Historically, no government is as hopeless as Tinubu’s – Sen. Owie

Senator Roland Owie, a former Chief Whip in the Senate is a notable leader of African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Edo state. He spoke exclusively to TITUS AKHIGBE, South South Regional Editor on the alleged attack of ADC supporters in Edo State, the controversial endorsement of Rotimi Amaechi by South South leaders of ADC for 2027 Presidency as well as the Tinubu administration since 2023.

Excerpts:

We heard that you were locked out of a meeting called by the national leader of the ADC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and you’re a leader of the party in Edo South. What actually happened?

Nothing. We have settled it. I think the list that was to be used was sidelines; other people brought a different list. Oyegun is a good man, easy going civil servant. We have sorted it out.

Is there any faction in ADC?

No, there’s none.

Again, we learnt that ADC members were attacked. Who do you think carried out the attack?

 It’s not hidden; it was APC. What happened was that my in-law, Peter Obi and our son, Olumide Akpata were going to defect formally from the LP to the ADC. If you recall, his uncle, late Senator Olu Akpata, we were together in the National Assembly in 1979. He was a senator while I was in the House of Representatives. So, he and Peter Obi came. I was the one speaking when the state chairman of the party, Kennedy Odion whispered to me to shorten my speech as the DSS had just informed him that APC thugs are coming to attack us at the airport. I quickly rounded up, sang a song and did a closing prayer. Everybody started running away; less than 20 minutes, we came down. Peter Obi) asked me if I would follow him to the airport but I told him no, because we are in the Lenten period. He said they would be going through Oyegun’s house before heading to the airport. We just came down and in less than 20 minutes they’ve attacked our secretariat. A lot of them later followed Obi to Oyegun’s house. It’s clear they thought they could use the previous day’s encounter to cover this up.

The mistake we made, like I told the state chairman was that we are not hooligans in the ADC. May be, we ought to have applied for police permission, even when we are holding our normal meetings. So when the South South was holding a meeting in Oyegun’s house a few days ago, we had to apply. The whole road was actually blocked. We have been taught a lesson by the APC, who don’t believe in goodness and principles.  They’re the ones.

ADC is the major opposition party now, do you think you people can really upstage the Tinubu -led APC?

The Benin people have a proverb that the person that is crying is still seeing the road. There’s no government as hopeless as this regime. You’ve been in this country. UPN (Unity Party of Nigeria) was in control of five states. Today, the impact of UPN in government has not been able to be erased…free education, free health. We were paying Grade 2 teachers who were doing NCE very well. Rural schools were staffed. There were staff quarters. We were paying rural allowance. Today, when Governor Obaseki came, he was talking about tablets. Teachers no longer write lesson notes. I have been a teacher. When you’re writing your lesson notes, you’re teaching yourself. But they came and said tablet. We set up this authority in the whole of Midwest Region. In the village this authority that was set up in each ward ensured that in each village, there were units of boys. Their duty was to ensure that if a visitor enters the village in the morning and they sight him, they would go to the landlord to write his name down. When he leaves, they will cancel his name on the list. Do you know that if we had maintained that style, there won’t be kidnapping?

Today, in all the rural areas in Edo State for instance, nothing is happening. The schools are not staffed, no teachers. Obaseki came and it became worse. The truth is there’s no governance here. Let’s face it. Since APC came into government…the very day my colleague (President Tinubu) came, he abolished fuel subsidy. So the money that was meant for fuel subsidy should have gone into other areas of development. Today, you can’t find it. For the first time in the history of Nigeria, it was the only year that the budget was not implemented (2025). But he borrowed four times during the year. Where’s the money going to when budget was not implemented? A crucial ministry, Ministry of Health, budgeted over ₦200bn for capital projects but he gave them less than ₦34million. The Minister addressed a press conference. You saw it. Is that a nation?

He (Tinubu) has exited himself at the Villa from NEPA (public power supply) to solar. I heard that they used over N10bn to build solar in the Villa. If you recall when there was argument between Abraham and God over the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, God said if ‘I can find a hundred or eighty people, he kept counting to five people, I will not destroy it’. But he couldn’t find. Thus Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed. Do you know why it happened? Four years, before that time, there was no new born in Sodom and Gomorrah.

Today, there’s no time you won’t find about thirty new born babies across Nigeria. That’s what has been saving us, not ourselves. The nation is ruined. Go to the North and see. If you see suffering there? You will marvel. Before now…my wife, your mother, my sister etc can put a small table in front of the house and put small items on it. Before evening, they would be able to make ₦500. She goes to the market with that and cook small food for the family. But it’s not like that anymore. The husband with 10 wives is sitting at home. The poor children have gone out to go and beg for food. Nigeria is ruined.

Then you say that you are a democrat. You are the President of Nigeria. For 2025 you did not implement budget. You borrowed four times. Where’s the savings that was made from fuel subsidy removal? Whatever…Buhari continued with fuel subsidy. Nigerians were comfortable. They can buy. From here to my village used to be ₦7,000 to buy fuel then, but now it’s a minimum of N30,000. Parents are suffering, children are suffering.

We understand that ADC South South leaders endorsed Hon. Rotimi Amaechi for the party’s presidential ticket in 2027 at the expense of Peter Obi?

Let me tell you. We don’t owe Peter Obi any obligation in Edo. We don’t owe any political figure any obligation when you said at the expense of Peter Obi. What I am saying is that nobody endorsed Amaechi. I was at the meeting throughout. Amaechi is my friend, we are both Catholics. We relate well. He came and said he heard that we’re doing a South South meeting. He came to inform us that he will be running for Presidency. We said “okay, we wish you luck. Other people will come and talk to us”. I don’t know how the press now said we endorsed Amaechi. Nothing like that happened. He is my friend. I spoke to him yesterday. “Nobody endorsed you. You’re aware.” He responded that he didn’t say anything like that.

The governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has said that he will garner 3.5 million votes for President Tinubu in 2027. Is that possible?

Well, maybe he knows that it’s not possible for him, that’s why he is doing overhead bridge at Adesuwa Road that has no direction. Well, Ikpoba Hill overheard bridge is manageable. Are there engineers now in the Ministry of Works or there is none? How do you do overhead bridge in Adesuwa Road? Where’s the bridge going to?  The truth is I don’t know where he’s going to get the votes he is talking about. He is from Edo Central. Before he came, kidnapping was not common in Edo Central. It was common in Edo South and Edo North around Akoko Edo. But since he came, they have had much kidnapping in Edo Central. If I meet him, I will ask him “my pikin na you bring kidnapping to Edo Central?”

In a sane society, how can somebody open his eyes and vote APC? What advantage have we had since APC came? Is it scholarship? Instead, they brought loan into universities. I don’t know how they do it. In 1979 and 1983, the five UPN-controlled states were doing free health, free education, full employment, integrated rural development etc. The first year, we sent 1,020 Bendelites to America on scholarship. 1000 to UK on scholarship. We were paying Grade 2 teachers who were doing NCE handsomely every month. They were not paying. We were paying for you to come for NCE. All our schools in Bendel had staff quarters. But today, Obaseki came, he killed the school more. Instead of teachers writing lesson notes, you gave them tablets. He came and all the schools were not staffed. He contributed to the killing of Edo State.