Elder Frederick Owotorofa is the South South Vice Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). In this interview with Emerald News crew comprising AUSTIN OYIBODE (Editor) and DORCAS IZAH (Staff Writer), he x-rays the personality of Olorogun Barrister Kenneth Gbagi, the SDP governorship candidate in Delta state and his chances of winning the 2023 governorship election.
Excerpts:
The entrance of Olorogun Barrister Kenneth Gbagi into the SDP has brought the party into limelight in Delta. What is the chance of the party winning the 2023 general election in the state?
The 2023 election is our year of total victory. Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi is a man of substance, he is a man of strong character. He is an entrepreneur and industrialist. He is a man who is very visionary. We are confident that Olorogun Barrister Kenneth Gbagi will change the narrative of politics in Delta state. He will bring about massive development, employment and solve the problem of insecurity.
Olorogun Gbagi has been going round churches, holding political rallies in different parts of Delta state, now what are your views on the reception he has received from the masses of Delta people?
It has been wonderful. We expect it to be so. And that is the way it should go, when you’re getting the right messages and with every tour it only moves us in the direction of liberating Delta state, take over Nigeria, liberate the people and reposition industries that have gone away, bring them back and let society and Delta state move forward.
You have been following him on the campaign so far, how do you see Deltans acceptance of his personality?
The crowd following him has been tumultuous. It is tumultuous because the people believe in Gbagi as the solution. Gbagi will make the difference. He is the person they have been waiting for to liberate the state from bad leadership of the PDP.
Looking at Olorogun Gbagi and other governorship candidates in the state, how will you differentiate him from others in the race? What do you think distinguishes him from others?
The difference is clear. We have two other candidates, the APC and the PDP and of course Olorogun Barrister Kenneth Gbagi. Olorogun is coming into government with the mind of visionary leadership. He’s coming with strong character, he’s coming with a strong determination to develop Delta state.
He’s coming with a mind of ensuring that government business is run and run with profound integrity and trust. That makes the difference. He has no lackeys here and there, he’s a man of his own. He has no godfather to lean on. His only godfather is God the Most High. To that extent, the trust of the people can begin to grow, and it is growing by the day.
What are the things you think are not going well in Delta which he needs to change?
What has gone well that people have not seen in Delta state? Nothing has gone well. Where are the roads? Where are the industries? Where are the schools and how equitably are the schools even distributed? Why is the unemployment situation still what it is today? Why are the pensioners groaning and dying?
The whole essence of pension is you work for a stated number of years and you are qualified for pension, you are paid pension as at when due to look after yourself in your old age. Why do we have to accumulate pension payments and gratuities that should be paid immediately?
Olorogun Barrister Kenneth Gbagi is not corruptible. There is no single dent of corruption against the candidacy of Olorogun Gbagi. That is a big plus to him and a big minus in this present administration.
Having x-rayed the character of Olorogun Barrister Kenneth Gbagi and other candidates of other parties, what will be your message for Deltans?
The message for Deltans and for residents of Delta state is turn out, vote Olorogun Gbagi of the Social Democratic Party as the next democratically elected governor of Delta state by the grace of God come March 2023. Olorogun is evidence of a new beginning, a new dawn in governance, a new dawn in our public service, a new dawn in our justice delivery system, a new dawn in health care, education and all that we care to have, that makes the society what it should be.
Let’s go national. Out of all the candidates vying for the presidency, who do you think is best qualified to hold that position?
But you know who the person is, Prince Adewole Adebayo the presidential candidate for the SDP. He is a lawyer in his 50s, very cerebral. He has a full grasp of the issues that are plaguing this country. He has a full understanding of those challenges and he has proffered solutions at different fora.
I’m sure you would have watched the interviews and presidential debates that he has granted and has participated in. He has always been miles ahead of the other participants. He is the candidate we need. He is a man of profound energies. He is a man with creative ideas that will really turn this country around.
What is his acceptance level among Nigerians?
The acceptance level is high. He’s not a money bag and so some say oh we’ve not seen you for a while. But you will see him. Acceptance is high and I am saying to Nigerians, try and think of Prince Adewole Adebayo as the president of the federal republic of Nigeria.
Do you think he has the muscle to beat the candidates of PDP, APC and the Labour Party candidates?
What is muscle? Is it intellectual depth, yes he has, far more. Is he one of the faces we have seen very often? No, you have not seen this face so very often. How did David emerge? King David of biblical time did not emerge as one of the preferred nor one of the celebrated persons to ascend the throne but it turned out to be that it was that unknown person that God preferred to become the king and he became. And that is how I liken what I see as the emergence of Prince Adewole Adebayo to presidency in 2023 by the grace of God.
Now that you have endorsed Prince Adewole Adebayo, what do you see wrong with the other candidates?
Other candidates have baggage. The same faith ticket of the APC is an aberration. The move for a northerner to succeed another northerner is offensive to common sense and reason. So in reality, we have only two candidates who are the SDP presidential candidate who remains my preferred candidate and who should win and Peter Obi the Labour Party presidential candidate.
These are the two southern candidates and it is consistent with the political development of this country that when the North rules for four or eight years the constitutionally allowed period, then it is the turn of the south and not the other way around. Once that is breached, we are not promoting the very foundation of our existence as a country which is the unity of Nigeria.
