Mohammed Audu, son of late Prince Abubakar Audu, former governor of Kogi state, is one of the leading aspirants for the office of governor on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview with SALIFU OYIBO, he spoke extensively on his plans geared toward removing Kogi from its present precarious situation.
Why are you contesting the governorship position in Kogi state?
The decay in the system in the last four years is enormous. We have moved from a situation where viable and sustainable infrastructure are no longer provided for the people to where we cannot even meet our salary obligations. There are no more agricultural potentials in the state, no viable private sector, everything seems very chaotic. Everyday, you hear of protests, kidnappings, killings, armed robbery, suicide attempt among other ugly happenings in the state.
All we hear about our state is bad news and our people are living in squalor. I know that the late Prince Abubakar Audu intended to treat the people very well when he contested the 2015 election, unfortunately he died at the point when victory was knocking at his door step. The same people who stood under the rain, sun are the ones suffering and passing through untold hardships today. What we have been seeing is the reverse of what Prince Abubakar Audu had in mind. We cannot sit down and allow the people to wallow in abject poverty for no just cause. We cannot sit down seeing people taking their lives because they can no longer withstand the torture of non payment of salaries and pensions. Today, the current administration lacks the idea to move the state forward. This administration has enjoyed the highest revenue from the federation account since the creation of the state. This is an administration that received over four billion naira monthly as allocation, but cannot attend to the basic needs of the people. The administration did not deem it fit to look into issues of education, health, road construction and they can not pay salaries to state and local government workers which is very embarrassing. Staff screening exercise was endless without result despite enormous resources they claimed to have committed into it.
Local government and state workers have been turned to beggars, some can no longer train their children and many cannot even feed their families. The situation in Kogi is so bad that workers have became destitute. So, I am taking it upon myself along side other well meaning kogites to ensure that we bring this rain of terror to an end.
We have perfected our plans to rake in over four billion naira monthly as revenue for the state. We have also perfected our plans that during the first nine months of our tenure, we would be able to have over 50,000 young men and women fully engaged into a viable venture that would give them meaningful life. This plan is not a joke because we would involve the Bank of Industry and other critical stakeholders in order to create potentials for manufacturing such as food manufacturing outfit that would provide jobs for our teeming youths and having done that, we will be able to address youth restiveness.
I have been travelling to Kogi-east in the past 20 years and it is the same road without refurbishing, no remodelling and nothing has been done to improve on the quality of the road. By now, we are supposed to be discussing rail line across the state to travel from Okun land to the east and from the east to the central senatorial district of the state but nothing viable is going on at all.
How can you clinch the ticket of APC considering the fact that Governor Alhaji Yahaya Bello is also contesting?
I can tell you that I have been in politics and my first attempt in politics was when my late father was involved an accident in 1998 where he was flown abroad for treatment and when he came back he needed someone who could assist him in the process for electioneering campaign and because I was closed to him that time, I was saddled with the responsibility. That was my first experience and afterwards, I was involved in 2003, 2007 elections. I was involved in the rerun election in the 2011 election; I was fully involved in the 2015 election , so I know who is who in Kogi politics by virtue of these experiences. I have handled sensitive positions for Prince Abubakar Audu’s campaign. So I have a very strong connection with most politicians across the state.
Today, I can assured you that I have the closest link to the grassroots; also I am one of the few politicians that the grassroots communicate with constantly because I answer all calls and they really appreciate that.
There is controversy over the type of primary mode to adopt in Kogi APC. What is your view?
I personally think that the government of today is afraid of opening the process of election and that is why they have chosen to go by way of indirect primaries and the indirect primaries is closed. If you are a true democrat, you would want everyone to participate in the process of selecting you as the flag bearer of your party and I dare the governor to say that they will go by way of direct primaries I am telling you people will bid them farewell. If we do direct primaries, everyone in the grass root that is a member of APC will be allowed to vote and there is no doubt, we would come top at the end of the primaries.
It was said that you are clamouring for direct primaries because of the link you have outside Kogi state. How true is it?
In fact, direct or indirect primaries, it is Kogi people who will vote, however in the case of indirect primaries, you have a chosen few and in the process of selection of delegates in the state, the governor will select his family members and friends, his appointees will select their family members and friends thereby giving themselves undue advantage over and above other contestants. What we are simply saying is that the process should be open to every member. In other words, let the man that sells kola nut and a member of the party vote. Let the man that sells orange vote, let women vote and you will know who will win the primaries.
If you are given the mandate to govern the state what will you do to surpass your father who was known as a transformational leader?
Actually, it is a big responsibility that I offer myself for election because it will be unfortunate if I am not able to at least beat my father’s records. I must be able to surpass that records, so I understand fully well the responsibilities attached to my aspirations for leadership. In that order, I sat down and put together a very comprehensive plans and I have said it earlier.
Considering incumbency factor in your party APC, how are sure that you would achieve your aspiration?
I did not bring myself out to serve, but consulted by the entire party executives of my late father that they would like me to come out and take the mantle of leadership in Kogi state. I also have a lot of calls from the grass root in different wards, local government across the state asking me not to allow the state to rot in its current situation. I had to carry out extensive consultations and actually still consulting. From every indication, I am offering myself on merit not because I am the son of the late Prince Abubakar Audu.
