The Kosofe Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party, former LGA Chairman and Kosofe Federal Constituency aspirant under the platform of the PDP, Honourable Olakunle Koya, explains to the Kosofe Post why he wanted to take over the incumbent lawmaker representing the Federal Constituency job in 2023.
Can we meet you, sir?
My name is Olakunle Koya, the immediate past Chairman of the PDP Kosofe Local Government Area. I’m an entrepreneur. I’m the Managing Director of Perfection Universal Resources Venture. I’m into real estate and PTV. I’m a politician. I’ve been in politics for over two decades and have been doing it.
So why do you want to take over the incumbent lawmaker representing Kosofe federal constituency job?
Well, based on my years of experience in the politics of Kosofe and being the immediate past chairman of the local government, I saw that there were a lot of shortcomings in the representation of the people by our representatives from Abuja, especially from the APC. We are not well represented. If I can be given the opportunity, I will give a better representation of Kosofe.
If given your party mandate and when elected, what should the people of Kosofe expect from you differently?
A lot of things, I believe, I will change. First and foremost, I understand Kosofe has ecological issues.
We have a lot of riverine Community in Kosofe and they have not gotten adequate attention from the agency of the ministry of environment to take care of these ecological issues. Every rainy season, people move out of their residences because of flooding, so I think if I represent Kosofe, I will make sure I have an integral impact. We can find a lasting solution to that issue.
On the issue of constituency projects
In the past, our representatives did not do it justice, and I believe that a constituency project should be intended for the majority of good people in Kosofe, rather than a few people in Kosofe, as it was in the past.
How can you select just a hundred people, two hundred people to give them empowerment and think that is good enough for the whole of Kosofe?
Kosofe’s population is nothing less than 1.5 million, so I cannot just divide half a million and make it my constituency.
The constituency project is not good enough for the people of Kosofe. So in that regard, I will have more impact.
On the issue of executive and infrastructure in Kosofe, I think our representative in Abuja is not doing enough. As a representative of Kosofe, they should be able to influence projects, developmental projects, and infrastructure projects in Kosofe, but I don’t see them doing that.
Most of the projects in Kosofe are state-initiated. I don’t see any projects coming from the federal government. That is not good enough either.
So if they can give me the opportunity, I will definitely look into these things. Just to mention a few.
So, some constituents see the zonal intervention project, better known as constituency project, as a Succour, while some see it as a conduct pipe. What is your take on it?
Like I said earlier, the constituency project is meant to empower the good people of Kosofe, the majority of the people of Kosofe, not the few people of Kosofe.
In the past, I just saw it as empowering the party allies of the APC only.
If I am given an opportunity today, it will cut across the party line. I will make sure I touch life. I will not even base it on party affiliations; instead, I will base it on the general percentage of kosofe people and the community as a whole. If I come to a particular community to do a constituency project, it will not be for the APC or the PDP.It’s meant for the general population of Kosofe.
But, what we have been seeing in the past is that they are giving empowerment to APC stalwarts and not the people of Kosofe that the project is meant for.
In your party, the PDP, in the last four general elections, they fielded female candidates. How are you so confident that if you field a male in the coming election, you will be able to defeat the ruling party?
Yes, like you have already said, the past is still yes.
My party has been fielding female candidates, and I think it is high time we fielded a male candidate. This is because being a male candidate will first and foremost give a better impression of the party to the general electorate. They will have more confidence in the male candidate.
I believe you are aware that we have provided sufficient opportunities for women.16 years is good enough. They should give us the opportunity to try our chances, and I believe, by the grace of God, we will win the election.
Sir, We heard your primary election is next month. What is your message to the delegates who will be elected this weekend?
My message to them is to look beyond the primary side to the general election. To the best of my knowledge, we have one female aspirant in Kosofe today, and I know my pedigree, the antecedent I have gotten, the dues I have paid, the experience I have gathered, and I believe I’m a better candidate.
They should look beyond groupings and affiliations within the party. They should look at it from a holistic perspective and conclude that if Kunle Koya is given the party mandate, he has better chances in the general elections.
So what is your take on the local government autonomy?
Yes, I completely support the local government autonomy and believe that if there is a local government autonomy, the local government will have independence of decisions, independence of projects, and independence of things because, as of now, the state government is infringing on the rights of the local government and even interfering with the local government’s ability to perform its duties.
To even measure their performance is impossible because when a local government cannot take a decision on a project you want for its people, the state government will be the one to decide for them.
I don’t expect the state to know what a local government really needs.
The local government is the one that can tell you what they need. I don’t think this is good enough, so giving them autonomy will give a better picture of what people truly need, such as infrastructure and social amenities.
Apart from entrepreneurship and politics, what would you like the Koso people to know about you?
Yes, what I like to project about myself is that I’m a grassrooter. I’m a person that likes to see things work within my immediate environment. I am not comfortable when I see things don’t work within my immediate environment. From the age of a donkey, I have been participating in the development of my immediate community. When there’s an issue with transformers, you will always see me there. When there’s an issue with street lights or drainage, you will also see me there. To the extent that I was even made the secretary of the landlord association about 15 to 20 years ago,
Much later, I was made the CDA chairman of my community. For the leaders or elders of the community to have confidence in me to be the CDA chairman, they know that I’m a person that believes in peace within the environment. So I’m a grassrooter. I deal with people at the grassroot level.
I want the best for the people around me; I want the wellbeing of those around me.
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