 Welcome back to Silver Breakfast and Plus TV Africa, now it's our first major conversation of just as the Oshun State APC is about to hold its primary election in the state this Saturday. The internal wrangling in the state is far from over as the former governor of the state, Agbeni Rauf Arabeshola, and incumbent governor, Boyga Oyetola, are at loggerhead Saturday battle for supremacy and control of the APC in the state. There have been accusations from both sides against each other, but joining us now to make some sense of this and to get to the bottom of this is Ismail Omipidon, who is a chief press secretary to the governor, Oyetola. He's joining us right now from Oshun State capital. Good morning to you, Ismail Omipidon. Thanks for joining us. Good morning, the pleasure is mine. All right, fantastic. Just give us a sense of what's been happening, especially from your side as spokesman of a governor. Well, thank you. Let me say that I listen very well to some of the claims made by the former commissioner in the state, who is also priding himself as the secretary of a supposed splinter group within the APC, my brother and good friend and a senior colleague, Mr. Lani Baderioka. Let me say with a sense of modesty that governance should not be about individual interest. Governance should be about the interest of the generality of the people. And if you look at what we have done in the last three years, we have proven beyond every reasonable doubt that indeed it was possible to run a state like Oshun with all its challenges in a depressed economy without necessarily inflicting more pains on the people. Each time they speak, they talk about my principal eroding what they call the legacies of his predecessor. And I ask, what are those legacies we are talking about? Are we talking about legacies of half salary? Are we talking about legacies of single uniform? Are we talking about legacies of major schools? What exactly are they talking about? If you look at the reforms we carried out in the education sector, it was never, never targeted at anyone. It was meant to correct the mistakes of the past. In any case, every responsible government must make the demand and aspiration of the people, the center of its policy. In the due doubt to the 2018 election, apart from the issue of half salary, one of the issues that dominated the campaign was the issue of single uniform. And virtually all the aspirants, except Oetola, made it clear during their campaigns, hopefully that they were going to reverse those policies, including a deity that are for my governor's parade in today. The records are there for everybody to see. And for them to have concluded that they were going to reverse that policy, what that meant was that the policy was probably not popular with the people. In any case, when we came in in 2018, apart from the fact that during one of the governorship debates hosted by the channel television, where my principal was put on the spot, as per the issue of single uniform major schools, it tried to defend the policies and it tried to explain the rationale behind the introduction of the policy. But then it was asked pointedly, if you become governor, will you reverse that policy? And what it said was that if indeed the people wanted the policy looked into, that it believes that there's no policy that is cast in iron, that if you become governor and if it's the wish of the people to have a second look at that policy, it will be looking at it. But when it came governor, he embarked on a thank you talk around the state. Apart from the issue of roads that the people were asking for, one of the other things they asked for was a review of that single uniform. Again, there was a citizen needs assessment that was carried out by the UK DFID. Top on the list of the needs of the people of the state was a view of that single uniform. So we now sat down as a government to look at what these issues are. Apart from the issue of security, because for people who may not know, before we came in, the entire schools in Oshoon were using the same uniform. So by equation, you cannot differentiate between school A from school B. That is one. Two, the major of schools meant that schools that were meant for only girls will be attended by boys. So by implication, we had students who are, for example, we have John Mayaki carrying a certificate of gas ice food. So there were a lot of contradictions. And so when we now came in, the first cabinet meeting that was held in November, without prompting, the Ministry of Education came up with about 46 items to be reviewed in the ministry. And top on those lists were this issue of single uniform, major of schools and what have you. Left for the cabinet, they wanted the matter discussed. That's the end of the decision taken. So Mr. Zopno said, no, they let us invite experts to take holistic view at this policy. And that was what led us into setting up the panel led by foremost educationist, Professor Oluwai. That panel had seasoned educationists, including Professor Pai of Bahia. We had former Jam Registrar. We had Professor Bidafu Oubi. We had our head of statesman, the former chief of defense staff, Lieutenant General Alani Akigadi. These were prominent persons who sat on that committee. And at the end of the day, they recommended that one, that it, that Osho cannot be appointed as an island. According to the report of the committee that in the entire 36th of the Federation, Osho was the only state that was operating an education policy that was at variance with that of the federal government. For example, we debated from the 634 system of education, which we all know is the norm all over the country. They went for that to recommend that the media of schools should be, the schools should be damaged, and that schools should begin to put on their old uniform. Let me also add that tech orders, old voice association, even took the government to court over the change of school name and their uniform. So it was the agitation, the demand by the people that these things be looked into. That was what led us into reviewing this thing. Okay. We have to, Mr. Esmal Omipidong, we have to take a break now, not a break, but let's go over and listen to some of the things that were said yesterday by Adela Nibaderewa, who is a secretary of the Osho City APC, though you've said he's parodying himself. And interesting, you've pointed out the fact that these policy changes were not because the current governor or your teller wanted to change or discard his predecessor's policies, but was born out of a consultation, needs assessment, and even things thanks to a setup to analyze and look into, do we keep the 4534 that the former governor brought on board and the single uniform policy or do we change it? But let's go over and take a recap of what the Secretary to the Osho State APC, albeit a faction, like you called it, Adela Nibaderewa, said to us on Plus TV at the breakfast yesterday. I do not think he attacked them. He only stated his own side of the case. Everybody's been saying that, yes, he picked, Ashwaju picked him from the daughter's. And I am aware that this is a man who to a large extent was submit to certain extent before, you know, Ian Bolatino who met. By the time they met, he was contesting for the House of Representatives for a limo chauffeur or constituency when Ashwaju was contesting for the Senate seat for Lagos West. That was where they met under the purview of Chief Daposha Sarumi, who had the primrose group then. And with that, he saw the innate capacity in him. And that was the reason why he, you know, attracted him to his side. I think it would be hard of place for anybody to say that he brought me from the daughter's. I do not think it makes sense. And so he has to state his own side of the case, which he stated very well, you know, that, yes, this is the situation between us. And I didn't see it as an attack. All right. That's the man who we had on the show yesterday. Of course, the Secretary of the APC in Oshun State, Mrs. Malumi Pidong. One of the things he said was that, you know, former Governor Alfa, I specialize not, doesn't have any interest in controlling the state. He just simply feels that as a card carrying member of the All Progressives Congress, he should contribute to the development of the party, not be sidelined. And also, you've addressed the issue of destroying the legacy of the former Governor Alfa Rebeshola. You said that's not true. But how about sidelining Rebeshola? And of course, not giving him a free room to also participate in the activities of the party. You look at the complaints of the Oshun Progressives, right from the ward congresses to local government congresses. And now we have the state congresses. And now we have the primaries of the party holding. What do you say to this allegation of, you know, sidelining such a member of the party who's an important person in the party? Thank you very much. I don't really understand what he meant by sidelining, but I will give one major instance to prove to the whole world that from the one we set out to carry a former Governor along in all that we do. When the party started its liberalization exercise, you can verify whatever I'm saying, even by punching the niche. After President Muhammad Ubarri's liberalization exercise, the next person that had his own done was our leader, Ababa, the former Governor of the state, Chief Bisi Akande. And because the Governor accompanied the delegation from Abuja to Ilah, where Chief Bisi Akande had his liberalization done, the committee also moved with my principal to his country home in Iraq, BG, who had his own liberalization exercise done. After that, we came back to Shubu, the state capital. And by the next day or there about, I wasn't told I was there with my principal. My principal put a call through to our former Governor to inform him that Baba Akande has done his liberalization exercise and that on the day Baba Akande had his, was the same day I had mine, you are the next person we are looking at to have your own done. And we are looking at, was it Monday or Tuesday? I can't remember now. And the next thing the former Governor said was that the day we were proposing was not convenient for him, that he was going to travel with Mr. President Wida Kasina Okadena. I can't remember now. And that from there he was going to go to Quara with the Minister of Information, Lai Muhammad. But that he was going to give my principal 48 hours notice. I repeat, he was going to give my principal 48 hours notice to inform him of when he wants to come and have his liberalization exercise. For about a week or so, we didn't hear from our former Governor. But by the weekend or so, we just had him in Malaysia saying that some presidents were trying to block him from carrying out his liberalization exercise. So how else can someone be carried along? And that was where he said unpretatable things about my principal, about the government around. So I don't know how best you can carry one along. And talking specifically about our Congresses, usually when Congress, when planning for Congresses are going on, you host Koda's meeting, you brainstorm. I am aware that about two days to the commencement of the World Congress, the then Secretary of the Party, who today is parodying himself as the chairman of a splinter group, honorable Razak Salinshile, was the party secretariat to confer with the party chairman, Prince Moya Zafar Moudou. I wasn't at the meeting. I have no access, so I didn't know what they discussed. And so, but surprisingly, by Friday when we had the stakeholder's meeting, they stayed away from the stakeholder's meeting. Nobody prevented them from attending the stakeholder's meeting. The next thing they said was that because the stakeholder's meeting was heard at the government house, nobody could have allowed them access to the government house. And I said, that is not correct. Did you make any efforts to attend the meeting now? And we heard that meeting at the government house to prevent our people from going through unnecessary hardship, because we're working on a major intersection, online outreach. And we knew that if we were to hold the stakeholder's meeting at the party secretariat, we would have to block some routes because of the presence of Mr. Governor and other dignitaries. And so we felt that doing that may cause unnecessary hardship on our people. Okay, but let's quickly come in there for the want of time. The major issue, yes, I know that you have also talked about a regra shula here on the other hand saying, well, yetola has actually destroyed the eight walks and you have talked about the legacy. Well, you still have some persons in Oshun state who are saying, this is actually the truth because nothing has been done by your, I mean, talking about the governor, the incumbent governor right now, nothing really has been done, apart from maybe the flyovers. And that's the only thing you can talk about. So can you categorically tell us the achievement of the current incumbent governor in Oshun state? Thank you very much. First, we have done, we started with the rehabilitation of 332 primary head care centers, one per word across the state. And as I speak to you, we have completed at least three 20 of those primary head care centers. Again, the general hospitals were fixed, a number of them too. As a matter of fact, one of them that we fixed is situated in the Jibu, where the former speaker of the House of Assembly, Honorable Najem Salam, comes from. And the day we were to inaugurate that project, the traditional ruler of the area, the Uginyan, he said that when we came to allay the foundations that he thought it was one of those gimmicks. But I was surprised that within one year that the hospital came on stream. And let me also play some records that we thank God that we started with the head care sector. How do I mean? We never knew COVID was coming when we started investing in our head sector. But for our heavy investment in that sector, COVID-19 would have cut us a hand down. Again, the road leading from Oshobo to Ejibu. Ejibu is where the former speaker comes from. It was weaker for eight years on that special day. They could not fix that road. As I speak to you, we have fixed that road. Again, there is a road at that budget road. That road had been abandoned for over 30 years. As I speak to you, we have fixed that road. The Moro road, Lieutenant General King, you know him very well. He's not a frivolous speaker. According to him, he said the last time that road was touched was about 44 years ago. As I speak to you, we have fixed that road. So it is not correct for anybody to begin to say that apart from flyover, we have not done anything, you can send your team down to come and verify my claim. Apart from building infrastructures, we are also making fantastic efforts to diversify the economy. As I speak to you, before we came in, the stage had on to 17 mining licenses for years. Until we came in about three years ago, that we started investing heavily in that sector. As I speak to you, the Gold Buying Center is coming on stream in Osho. And so it is not correct for anybody to say that apart from the flyover, we have not done anything. I think if you notice in all their conversations, even the top members, they have not been able to afford my principal on the area of performance. All they are talking about is personal interest. And so it is not correct for anybody to claim that we have not done anything. As I speak to you, we feed 30,000 vulnerable persons in the state on monthly basis. Our health insurance cream is one of the best in the region and above the second in the country. These are claims that you can verify. So there are some quarters that are still arguing that up until now, you have the issue of the water pollution in Osho state. Can you quickly tell us what government is doing to address that and if there's something to go by? There is no any case of water pollution. I'm sure you are trying to talk about the Elisha Water Works. That is another politics they were trying to play with that project. And the politics started, I think, about a month ago or so. And thankfully all the claims they made as far as the project was concerned, including the claim that my principal had sucked the project consultant who was hired by the former governor whom we narrated, the project consultant herself came on air to disperse the claim. And as I speak to you, the water project is on course. And by the grace of God, it will be delivered. Okay. Mr. Mipin, a very last thing, very quickly, one sentence. The supporters and loyalists of Ralf Rebechel have said the governor, Boygao Yatala, your principal, is using the police to malign the image of the former governor. I'm referring to the shooting incident where the police and the CP in Osho State came out to say, put the blame squarely on the security attached to the convoy of the former governor who is currently the mayor of Interior. What do you say to this? I would challenge you to ask your reporter on the ground to send you the video clips of the so-called shooting. And if you watch the video, I'm sure you will be able to see whether what I want to say is true or not. As far as the Monday shooting was concerned, those who shot according to the police report and even according to eyewitnesses, there were people around the area, people around the area. These are human beings that you can interact with. It was those in the entourage of the minister that were shooting. In fact, in the video, you will hear the Interior Minister telling them to be on the alert and they claim he was attacked. Is it possible for someone to be attacked, someone who was in an open roof, is it possible for him to be attacked and he will still be standing in that open roof? Go and check the video very well. So it is not common. If anything, they are the ones that have been using the personnel of the civil defense to terrorize and intimidate the people of the state. All right. All right. Ismael Mipidon is the Chief Press Secretary to Osho State Governor Boyega Oyetola. He's been a guest on this segment of breakfast. Thank you very much for your time, sir. The pleasure is mine. All right. And we do hope there'll be a peaceful party primary come Saturday in that the best man will win. Of course, we'll enter the magazine. By the grace of God, the primary will come and go peacefully and from the display of support from the leaders, stakeholders and elders of the party, including the deputy governor that served our former governor, all of them are with the governor. Thank you. And that tells you that the majority are with us and by the grace of God, we will be free tomorrow. We'll see about that. Thank you very much, Ismael Mipidon. That's the much we can take on that particular issue we'll be watching. And of course, plus TV will be on ground right there at the APC primary in Osho State. We'll be right back to talk some more. The EFCC is talking tough on a government, a public official over some amount of money that has been looted. We'll look at this when we return. Stay with us.