JAYEOLA Ajatta, former member of the House of Representatives for Oshodi-Isolo Federal Constituency II in Lagos State, has joined the governorship race in Ondo State on the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Ajatta, at a media chat in Lagos, boasted that ACN would upstage the Labour Party (LP) government at the 2013 governorship election. SEYE OLUMIDE was there and reports.At 72, years you are still nursing ambition of becoming a governor. Bearing in mind the responsibilities that come with the office of the governor, do you think that you can cope with these tasks if you are elected'Age is not a barrier for anybody who wants to serve. Productivity is in my body and I have demonstrated it on several occasions, as a lawmaker that served for two-terms.I am healthy and I know I can cope with the challenges that come with the office of a governor.I spent the last eight years in the National Assembly and have also worked outside the National Assembly. So, by the grace of God, I know I have the strength to cope.After spending eight years in the National Assembly, why do you want to be governor'It is service; I have always been serving, including in my hometown.I have also been serving people since I went into politics. So, it is evident that I love to serve. While in the National Assembly, the projects I brought to my constituency are there to show for my service.So, after leaving the National Assembly, my major drive is to serve.Considering the performance of Governor Olusegun Mimiko, do you think you have what it takes to upstage him'It is evident by what is happening now in Ondo State that people want change. Before Mimiko came to power, people were no longer happy with then governor, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, and so they were looking for an alternative. Because they didn't want Agagu any longer, the people did not even look at the person they were voting for; they voted for him massively. Some people spent their own monies to ensure that he got to that position.But having got there, he has disappointed a lot of people; he made a lot of promises that he has not fulfilled. Therefore, people are not happy at the moment with him. People say they worked for him, but let them down and so they are looking for a better party and they have seen a better party, which is ACN.If you see the way people are trooping into ACN in the state now, you will know that it is not a joke. Whether it is me or somebody else that emerges, what is important is that ACN will form the next government in Ondo State.He didn't have the power to win the election or the court case he instituted. But ACN, through Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, our leader, supported him. After winning the case, we would have thought that he would work with ACN, but that was the time he felt that he could go independently and therefore, he abandoned ACN.We believe that is not right and people are unhappy with him, which is why people now feel that if he refuses to go to ACN, they will come to ACN.That was why the state LP chairman, Dr. Olaiya Oni, resigned and joined ACN. Now, more people are coming to ACN.Mimiko has failed and people believe they cannot continue to follow him. That is why I believe that irrespective of the power of money and incumbency, ACN will win.What difference can you make in the state from what Mimiko has done'The first one is to look at the issue of unemployment. A number of the people of Ondo State, who had graduated from universities, are unemployed. That is why tackling unemployment will be my first priority, to see how we can accommodate these unemployed people.I also have plans to improve education and agriculture in Ondo State. Our people have been practising agriculture with cutlass and hoes for many years, but ii is time that we provided them with mechanised agricultural implements.We want to harness the natural resources in Ondo State.Also, I want to boost the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state. But even the one we get, how are we spending the money and the one we get as federal allocation'What are your chances of picking the ticket'We have worked very hard and that is why I believe ACN should be strong in Ondo State. At the moment, I have not even thought of picking the ticket, because the time has not come. We are currently mobilising for the party. And I have started mobilising for this party; we have been improving on the structures that we met in the state.So, we are working and mobilising people. I know that ACN knows that I have been working hard and it has encouraged me to continue to work for the party in Ondo State. Some have come to join us and I believe that the voice of the people will be upheld.I believe ACN will produce the governor of Ondo State from the next election.What is your reaction to allegations that ACN enjoys using propaganda and violence'If you talk of propaganda, I have not been talking to the press, rather I have been going to the people, telling them the reason they should come to ACN. So, how could I have been using propaganda'Some people can go and do propaganda, but it is not what we like to do.Again, in ACN, we don't like violence. I particularly don't like people fighting. By the time the election will come, people will see what we have done.But if ACN is on ground in Ondo State, why didn't it make any impact in the National Assembly election held in the state in April'Yes, Labour Party came first followed by PDP and we came third. But we have put ourselves together again.The challenge for us now is to mobilise and we are doing it. So, nothing is stopping us. I had particularly gone to ACN headquarters. I had gone to nearly all the wards in Ondo State. I have encouraged them and told our people to tell others to come in. I told ACN members to bring at least 10 people each.We had gone to local governments and saw gatherings of people that were not of ACN and they were happy to see us. They clapped. We had seen people coming to us shouting ACN, picking our handbills and waving our brooms. They believe in ACN. They have seen that ACN governor in Lagos is the best in Nigeria. They have seen people coming from abroad to hail our governor that he is the most active in Africa.So, I have seen no reason we should not believe in what we do because we told them about ACN and they were happy that ACN will form the next government in Ondo Stat
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