, go there now and see the state of that road. Rather than do that, he embarked on federal roads which have not reached even 10 percent completion. The economic well being of the average person in the state today is worse than it was four years ago as a result of the anti-people policies of this administration. I was in Agaa community in Iddo Osun a few days ago. One of the transformers our government installed in 2008 had a fault and the local government hasn’t fixed it. That part of the community has been in darkness in four months. I can’t blame the local authorities because the state government sits on their statutory allocation and gives them paltry sums quarterly. Go to any local government today in Osun State, you’ll think you’re in a graveyard! And this is the government of first recourse for the rural folks.
So, how will your party make a difference if elected?
The party has launched a manifestos which its candidate, Senator iyiola Omisore ,will clinically implement. It is an agenda of restoration. It is a programme to restore the dignity of the people of Osun and get the state moving again. The new government which will be coming into office by the grace of God in November will create jobs for our teeming youths using the ICT as a tool of genuine empowerment. It won’t ask graduates to be sweeping streets for a pittance which is not even being paid as and when due. We’ll reform the school system and abolish the present rudderless policy. Education is not a state commercial venture. It is a tool for socio-cultural and economic empowerment. We’ll assist farmers to access low interest loans and empower them with improved seedlings and mechanisation. Otunba Omisore is a certified engineer with specialty in public-private partnership and so he is in a position to attract investors into the agricultural and manufacturing sectors as the surest means of job creation and development. The PDP will restore the functionality of the local government system and allow those saddled with responsibilities at that level of government to properly function.