THE INTERVIEW: TINUBU'S REFORM POLICY HELPED MY SERVICE DELIVERY

'OUT OF EXPERIENCE, I SHOULD SAY THE OFFICE OF EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRMAN REQUIRES WISDOM TO NAVIGATE

From the Editor's desk

The August 23, 2025 edition of Civics Weekly appeared to be one in which our supply of copies would fall short of the demands when we got to circulation. It was about the first of such impressive sales in 5years. This is to clarify the latter change in the cover price for those who complained about buying a copy at N2,500 as against the N1,500 price tag. This understandably affected those who got their supplies from the returns stock after the edition's expiration date. It is the convention that any demands supplied from our return stocks will always attract surcharge over the official price. We cannot thank our readers enough for keeping faith with our publications for reliable and valuable news.

Given the interview segment of the publication, which we evaluated to be the sales driver, we have decided to bring it online for a wider public read. We must however reveal that this is brought on account of its high value content of lesson to learn for the new vice chairmen of the local councils in Lagos State. Of course, there are also more lessons to learn by the executive chairmen too from this experience spanning a whole decade of service in both capacities.

WHAT would you claim to be your source of inspiration for going into politics?

I should say I got my inspiration from the British Prime minister, Tony Blair, way back of my time in London. The parliamentary proceeding were quite fascinating to me and I would think this was being done for the people – the British public. There, I began to feel the zeal, nurse the ambition to go into public service and serve the people. Then I realised that it could only be possible by going into politics. And when I felt it was time to do that, I came home with the mission to serve my father land. That was how I found my way into politics at the twilight of the first progressives identity in Lagos – the Alliance for Democracy (AD). It was not long that I joined the party when we went to Abuja to bring home a new party we called Action Congress (AC). Since then, I have continued to thrive in politics. And as we know, the common maxim is that ‘all politics is local’. So, I had to start my politics from my locality and it happened to be my ancestral land.

What aspiration did you bring home for your mission in politics at the time?

Of course, the grassroots was my focus as the starting point. I contested for the post of Council Chairman in a fiercely contested election, but I lost. When I say 'fiercely contested', I do not mean an election marked by brigandage. I mean a keenly contested one in which both parties applied strategies and brain works. When I lost, I congratulated the winner, Alhaji Waheed Bello, who would later be my boss because I was given the position of Executive Vice Chairman. With that, I began my public service career.

Working as vice chairman, how would you describe the relevance of the office?

It is a delicate position that requires wisdom to get along with the government you are serving. That wisdom can be summarily put in what the Yoruba would describe as “Aayo okan” or “Amoju Kuro”. The former infers contentment while the latter means overlooking what's not ascribed to you as your business. Marrying the two together, it means that for the vice chairman position, you must come with the utmost resolve that you should never be absorbed with the cliché of “joint ticket” to think that you have equal power with the Executive Chairman. It is a joint ticket for the purpose of delegation of authority and substitutive power. When the chairman is there you only perform the task assigned to you and it must be so transparent that the chairman would feel the pulse of your loyalty in high quality. That is the delegated part. The substitutive part is when the chairman is not available and that is to the essence of his absence as constitutionally defined by formal transfer of power to you.

For you as a vice chairman to do anything outside of these or attempt to poke nose into the discretion of the chairman, it is a free recipe for conflict to ensue. And when that happens, in almost all the cases, you end up being the loser. This was the mind-set I brought to office as the vice chairman for about eight years I spent in that capacity. And I must confess that I gained tremendously from it. Suru to lojo ni – it’s a patience with terminal date. I gained so much because first, I learnt a lot from my chairman in art of governance. This partly contributed to my success in office at my turn. The second is more or less spiritual in that God also blessed me with a vice chairman who is loyal to a fault. Honourable Mutiu Adebiyi has been very loyal in the real sense of the word and the practice. For about the eight years we have worked together, it has been a complete harmony so much that I had to give him all the support he would require to succeed me. But the party's path is always the way to go for me.

As Executive Chairman at your turn and so far now, what would you say you have done or did differently from the way of your immediate predecessor?

Well, I wouldn't say this is what I saw him did wrong or right, which I felt I should think of correcting or emulating. But surely, as I know, every new government brings a new vigour to reinvigorate the social system. This is either by fact or myth, but it is something the people feel at every transition to a new government. In that context, the head of new government would also want to bring vitality to bear on his new job. That is where I see a difference coming in as you rightly questioned. But at end of the day, it all boils down to the same routine of delivering service to the people. Beyond that, however, how you deliver on your job may be different from your predecessor's. And there are things you may bring in newly as a matter of your own ideas.

To cite an example, when I came in, the first mission I had was to pursue a means to improve the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). For that, I pursued the idea of getting our data right. It turned out to be an expensive route but the necessary path to take. To some extent, anyway, I should think I made a difference in the Council's IGR and it turned out to have effect in my service delivery to the people, especially in the area of infrastructure. Yes, the IGR improvement, however marginal it could have been as a result of population growth and social development over time, it matters that we took advantage of the opportunities and tried to deliver services on commensurate measure to the pace of social growth.

What philosophy drives your governance?

It comes from the Oath of Office I took. I vowed to discharge my duties without discrimination of any sort whatsoever. That presupposes that I will spread my development plan evenly. However, my approach in service delivery is one that gives priority to immediate essentiality and emergency despite whatever may be our laid down plans we brought to office. Where such emergency demanded the state intervention, I would go out of my way to ensure that Mr. Governor came to our rescue if it was outside the capacity of the council. Such was the case of Idowu Egba Bridge link to Baruwa in Ipaja and construction of the adjoining roads, which the Governor came to commission this January. The residents of the area came, crying to me and the party leaders. Rising to that occasion, I had to also cry to our ever listening Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwoolu to come for the help. We thank God today, that road has cut short the commuting and travel time from the Southern part of Alimosho to the Western part. The connectivity is so seamless. Hither to, Alimosho residents in the southern extremities like Akesan, Ijegun, Igando, Egbe/Agodo and others could only reach Ayobo/Ipaja by first going through the High way of LASU-Isheri Road or Ikotun-Idimu Road down to Moshalashi Round-about to connect New Ipaja Road before they could get to Ayobo/Ipaja enroute Command in Agbado/Okeodo and the new satellite towns like Ojuore and others. The barrier for them to go straight from Igando to Ayobo /Ipaja in about ten minutes' drive is the large river that stretches from Abesan-Ishuti Road. That barrier is what the Idowu Egba Bridge has broken. It happened out of the said priority for emergency that drives my governance.

Thus, like I said, essentiality of people's immediate needs is my governance philosophy. Such was also the case of Pipeline Road in Oke Idimu, which I had to go out of my way to do at all cost. By length, over one kilometer, it is supposed to be a project for the state to execute. But for one reason or the other, it became a priority by emergency of the people's cry and in sudden partisan game the opposition brought to play about it. When I look to all these, I feel a sense of fulfilment in my service delivery to the extent of how my 8years can take me.

Now, let us take that rout to the issue of Pipeline Road. It now appears to be your greatest feat that gives your party, APC, an edge in Alimosho local Government. Would you tell us the problems, politics and governance issues behind it?

It was a nasty experience that I had to play game even as council chairman to get the road done. It was a nasty war with the NNPC staff, but I thank God that the end justifies the means. I may not be able to say what kind of trouble my predecessors went through that they could not get it done, but what I got to know eventually was that I would have to get the approval from the NNPC for it. That became the cause of war when I made up my mind that whether legally or illegally, I would construct the road. When a circumstance warranted it at the approach of 2023 general elections, I had to consult with my representative in the House of Assembly, Hon Kehinde Joseph. I told him, it was high time we got something done about the Pipeline Road. He agreed with me and I believed I had his support. Doing the needful henceforth, we formally applied for the approval, but it was same old story. I also made up my mind to mobilise the contractor to site when the approval was not forthcoming.

The first day they started to work, the NNPC officials came there to arrest the workers and put them in detention. We were able to get them released, but my problem now appeared to have just started. This time, it was with the contractor. He said he was no longer interested in the contract. He said he would deduct the little expenses he had incurred and refund the balance to the council. I thought it was a joke at first until I realised that he was damn serious. I said 'ehn! No, you can't abandon this job. You must complete this job. I won't even give you the bank account of the Council. If you abandon the work now, what will you think the people will say? Before you know it, they will begin to say it is because he wants to steal billion, trillion, cilion, or whatever! That's why he came to start the wok he knew he cannot finish.

When he insisted, I said okay, I will always resume duty with you here every day. If it is a matter of security, me too, I will go to Ojo to bring my own Army and Police too. But this job must be done. So, I was always there with him and the people joined me to fight the cause. When the NNPC people come to ask for approval, I will tell them: 'Look, me, I will do this road whether with approval or not. I applied for approval you didn't give me. My predecessors applied but you refused to give them too. For me, I'm going to construct this road! Whether legally or illegally, I'm going to do the road. I was happy to have the people around me; they would join me to ward them off.

Without dotting the 'I' and crossing the 't' but simply played game and scoring a goal, I think I won at last. We concluded that I should use only interlock. That was how the Pipeline Road came to being. And funny enough, those NNPC that opposed it have been seen plying the road now. But can you stop them not to use the road? That is governance for you.

Your last months in office appeared to be for aggressive infrastructure development, I mean road construction. Could that be a strategy and for what purpose?

That is the work of our President for you. It is the result of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's reform policy. Our allocations have increased tremendously following the removal of fuel subsidy and harmonisation of forex trading. I think with that I have more money to do more job. In government you might have a good number of projects to execute for the people. But if there is no enough funds for them, there is nothing you can do. But when your ideas meet enough resources, you see yourself moving at high speed to give the people what they need. So, I have President Tinubu to thank for that. And let me add that as I'm working, starting new roads on my way out of this office, I will not leave any abandoned project for my successor and I will not leave a kobo debt for him. I will leave a clean record for the coming chairman to start his own afresh.

You are a leader in Alimosho, no doubt about that; we would like to ask: what is playing out in the politics, especially with the last local government primary elections?

Nothing is playing out except politics as we should expect. We had our primary elections across the state and winners have emerged. In Egbe-Idimu here, my brother, Prince Idris Balogun became the Chairman-elect. That was the party's way to go. Even though I supported a different aspirants, Oluomo is our party's candidate today. It is now my primary duty to ensure he succeeds me so that this our party flag (pointing at his side) will remain there in this office.

Thus far in your administration, what would you say you are leaving behind as your legacy?

I have made a significant touch in infrastructure across Egbe-Idimu landmass – from Idimu to Isheri Olofin to Egbe and Agodo. We have created new markets as we have equally upgraded some of our markets to modern state. We have supported businesses as we have empowered people. These are legacies in the area of human capital development. So it may be had for me to point at a specific project as my legacy. As a matter of fact, some are wont to point at the Pipeline Road to be my most cherished legacy, I might not want to dispute that, given the reality of the struggle that made it so and the value it carries. But if you knew the state of some other roads too before our intervention, you will know that our case is all about legacy of manifest development of Egbe-Idimu to a new level of this contemporary time. So, we are talking about legacies not legacy to leave behind

How would you describe your experience in council administration?

As a council chairman, you will get a diverse experience of what you mean to many people. To some of them, you are a source of free funds – call it ATM machine – they can easily tap to get money anytime they want. To some others, you are the face of what governance is truly about. These ones, it is development of their areas that will bring them to you. Then you have the third category of people. They come to you for assistance. The council staffs belong in this category along with the politicians and the public. You also get another category that just want to work and get their pay. These are diverse people you get to meet as council chairman. But once you are unable to meet their respective demands at any time, you will become the worst chairman in Nigeria if not in the world. That is why you can only appreciate yourself to the extent of how far your conscience can take you in service delivery to the greater number of people. Yes, it is part of governance to give assistance and support people, it must also be understood that the means and resources to do it are limited too.

VIEW A VIDEO CLIP OF THE PART OF THE INTERACTIONS What is the next political or public service hierarchy you have in view? It is a bridge we are yet to reach. It cannot be my sole decision even if nursing of ambition is my sole right. I may say this is my next ambition but the party leadership may say no, this is what we have for you or this is where we want you to go. But If I do not know the next political level I will be tomorrow, I surely know that I have a tasking political assignment as I’m leaving the office. That assignment is the work towards Tinubu’s second term of office from 2027. And I think that should be a task for every Omoluabi of our time. It is not about ethnic matter anyway. It is about the reality of our progressive motion as nation, which we are experiencing in real time.

I just told you the impact of his reform policy that improved my service delivery and we know that there is a lot more of that imparting lives in other sectors. This truth must reach the people across the state. Surely, that is part of my next assignment.