Ondo State Chairman of Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr Kennedy Ikantu Peretei
By Banji Ayoola
Former spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Ondo State, Mr Kennedy Peretei has declared that his new party, the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, will sweep the next elections in the state.
He anchored his confidence on his allegations that the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, is a huge scam whose members are generally unhappy with the system.
Peretei, now the NDC State Chairman told The Radiance in an exclusive interview in Akure, the state capital on Thursday that his newly registered party is bringing succour to the people of the state from alleged years of mis-governance, marked by what he described as impunity, imposition of candidates, hypocrisy, falsehood, and trying to play God of the state APC leadership and government
In his words: “I pitched my tent with the NDC because I discovered that APC was a huge scam.
“It is a party that does not give room for dissenting opinion. Everything said by some so called leaders is law. It is not subject to test of validity or seriousness.
“Everybody in the APC is just pretending to be happy whereas they are not. There is a lot of sycophancy, hypocrisy, brinkmanship, half truth and outright lies.
“You don’t know who to greet and who not to greet. It is like everybody is inside a cage. And everybody cannot survive under that kind of insanity, and I am one of such people. So I had to exit with immediate alacrity.”
On his assessment of the Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa administration’s performance in office, Peretei said:
“Aiyedatiwa’s government is the worst government that has ever come to Ondo State in the 50 years of existence of Ondo State.
“His government is completely absent in the life of the people. In my local government, there is nothing they can point to. No one single project that they have accomplished or completed.
“I don’t know what the people there are doing in his party.
“Government is supposed to improve the life of the people in terms of infrastructure. Once that is not done, that government has no business being there.
“In fact they should resign. If they cannot resign, we will use the votes of the people to drive them from office. We will then teach them how government is run.”
On the chances of the NDC winning elections in the state compared to other older parties, Peretei said:
“The issue of newness does not arise because it is the same people, and place. In APC, you see PDP, LP, all kinds.
“It depends on what you are offering the people, what you are bringing to the table.
The NDC Ondo State Chairman said: “If you look at the APC, a lot of people are not happy with the system.
“They are marooned, stuck. When they see any air opening, they will move out.
“Our chances are very bright especially in the face of impunity and imposition of candidates.
“It is just only a matter of time. The APC will implode and give room to a fresh formation not only in Ondo State, but across Nigeria.”
On the NDC programmes for the people of Ondo State, Peretei said: “We are bringing to the table life more abundant for the people in the area of the welfare of citizens through quality infrastructural development, improvement in education because Ondo State is noted for education.
“Our schools are ghosts of their former selves. There are schools where there are only two teachers.
“Healthcare delivery is on its lowest ebb in Ondo State. Judiciary is in shambles. These are some of the major shifts that we are bringing to the table on this dispensation.”
When reminded that the APC and the state government are pointing to infrastructural projects like roads and bridges being constructed in Akure, and other areas of the state, Peretei said:
“Where are the projects? We live in Akure. Is it the demolition of roundabouts and replacing with traffic lights?”
Peretei described the NDC as a virgin party freshly registered without encumbrances.
According to him, “the national leadership felt that based on my pedigree and antecedents, I should be given the responsibility of leading the party in Ondo State.”
On his allegation, which has since gone viral, that Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa was playing God, Peretei said:
“I speak especially of Ese Odo, where I am from because I know what that imposition is capable of causing.
“I speak of Ese Odo because of the implication of that choice, if that unGodly insensitive choice of asking Tony Allen to continue as member of the Ondo State House of Assembly.”
On what makes his party better than other parties, the chairman said, “It is because of what we are offering.
“I don’t want to talk about other parties. You know that a lot of them have legal issues, leadership crisis in court, which will give those who want to contest offices sleepless nights, who may want to go to clean places.”
What are you doing to woo members?
We are doing that through personal contacts, phone calls, awareness advocacy. I am very sure that in no distant time, our figure will speak for us.
On how the people of the state are receiving his party, the NDC State Chairman said,
“Ondo State people are receiving this party very well. For instance, we just rose from a local governments and state stakeholders meeting, which was well attended even at very short notice.
“We are not afraid at all, because people are behind us as a grassroots party. I am sure that we will flush out the APC in the next elections.”
On his days in the PDP, and why he left the party, Peretei said,
“We did our best to put PDP in the front burner.
“Having lost the national election in 2015, and Ondo State in 2016, all we needed to do was to go back to the drawing board, reorganise ourselves and relaunch again to the arena.
“Unfortunately there were some entrenched interests who were not interested in winning elections.
“They wanted to use the party merely as a meal ticket to trade; which killed the party eventually. They are yet to recover from it.”
Peretei named some of the NDC key national leaders as National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Moses; National Secretary, Barrister Ikenna; and National Woman Leader, Mrs Dudu Mamman Manuga among others.
The party’s Ondo State leadership comprises State Chairman, Mr Kennedy Ikantu Peretei; Deputy Chairman, Chief Oluwole Charles Akunmuyisan; State Secretary, Hon Babatunde Daodu, who is a former Ondo State Youth Leader; State Woman Leader, Barr Dolapo; and Vice Chairman North, Mr Olatunosun Isijola, among others.
