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Recently, Ekiti State deputy governor, Surveyor Abiodun Aluko, escaped being removed from office by the whiskers when he was accused of teaming up with the opposition against the administration of Governor Ayodele Fayose. The intervention of President Olusegun Obasanjo, among others, saved him from the move by the State House of Assembly to impeach him.

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NOT long ago, you narrowly escaped being impeached, what was the problem at that time?

Well, we know that in any organisation or gathering of human beings, you cannot but have differences and step on one another’s toe at times. So, what happened in May, in Ekiti, was not a new thing, it had happened severally in the past, it is still happening everywhere and is bound to happen in the future. It was true that there was a little misunderstanding between his excellency and me but we thank God that it was amicably resolved. You see, one cannot avoid this type of thing when you have interest groups around in a political party. Politics itself is about how to out-smart the other with intrigues and all that. However, we were able to identify all those things and reconcile amicably and our relationship has since gone back to normal.

What are the lessons you have learnt and how do you relate now with your governor?

We learn lessons on every occurrence of this nature. I, as a person, have learnt a lot. When you are dealing with a situation of this nature, you will know that many people are jostling to be in one position or the other, and the position of deputy governor is an exalted one which anybody can covet. And, when there is just slight difference between a governor and his deputy, people will move in and exaggerate the situation, and then all rumour mongers and tale bearers would come just to ensure that the gap keeps on widening so that they can take advantage of that to achieve their aim. That was what happened. So, the first lesson I have learnt is that no matter what happens, I must make sure that I do not allow that type of gap to be wide enough for other people to come in. I won’t give room for that kind of thing again because when you trivialise things, they can degenerate into uncontrollable situation. I won’t give room for anyone to scavenge on the relationship between my governor and me again. We are now like the siamese twins, that we were, we relate both officially and extra-officially and do things in common. So, those who may want to come between us are bound to fail.

During the crisis, the legislature was reportedly used against you by the governor which was leading to your impeachment like the case of Ekpenyong in Akwa Ibom State. How do you see that?

No, it is not a matter of the governor using the House against his deputy. What happened is what the constitution says. In a situation whereby the relationship between the president and the vice president, or the governor and the deputy governor breaks down to the extent of loss of confidence between them, obviously the governor has a way out, and that is the use of the constitution. The House is the arbiter. If the governor is able to convince the House that the situation is that bad, and the House considers that the situation is irreconcilable, then the constitution has already provided the way to resolve such matters. But our situation was not irreconcilable. So, it is the provision of the constitution and not the governor using the legislature against his deputy. So long the governor himself cannot sack you, the way out is the constitutional provision. Also, I want you to note this, it takes two to tango, and it takes the two to reconcile. Without anybody coming from Abuja or elsewhere, his excellency himself gave room for our reconciliation, he wouldn’t want any distraction from the progress our government is making. He did very well as a leader, even when the elders came in, he said it was not his intention to create any dislocation within the system to hamper the state’s progress and other government activities.

Your relationship with the governor which you have described as that of siamese twins must have facilitated the achievements of the present administration. Could you briefly talk about them?

They are becoming uncountable now. And, I would not like to be going back to the issues of roads built or constructed across the state, our hospitals and health centres that are now alive with drugs for patients there always; the road dualization project in Ado-Ekiti; our progress in the area of education as our state has moved from 35th to 17th position in the SSCE conducted by WAEC, while the state university ranks among the best in Nigeria, going by the NUC assessment; the Ajilosun Market lock-up shops; the Kayode Oluyemi Stadium now approved by the NFA for league matches in Nigeria; the loans we gave to farmers and tractors we bought for their use; motorcycles, minibuses and the rest for poverty alleviation, etc. I just want to assure you that more are still coming, you have not seen anything yet.

The feeling in some quarters is that your government grossly exaggerated your achievements while you should have done more considering the fact that the money you now collect from the federation account is much more than what the last administration received to execute some of these projects you claim were done by you say to that?

One thing I know is that this administration is very prudent when it comes to financial management. If we reel out the costs of the projects we have done so far and you match them with what we have received, you will give this administration a pat on the back that we are good managers of money and materials. Most of the projects, especially roads, were started from the scratch. If there are any that the last administration can lay claim to, they are projects awarded without being backed up with funds. You can’t lay claim to such projects.

Most of them were awarded towards election period, they asked the contractors to move to the sites and when they lost election, that was the end of the news. Most of the contractors did not receive a kobo. I ask you then, who actually did the job the person who awarded it on paper or the person who paid? And, you can’t count more than three of such their road projects, the rest were not even existing when we came in. They awarded their contracts for election purposes, to get votes.

Of course, you claim that you have done so much for the State but why is it that you still face so much criticism? Don’t the opposition see these your achievements?

Yes, they do. It is not that they don’t see what this administration has done, it is only that they don’t believe the man who is doing wonders should be there. You will know that in the politics of the South-West, we have virtually instituted the hierarchical type of politics whereby people have been lined up to succeed one another. And, if for one reason or the other, somebody cannot mount the throne, his son will be picked.

They have made the political arrangement hereditary. There are those who started politics during the time of Awolowo in Ekiti State, they believe that after they have fulfilled their terms, those behind them can then have it. But Dr. Ayo Fayose came from the blues joining a party considered to belong to the Northerners at that time. Nobody gave him a chance but because of his perseverance and hardwork, he won the election. They were all surprised, to them it was a bad dream come true.

This is a man they were making jest of when he was running around. They fought back in court bringing up the issue of certificate forgery and all that. He produced his certificates which they could no more controvert.

Now, they say he doesn’t respect elders, he doesn’t do this, he doesn’t do that. But one thing is sure, they can’t accuse him of non-performance. They want him to be giving kola to certain people who have been in politics for over 40 or 50 years. People who were not in anyway instrumental to his victory, why should he make himself a slave to them? And, he believes that for posterity and the present development of the state he needs to make a difference.

So, you can see the result of his conviction all over our state. When you compare his two years with those four years of his predecessors, you will see the difference is very clear. But certain people believe he should consult them before he takes decisions and he is not ready to do that. He gives them their due recognition but does not allow them to dictate to him. So, they read meaning to everything he does. Also, most of these criticisms are from outside Ekiti State and not from within, from Lagos, Ibadan or Abuja. But you need to go to the people resident in the State to find out who Ayo Fayose is to them. Ask them how well he is performing. You will know that he is a man of the people. He is popular with everybody, they hail him everywhere he goes. If he were not doing what they wanted, they would certainly be booing him. You know the nature of the Yoruba with regard to non-performance.

2007 is approaching your governor wants to run for a second term of office. Where do you stand?

I stand behind my governor.

With regard to 2007 again, the people of Ekiti North have been complaining of being marginalized. How do you view that?

Well, I don’t understand what they meant by that because when we are talking of available political offices, I believe the north is not marginalized. I don’t believe it is only when you are in the position of governor that you are not marginalized. As it is presently, all the ministers during this administration are from the north. Professors Adeniran and Aborishade are from the north, the Ekiti State SSG, is from the north, the speaker is from the north, the two ambassadors appointed by Mr. President from this State are from the north.

What do we have in the south? Apart from the post of the deputy governor, what other things do we have? And the central also, what do they have apart from the office of the governor of the State? What advantage do they have over the north? We should rather take a holistic look at the issue before we start talking about marginalization. If the north has the posts of the SSG, the speaker and the chief judge of the State, apart from federal appointments that should have been shared by the three senatorial districts, in which way have they been marginalized?

In this interview, Aluko speaks on what happened while the feud lasted and says he has learnt his lesson.