History has positioned Boroffice to emerge next Ondo Governor, by Kayode Adeniyi‎‎
‎
As the people of Ondo State eagerly anticipate the 26th day of November - the scheduled date for the governorship poll in the sunshine state, the nexus between community leadership and political leadership has emerged an issue for serious consideration and political discourse. 
‎
I must swiftly confess that ‎I share the view of many persons in the sunshine state that community leaders are better-informed, more-equipped and more-responsible political leaders. In making my contributions, I will seek to react to some concerns raised in an open letter addressed to a leading governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress and senator, representing Ondo North senatorial district, Professor Ajayi Boroffice. 
‎
The letter titled: A Call To Statesmanship and Honour, was written by an unidentified Ifeoluwa Olasogba, who claimed to be a native of the ancestral town of the senator, Oka - Akoko. Anyway, that claim is still battling a credibility tag.  

In the letter, the writer literally begged the senator to dump his governorship ambition because, according to him, the senator has many responsibilities to contend with as Asiwaju of Akoko Land and a serving high-ranking senator. 

In addressing the concerns raised, I plead to disregard the ‎unprovoked abuses, o‎ffensive submissions, ignorant rantings ‎and ‎needless insults ‎hurled at the senator while offering answers to the two questions the letter has brought to the fore; Why should a title holder of Asiwaju of Akoko Land join politics? Why should a serving senator contest governorship election? ‎‎

‎When the senator was officially bestowed community leadership responsibilities by the virtue of his installation as the Asiwaju of Akoko Land in May 2009, he was given 11-point agenda of which 5 of them are chiefly political. Infact, his installation about 7years was a widely-praised coronation of a man with record of unrivalled contributions to community development in the region. By implication, the people of Akoko Land had sent a son on a foray and sojourn to the political battlefield. 
‎
‎Meanwhile, what the Akoko people did has a revered place in political history of Nigeria. ‎The late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello‎ was the first premier of Northern Nigeria between 1954 and 1966. Sardauna means warlord and in Yoruba adaptation, implied Asiwaju. ‎He was a prominent political leader of the Northern People's Congress, who was elected into the Northern House of Assembly and functioned as minister of works. ‎

‎The National leader of All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is the present title holder of Asiwaju of Lagos. He represented Lagos West as a senator in 1993 and later served as governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007. Also, late Chief Idowu Ajibola Ige, SAN, was the Asiwaju of Esa-Oke and Jagunmolu of Ijesha Land. Until his death, he was a National leader of Alliance for Democracy. He was a commissioner for Agriculture, served as governor of Oyo State, appointed as minister of many ministries; Minister of Power and Steel, and Minister of Justice ‎between 1999 and 2001. 
‎‎
‎In Ondo State, Senator Olabode Olajumoke is the Asiwaju of Imeri in Ose local government.  Olajumoke is a former presidential aspirant and served as member of the 5th and 6th Nigerian Senate. ‎Also, the former Deputy- Governor of Ondo State, Alhaji Ali Olanusi is the Asiwaju of Supare Akoko in Akoko South West local government area of Ondo State. 

The above references are pointer to the fact that it is not strange to have community leaders as politicians and political office holders. The incisiveness of the above should sufficiently address anyone's curiosity.  For instance, community leaders and Asiwajus like Senator Boroffice can never be accused of being stranger and alien to the people ‎by the people. They are better-informed, more-equipped and more-responsible political leaders. ‎They understand the people and have deep grasp of the challenges facing the people. Infact, conferment of community leadership roles via chieftaincy titles to prominent and accomplished personalities seems like a reliable way to attract development to communities.  ‎
‎
It should be noted that the albatross to the electoral success of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State started from the community of the candidate. In 2012, many indigenes of the community said they didn't  know the candidte of the party while some said he was an alien. ‎An Asiwaju of any community, no matter how small, would not have suffered such fate. Therefore, it was little surprise when the candidate eventually lost the guber contest at his community ward. ‎‎

Laying emphasis on the credentials of Senator Boroffice as a community leader is ‎not aimed at reducing him to a local champion but to allude to a patriot with fertile history of being responsible to his people. Like the adage goes, "charity begins at home". ‎ Afterall, he has represented Owo and Ose local government areas remarkably well as a senator. ‎He was declared Ondo State Man of the Year for 2008 for his outstanding service to the people of Ondo State by Society Watch International, Dublin Ireland and Owena Press Limited, Akure.  Also, the Federal Government of Nigeria couldn't have conferred on him the honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) for only his local contributions. That honour was in recognition and appreciation of the global honour, patriot Boroffice had allured to his father's land, Nigeria. 
‎
‎On the second question, in analysing whether a serving senator can present himself for governorship election or not, the writer should have allowed himself to be guided by the constitutional requirements for anyone to contest governornorship election rather than by puerile emotions. It is not about greed, it is about Law. Section 177 of the Nigerian Constitution (as amended) says ‎(a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth; (b) he has attained the age of thirty-five ‎years; (c) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and (d) he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent. Therefore, since the senator has meant constitutional requirements, why should he not exercise his right? 
‎
It is on record that the Governors Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, ‎Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, Patrick Okowa of Delta State, Benedict Ayade of Cross River State and many others had served as senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria before they emerged governors. Having served in the highest legislative level in the country, it will serve the interest of Ondo people for Senator Boroffice to join the list of the identified prominent leaders.

The public should be wary of sponsored and uninformed writers as November 26 gets nearer. Senator Boroffice was never made a Minister of Science and Technology and he has never claimed such title. The chairman, Senate Committee on Science and Technology is not same as Minister of Science and Technology. The writer either expressed ignorance or deliberately told lies to arrive at senseless submissions. If the identity of the writer is not fictitious, he should bring forth his real father's name and address in Oka-Akoko so that he can be properly identified, engaged and enlightened. 

‎Senator Boroffice will not respectfully withdraw from the 2016 gubernatorial race because he has not only secured the nod of majority of party delegates and the confidence of party leadership but history has also positioned him to emerge as the next governor of Ondo State. 

Kayode Adeniyi, the author of this article, lives from Akure, Ondo State.

History has positioned Boroffice to emerge next Ondo Governor, by Kayode Adeniyi‎‎
‎
As the people of Ondo State eagerly anticipate the 26th day of November - the scheduled date for the governorship poll in the sunshine state, the nexus between community leadership and political leadership has emerged an issue for serious consideration and political discourse. 
‎
I must swiftly confess that ‎I share the view of many persons in the sunshine state that community leaders are better-informed, more-equipped and more-responsible political leaders. In making my contributions, I will seek to react to some concerns raised in an open letter addressed to a leading governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress and senator, representing Ondo North senatorial district, Professor Ajayi Boroffice. 
‎
The letter titled: A Call To Statesmanship and Honour, was written by an unidentified Ifeoluwa Olasogba, who claimed to be a native of the ancestral town of the senator, Oka - Akoko. Anyway, that claim is still battling a credibility tag.  

In the letter, the writer literally begged the senator to dump his governorship ambition because, according to him, the senator has many responsibilities to contend with as Asiwaju of Akoko Land and a serving high-ranking senator. 

In addressing the concerns raised, I plead to disregard the ‎unprovoked abuses, o‎ffensive submissions, ignorant rantings ‎and ‎needless insults ‎hurled at the senator while offering answers to the two questions the letter has brought to the fore; Why should a title holder of Asiwaju of Akoko Land join politics? Why should a serving senator contest governorship election? ‎‎

‎When the senator was officially bestowed community leadership responsibilities by the virtue of his installation as the Asiwaju of Akoko Land in May 2009, he was given 11-point agenda of which 5 of them are chiefly political. Infact, his installation about 7years was a widely-praised coronation of a man with record of unrivalled contributions to community development in the region. By implication, the people of Akoko Land had sent a son on a foray and sojourn to the political battlefield. 
‎
‎Meanwhile, what the Akoko people did has a revered place in political history of Nigeria. ‎The late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello‎ was the first premier of Northern Nigeria between 1954 and 1966. Sardauna means warlord and in Yoruba adaptation, implied Asiwaju. ‎He was a prominent political leader of the Northern People's Congress, who was elected into the Northern House of Assembly and functioned as minister of works. ‎

‎The National leader of All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is the present title holder of Asiwaju of Lagos. He represented Lagos West as a senator in 1993 and later served as governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007. Also, late Chief Idowu Ajibola Ige, SAN, was the Asiwaju of Esa-Oke and Jagunmolu of Ijesha Land. Until his death, he was a National leader of Alliance for Democracy. He was a commissioner for Agriculture, served as governor of Oyo State, appointed as minister of many ministries; Minister of Power and Steel, and Minister of Justice ‎between 1999 and 2001. 
‎‎
‎In Ondo State, Senator Olabode Olajumoke is the Asiwaju of Imeri in Ose local government.  Olajumoke is a former presidential aspirant and served as member of the 5th and 6th Nigerian Senate. ‎Also, the former Deputy- Governor of Ondo State, Alhaji Ali Olanusi is the Asiwaju of Supare Akoko in Akoko South West local government area of Ondo State. 

The above references are pointer to the fact that it is not strange to have community leaders as politicians and political office holders. The incisiveness of the above should sufficiently address anyone's curiosity.  For instance, community leaders and Asiwajus like Senator Boroffice can never be accused of being stranger and alien to the people ‎by the people. They are better-informed, more-equipped and more-responsible political leaders. ‎They understand the people and have deep grasp of the challenges facing the people. Infact, conferment of community leadership roles via chieftaincy titles to prominent and accomplished personalities seems like a reliable way to attract development to communities.  ‎
‎
It should be noted that the albatross to the electoral success of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State started from the community of the candidate. In 2012, many indigenes of the community said they didn't  know the candidte of the party while some said he was an alien. ‎An Asiwaju of any community, no matter how small, would not have suffered such fate. Therefore, it was little surprise when the candidate eventually lost the guber contest at his community ward. ‎‎

Laying emphasis on the credentials of Senator Boroffice as a community leader is ‎not aimed at reducing him to a local champion but to allude to a patriot with fertile history of being responsible to his people. Like the adage goes, "charity begins at home". ‎ Afterall, he has represented Owo and Ose local government areas remarkably well as a senator. ‎He was declared Ondo State Man of the Year for 2008 for his outstanding service to the people of Ondo State by Society Watch International, Dublin Ireland and Owena Press Limited, Akure.  Also, the Federal Government of Nigeria couldn't have conferred on him the honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) for only his local contributions. That honour was in recognition and appreciation of the global honour, patriot Boroffice had allured to his father's land, Nigeria. 
‎
‎On the second question, in analysing whether a serving senator can present himself for governorship election or not, the writer should have allowed himself to be guided by the constitutional requirements for anyone to contest governornorship election rather than by puerile emotions. It is not about greed, it is about Law. Section 177 of the Nigerian Constitution (as amended) says ‎(a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth; (b) he has attained the age of thirty-five ‎years; (c) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and (d) he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent. Therefore, since the senator has meant constitutional requirements, why should he not exercise his right? 
‎
It is on record that the Governors Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, ‎Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, Patrick Okowa of Delta State, Benedict Ayade of Cross River State and many others had served as senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria before they emerged governors. Having served in the highest legislative level in the country, it will serve the interest of Ondo people for Senator Boroffice to join the list of the identified prominent leaders.

The public should be wary of sponsored and uninformed writers as November 26 gets nearer. Senator Boroffice was never made a Minister of Science and Technology and he has never claimed such title. The chairman, Senate Committee on Science and Technology is not same as Minister of Science and Technology. The writer either expressed ignorance or deliberately told lies to arrive at senseless submissions. If the identity of the writer is not fictitious, he should bring forth his real father's name and address in Oka-Akoko so that he can be properly identified, engaged and enlightened. 

‎Senator Boroffice will not respectfully withdraw from the 2016 gubernatorial race because he has not only secured the nod of majority of party delegates and the confidence of party leadership but history has also positioned him to emerge as the next governor of Ondo State. 

Kayode Adeniyi, the author of this article, lives from Akure, Ondo State.

‎How Senator Boroffice got NASENI appointment in 1992‎

‎Senator (Prof) Robert Boroffice was appointed Coordinating Director Science in the NATIONAL AGENCY FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING INFRASTUCTURE (NASENI) in 1992. ‎

The task was to oversee the Directorate of Science Infrastructure.

NASENI was established when the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology was scrapped and replaced with NASENI. ‎
‎
There are three directorates in NASENI namely Engineering,Science and Administration.

Professor Boroffice did not apply for the job. 
‎
He was invited to take up the job on the directive of the then President Ibrahim Babangida to represent the interest of Yoruba‎ race.

WHY?‎
‎
The Chief Executive of NASENI, Professor Gordian Ezekwe was from the South East. Dr Tim Obiaga from South East was the coordinating Director for Engineering. Engineer Dawaki from Kano State was the Coordinating Director for Administration.

President Babangida decided that the 4th principal office should be occupied by a Yoruba man since Nigeria stands on three legs.
‎
It is therefore ridiculous to say that Professor Boroffice fraudulently got the job with forged credentials. 

He justified the confidence reposed in him because he midwifed three Agencies namely National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) and National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) from the Directorate of Science.‎
‎
He was eventually given the opportunity to head NASRDA which is the Space Agency.

Before he was appointed as Coordinating Director of Science at NASENI, he was the Dean, Faculty of Science in the Lagos State University, Lagos State.

FYI: Professor Boroffice did not forge any certificate ‎
‎

‎Senator (Prof) Robert Boroffice was appointed Coordinating Director Science in the NATIONAL AGENCY FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING INFRASTUCTURE (NASENI) in 1992. ‎

The task was to oversee the Directorate of Science Infrastructure.

NASENI was established when the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology was scrapped and replaced with NASENI. ‎
‎
There are three directorates in NASENI namely Engineering,Science and Administration.

Professor Boroffice did not apply for the job. 
‎
He was invited to take up the job on the directive of the then President Ibrahim Babangida to represent the interest of Yoruba‎ race.

WHY?‎
‎
The Chief Executive of NASENI, Professor Gordian Ezekwe was from the South East. Dr Tim Obiaga from South East was the coordinating Director for Engineering. Engineer Dawaki from Kano State was the Coordinating Director for Administration.

President Babangida decided that the 4th principal office should be occupied by a Yoruba man since Nigeria stands on three legs.
‎
It is therefore ridiculous to say that Professor Boroffice fraudulently got the job with forged credentials. 

He justified the confidence reposed in him because he midwifed three Agencies namely National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) and National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) from the Directorate of Science.‎
‎
He was eventually given the opportunity to head NASRDA which is the Space Agency.

Before he was appointed as Coordinating Director of Science at NASENI, he was the Dean, Faculty of Science in the Lagos State University, Lagos State.

FYI: Professor Boroffice did not forge any certificate ‎
‎

‎Senator (Prof) Robert Boroffice was appointed Coordinating Director Science in the NATIONAL AGENCY FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING INFRASTUCTURE (NASENI) in 1992. ‎

The task was to oversee the Directorate of Science Infrastructure.

NASENI was established when the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology was scrapped and replaced with NASENI. ‎
‎
There are three directorates in NASENI namely Engineering,Science and Administration.

Professor Boroffice did not apply for the job. 
‎
He was invited to take up the job on the directive of the then President Ibrahim Babangida to represent the interest of Yoruba‎ race.

WHY?‎
‎
The Chief Executive of NASENI, Professor Gordian Ezekwe was from the South East. Dr Tim Obiaga from South East was the coordinating Director for Engineering. Engineer Dawaki from Kano State was the Coordinating Director for Administration.

President Babangida decided that the 4th principal office should be occupied by a Yoruba man since Nigeria stands on three legs.
‎
It is therefore ridiculous to say that Professor Boroffice fraudulently got the job with forged credentials. 

He justified the confidence reposed in him because he midwifed three Agencies namely National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) and National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) from the Directorate of Science.‎
‎
He was eventually given the opportunity to head NASRDA which is the Space Agency.

Before he was appointed as Coordinating Director of Science at NASENI, he was the Dean, Faculty of Science in the Lagos State University, Lagos State.

Ondo Guber Aspirant, Senator Boroffice turns Pastor?

Ondo Guber Aspirant and senator representing Ondo North, Prof. Ajayi Boroffice may have turned to God for his governorship ambition.

We know that the Senator is a Professor and husband of a Professor, is he a Pastor too?


Check his new year message.

Why Mimiko frustrated me out of the Labour Party -Boroffice

‎thenationonlineng.net/why-mimiko-frustrated-me-out-of-the-labour-party-boroffice/

‎Senator Robert Ajayi Boroffice represents Ondo North Senatorial District in the National Assembly. In this interview with Deputy Editor, Nation’s Capital, Yomi Odunuga, the former Director-General of the country’s airspace agency and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology recalls the intrigues that almost cost him his seat over a suspicion that he was nursing a gubernatorial ambition. He also speaks on his desire to take over from the incumbent Governor Olusegun Mimiko and his relationship with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Excerpts:

How would you describe the transformation from the Director-General of a body like the National Space Research and Development Agency to the slippery political terrain with its
intrigues?

To me, it was very easy. I was serving the nation in the executive arm of government as the Director- General of National Space Research and Development Agency and after
finishing my tenure, there were clamours for me to go into politics by my people. You know I am the Asiwaju of Akokoland and, of course, I thought that it was a noble request from my
people and I should be humble enough to answer the call. Don’t forget that politics is at different levels. I have played university
politics. At the university of Ibadan, I was the secretary of university congregation. I moved on to be the chairman of the business committee of the university senate. So, I have been in politics at that level and if you look at it, national politics is not quite different from other forms of politics, either at student union level, labour union level or at the Senate level. So, it was not very difficult for me to transit from being the Director-
General of a space agency to playing my part in national politics.

You were in the Labour Party when you won the election to the senate, was there any godfather factor in your emergence?

No, I took my time to go into politics. Even when my poster was out as to my political ambition, I was not attached to any
political party. I took my time to study the political parties. When I saw that the Labour Party was a new and progressive
party, I decided to join the party and work with them. I had no godfather. Most of the people that formed Labour Party were
young men. Governor Olusegun Mimiko is a very young man and most of his colleagues are people I interact with or people who were junior to me in age and education and some of them were even my students. So, the issue of godfatherism didn’t come up at all.

Godfatherism can come in two ways: it comes
either in the way of mentoring you or providing you with funds.
In our case, we were even funding the party, so the issue of godfatherism did not even come in at all. I have been fortunate
in the sense that I have related well with my community, with my people and even the ones in Abuja. I have been instrumental to the career development of many people from
my place and the title of Asiwaju of Akoko land was in recognition of my contribution to the development of the community. You know Akoko is made of four local government
areas with about 53 communities. With the Akoko people behind me and knowing full well that, in the history of senatorial elections in the Ondo Senatorial District which I belong to, Akoko only represented the Ondo North Senatorial District only once in the senate whereas in Ose and Owo, those two have
represented Ondo North Senatorial District four times in the senate. So, Akoko people felt that we have four local governments and we have only had one representation whereas
Ose and Owo, just two local governments have had four representations and that it was time we conceded that seat to Akoko people and so the Akoko people were in my support. The Ose people were in support of this philosophy and so it was not too much even though the PDP candidate, Dr. Bode Olajumoke, was from Ose. They gave me massive support and that made
that dream a reality.

If that was the case, at what point did you decide to rebel against a party that you just spoke of in glowing terms? Or were you forced out of the party?

I was not forced out of the Labour Party. I think at a point in time, the governor felt I was ambitious and that I wanted to
become governor and I was too popular. There were gossips, insinuations in the press and I took my time to tell him that
‘look, I am not interested in governorship as at now, and that he should not bother himself but he just wouldn’t believe. You know politicians are very suspicious of one another and certain things started happening and I was not happy to continue to relate to him the way we were relating and I also discovered that I was not safe; my security was becoming suspicious or questionable, so I decided to leave. It’s unfortunate and I don’t
want to go into details of the treatment that was meted out to me. But one example would suffice. On a particular day like that, the governor invited us for a town hall meeting in Akure and I drove down from Abuja to attend that meeting. At the end of the meeting, I decided to pay him a courtesy call before
going back to Abuja. When I got to the gate of the Government House, the Chief Security Adviser said I could not go in and I said, ‘look, you know me’ and he said; “yes, I know but you cannot go in and my decision is final because this is my constituency.”So, I said fine, I want to see the Deputy Governor. I went in and saw the deputy and I told him what happened. He was shocked. While I was narrating it to him, the Director of SSS, one Mr. Adeleke, called me and said, ‘Prof,
where are you?’ I told him I was in Akure and he asked if I could come to Government House; I asked why he wanted me to
come and he said they were aware of what happened at the gate and I said I was not coming. He pleaded with me to come
and I left the deputy governor’s house to the governor’s house.

At the governor’s house, it was just three of us, the director was apologising and I told him not to because he didn’t commit any
offence. I said the CSO was rude to me and I wanted to know
whether he was acting under the instruction of the governor or
he acted on his own. Adeleke kept saying, ‘please it is not
important, just forgive and forget’ and I told him that it was a
simple thing, I said if he was acting on the instruction of the
governor, no offence but he was acting on his own, then I take
it as an offence and he should not apologise on his behalf.
Governor Mimiko kept quiet all through. He did not say a word
and so it occurred to me that he was behind it. He wanted to
disgrace, embarrass me. There were other things that
happened before then and I wanted him to deny this thing that I
am making public. So, at that point, I said to myself, I think this
party does not need me anymore. I went on my own volition to
my leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and told him I wanted
to join the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). He asked if I was
sure and I said yes. So, we went to his room, we discussed and
I told him everything that had happened. Although, almost a
year earlier, he had asked me to come to ACN and I said no. So,
that was how I moved to ACN and I don’t regret it.

You moved to the ACN and all hell was let loose. There was a move to remove you from the Senate because you were said to
have flouted the rule as there was no internal crisis in the Labour Party when you decamped. How did you survive that plot?

First, there was internal crisis. There were two factions in Ondo and anybody denying this is not being honest to themselves.
When the issue got to the Senate, the party wrote directly to the President of Senate, Senator David Mark, and he sent it to the
Ethics and Privileges Committee, which was a wrong procedure. They ought to have brought it back to the Senate, somebody will read it from the Senate and from there, it is now
referred to Ethics and Privileges Committee. Mark did not do that. What was going on behind the scene was that Mark had
asked me to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because
Labour Party and PDP were allies. He said ‘you either go back
to Labour Party or you come to PDP.’ I told him I did not come to the Senate on my own, I had a mandate and my mandate
was for me to go to ACN, so I cannot go to the two parties he
mentioned and he said ‘no, no, I have made up my mind.’ Right there in my presence and his chief of staff, he called Alhaji
Bamanga Tukur and said ‘one of my senators will be coming to you. He wants to declare for the PDP.’ So, I laughed and then
the following day, I went to Tukur’s office and when he received me, he said ‘I have been told that you want to come to PDP’
and I said I did not say so. I said the Senate President said I should see him to discuss the matter. I now asked him a question. I said I left Labour Party because there was
factionalisation in the party. Now, which faction of the PDP do I decamp to in Ondo State? Is it Mimiko’s PDP which is called
Gbasigbe or is it Agagu’s PDP? Then he said, ‘don’t worry, we
are going to reconcile everybody and I said, ‘Sir, when you have
reconciled everybody, then I will think of coming back but as at
now, I don’t think I can come.’ So, I left. I think the President of
Senate was expecting me to come and announce at the Senate
the following week that I have decamped to PDP which I didn’t
do. So, I think that angered him and he asked the committee to
bring the report, he presented it and he wanted somebody to
second it, that’s according to the rule of the Senate. Senator
Lanleyin from Oyo State was asked to second but he refused
and said the petition was not properly brought before the
Senate and he was not going to second it. That became an
issue and I think that was the end of the report. There were
underground manoeuvrings but I survived them all. I am happy
that I concluded the tenure. Some opponents were so sure that
I was going to be kicked out of the Senate. There were people
who were rejoicing because they spent a lot of money. My
governor spent a lot of money to get me out of senate but he
did not succeed.

When you wanted to contest for the Senate under the Labour Party, did you consult Governor Mimiko then?

Well, I was new in politics. I didn’t see any reason why I had to
consult him. My people said I should run for the Senate and it’s
my people who will vote for me not the governor and I was not
looking for money. In fact, he was not in support of my
candidacy. He preferred another candidate who was his friend,
Dr. Olu Agunloye.

Before then, Asiwaju had asked me to join the ACN but I told
him I wanted to remain in labour but that I would consider that
option if I find it difficult with the Labour Party. Asiwaju assured
that I was not going to be given the ticket, you know he has
very intelligent mercenary and he knew as at that time that
Mimiko did not want to give me the ticket. It was that day that
Mimiko called me and said I should come to Ondo town that he
wanted to see me. So, I got to Ondo early because Mimiko said
I should be there by 10. By five minutes to 10, I was there and
he said, ‘you know you are my friend, you supported me when I
was contesting; you supported me when I was in court. So, I
have made up my mind that you will get the senate ticket.’ I told
him that I had thought we were going for primaries and that my
friend, Agunloye had been working and he said I should not
worry. He said Dr. Agunloye would go to the House of
Representatives and that he would announce it within the week.
So, I thanked him. I thought it was going to be a long meeting
but by 10.05, we drove back to Akure and that was how the
issue of my senate ticket came about. Well, I am grateful to
him because he saved me a lot of problems and extra spending
during the primaries. So, I thank him for that but then, we are
both helping each other because if I had decided to leave
Labour Party at that point and go to the ACN, I would have won
the election because the Akoko people were behind me and they wanted that seat for Akoko.

At what point did your alleged gubernatorial ambition start
affecting the relationship?

Honestly, I don’t know but I started hearing rumour about the
governor not being happy with me. I said, look, I don’t have any
gubernatorial ambition. If I have it, I will say so but I don’t and I
thought I was very close to him because I attended all his
functions. I thought I was relating with him very well but I
realised I was not in his inner cabinet because I was not part of
the group that formed the party; so, I was mindful of that and I
didn’t want to overstep my bounds. When the rumour became
louder, I had to tell him that I was not after his seat and that
anybody saying it is just saying it to cause confusion between
the two of us and it became very bad.

Why Mimiko frustrated me out of the Labour Party -Boroffice

‎thenationonlineng.net/why-mimiko-frustrated-me-out-of-the-labour-party-boroffice/

‎Senator Robert Ajayi Boroffice represents Ondo North Senatorial District in the National Assembly. In this interview with Deputy Editor, Nation’s Capital, Yomi Odunuga, the former Director-General of the country’s airspace agency and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology recalls the intrigues that almost cost him his seat over a suspicion that he was nursing a gubernatorial ambition. He also speaks on his desire to take over from the incumbent Governor Olusegun Mimiko and his relationship with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Excerpts:

How would you describe the transformation from the Director-
General of a body like the National Space Research and
Development Agency to the slippery political terrain with its
intrigues?

To me, it was very easy. I was serving the nation in the
executive arm of government as the Director- General of
National Space Research and Development Agency and after
finishing my tenure, there were clamours for me to go into
politics by my people. You know I am the Asiwaju of Akokoland
and, of course, I thought that it was a noble request from my
people and I should be humble enough to answer the call. Don’t
forget that politics is at different levels. I have played university
politics. At the university of Ibadan, I was the secretary of
university congregation. I moved on to be the chairman of the
business committee of the university senate. So, I have been in
politics at that level and if you look at it, national politics is not
quite different from other forms of politics, either at student
union level, labour union level or at the Senate level. So, it was
not very difficult for me to transit from being the Director-
General of a space agency to playing my part in national
politics.
You were in the Labour Party when you won the election to the
senate, was there any godfather factor in your emergence?
No, I took my time to go into politics. Even when my poster was
out as to my political ambition, I was not attached to any
political party. I took my time to study the political parties.
When I saw that the Labour Party was a new and progressive
party, I decided to join the party and work with them. I had no
godfather. Most of the people that formed Labour Party were
young men. Governor Olusegun Mimiko is a very young man
and most of his colleagues are people I interact with or people
who were junior to me in age and education and some of them
were even my students. So, the issue of godfatherism didn’t
come up at all. Godfatherism can come in two ways: it comes
either in the way of mentoring you or providing you with funds.
In our case, we were even funding the party, so the issue of
godfatherism did not even come in at all. I have been fortunate
in the sense that I have related well with my community, with
my people and even the ones in Abuja. I have been
instrumental to the career development of many people from
my place and the title of Asiwaju of Akoko land was in
recognition of my contribution to the development of the
community. You know Akoko is made of four local government
areas with about 53 communities. With the Akoko people
behind me and knowing full well that, in the history of senatorial
elections in the Ondo Senatorial District which I belong to,
Akoko only represented the Ondo North Senatorial District only
once in the senate whereas in Ose and Owo, those two have
represented Ondo North Senatorial District four times in the
senate. So, Akoko people felt that we have four local
governments and we have only had one representation whereas
Ose and Owo, just two local governments have had four
representations and that it was time we conceded that seat to
Akoko people and so the Akoko people were in my support. The
Ose people were in support of this philosophy and so it was not
too much even though the PDP candidate, Dr. Bode Olajumoke,
was from Ose. They gave me massive support and that made
that dream a reality.

If that was the case, at what point did you decide to rebel against a party that you just spoke of in glowing terms? Or were you forced out of the party?

I was not forced out of the Labour Party. I think at a point in
time, the governor felt I was ambitious and that I wanted to
become governor and I was too popular. There were gossips,
insinuations in the press and I took my time to tell him that
‘look, I am not interested in governorship as at now, and that he
should not bother himself but he just wouldn’t believe. You
know politicians are very suspicious of one another and certain
things started happening and I was not happy to continue to
relate to him the way we were relating and I also discovered
that I was not safe; my security was becoming suspicious or
questionable, so I decided to leave. It’s unfortunate and I don’t
want to go into details of the treatment that was meted out to
me. But one example would suffice. On a particular day like
that, the governor invited us for a town hall meeting in Akure
and I drove down from Abuja to attend that meeting. At the end
of the meeting, I decided to pay him a courtesy call before
going back to Abuja. When I got to the gate of the Government
House, the Chief Security Adviser said I could not go in and I
said, ‘look, you know me’ and he said; “yes, I know but you
cannot go in and my decision is final because this is my
constituency.”So, I said fine, I want to see the Deputy
Governor. I went in and saw the deputy and I told him what
happened. He was shocked. While I was narrating it to him, the
Director of SSS, one Mr. Adeleke, called me and said, ‘Prof,
where are you?’ I told him I was in Akure and he asked if I could
come to Government House; I asked why he wanted me to
come and he said they were aware of what happened at the
gate and I said I was not coming. He pleaded with me to come
and I left the deputy governor’s house to the governor’s house.
At the governor’s house, it was just three of us, the director was
apologising and I told him not to because he didn’t commit any
offence. I said the CSO was rude to me and I wanted to know
whether he was acting under the instruction of the governor or
he acted on his own. Adeleke kept saying, ‘please it is not
important, just forgive and forget’ and I told him that it was a
simple thing, I said if he was acting on the instruction of the
governor, no offence but he was acting on his own, then I take
it as an offence and he should not apologise on his behalf.
Governor Mimiko kept quiet all through. He did not say a word
and so it occurred to me that he was behind it. He wanted to
disgrace, embarrass me. There were other things that
happened before then and I wanted him to deny this thing that I
am making public. So, at that point, I said to myself, I think this
party does not need me anymore. I went on my own volition to
my leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and told him I wanted
to join the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). He asked if I was
sure and I said yes. So, we went to his room, we discussed and
I told him everything that had happened. Although, almost a
year earlier, he had asked me to come to ACN and I said no. So,
that was how I moved to ACN and I don’t regret it.
You moved to the ACN and all hell was let loose. There was a
move to remove you from the Senate because you were said to
have flouted the rule as there was no internal crisis in the Labour
Party when you decamped. How did you survive that plot?
First, there was internal crisis. There were two factions in Ondo
and anybody denying this is not being honest to themselves.
When the issue got to the Senate, the party wrote directly to the
President of Senate, Senator David Mark, and he sent it to the
Ethics and Privileges Committee, which was a wrong
procedure. They ought to have brought it back to the Senate,
somebody will read it from the Senate and from there, it is now
referred to Ethics and Privileges Committee. Mark did not do
that. What was going on behind the scene was that Mark had
asked me to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because
Labour Party and PDP were allies. He said ‘you either go back
to Labour Party or you come to PDP.’ I told him I did not come
to the Senate on my own, I had a mandate and my mandate
was for me to go to ACN, so I cannot go to the two parties he
mentioned and he said ‘no, no, I have made up my mind.’ Right
there in my presence and his chief of staff, he called Alhaji
Bamanga Tukur and said ‘one of my senators will be coming to
you. He wants to declare for the PDP.’ So, I laughed and then
the following day, I went to Tukur’s office and when he received
me, he said ‘I have been told that you want to come to PDP’
and I said I did not say so. I said the Senate President said I
should see him to discuss the matter. I now asked him a
question. I said I left Labour Party because there was
factionalisation in the party. Now, which faction of the PDP do I
decamp to in Ondo State? Is it Mimiko’s PDP which is called
Gbasigbe or is it Agagu’s PDP? Then he said, ‘don’t worry, we
are going to reconcile everybody and I said, ‘Sir, when you have
reconciled everybody, then I will think of coming back but as at
now, I don’t think I can come.’ So, I left. I think the President of
Senate was expecting me to come and announce at the Senate
the following week that I have decamped to PDP which I didn’t
do. So, I think that angered him and he asked the committee to
bring the report, he presented it and he wanted somebody to
second it, that’s according to the rule of the Senate. Senator
Lanleyin from Oyo State was asked to second but he refused
and said the petition was not properly brought before the
Senate and he was not going to second it. That became an
issue and I think that was the end of the report. There were
underground manoeuvrings but I survived them all. I am happy
that I concluded the tenure. Some opponents were so sure that
I was going to be kicked out of the Senate. There were people
who were rejoicing because they spent a lot of money. My
governor spent a lot of money to get me out of senate but he
did not succeed.

When you wanted to contest for the Senate under the Labour Party, did you consult Governor Mimiko then?

Well, I was new in politics. I didn’t see any reason why I had to
consult him. My people said I should run for the Senate and it’s
my people who will vote for me not the governor and I was not
looking for money. In fact, he was not in support of my
candidacy. He preferred another candidate who was his friend,
Dr. Olu Agunloye.

Before then, Asiwaju had asked me to join the ACN but I told
him I wanted to remain in labour but that I would consider that
option if I find it difficult with the Labour Party. Asiwaju assured
that I was not going to be given the ticket, you know he has
very intelligent mercenary and he knew as at that time that
Mimiko did not want to give me the ticket. It was that day that
Mimiko called me and said I should come to Ondo town that he
wanted to see me. So, I got to Ondo early because Mimiko said
I should be there by 10. By five minutes to 10, I was there and
he said, ‘you know you are my friend, you supported me when I
was contesting; you supported me when I was in court. So, I
have made up my mind that you will get the senate ticket.’ I told
him that I had thought we were going for primaries and that my
friend, Agunloye had been working and he said I should not
worry. He said Dr. Agunloye would go to the House of
Representatives and that he would announce it within the week.
So, I thanked him. I thought it was going to be a long meeting
but by 10.05, we drove back to Akure and that was how the
issue of my senate ticket came about. Well, I am grateful to
him because he saved me a lot of problems and extra spending
during the primaries. So, I thank him for that but then, we are
both helping each other because if I had decided to leave
Labour Party at that point and go to the ACN, I would have won
the election because the Akoko people were behind me and they wanted that seat for Akoko.

At what point did your alleged gubernatorial ambition start
affecting the relationship?

Honestly, I don’t know but I started hearing rumour about the
governor not being happy with me. I said, look, I don’t have any
gubernatorial ambition. If I have it, I will say so but I don’t and I
thought I was very close to him because I attended all his
functions. I thought I was relating with him very well but I
realised I was not in his inner cabinet because I was not part of
the group that formed the party; so, I was mindful of that and I
didn’t want to overstep my bounds. When the rumour became
louder, I had to tell him that I was not after his seat and that
anybody saying it is just saying it to cause confusion between
the two of us and it became very bad.

Kwarans Thwarted Plans By External Forces To Embarrass Saraki At Eid Praying Ground

Iroko is working, Don't disturb.

Still On Corruption

Question For Mr Governor

Questions for Mr President

‎Open Letter to Senate President: Save Ondo South from Unending Blackout. 
‎
By Kayode Fakuyi
‎
Distinguished Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki.

I wish to bring to your attention the unfortunate and unlawful activities of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company ‎(BEDC) which have led to perpetual blackout and paralysed economic activities in the entire Ondo South senatorial district of Ondo State. 

My heart bleeds as I make this passionate and patriotic appeal to you as the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, ‎the people's hope to halt the era of unending darkness, some of the communities have been subjected to two years of blackout, in Ondo South. 

Distinguished, ‎this unfortunate situation was foisted on Ondo South by BEDC with its unlawful activities of systemic disconnection of many communities from the national grid due to questionable claims of huge outstanding debt. 

Many of the communities have experienced blackout for over 1 year while some areas have been subjected to over 2 years of darkness.

The entire six local governments in Ondo South namely Okitipupa, Odigbo, Irele, Ilaje, Ese-Odo, Okeigbo are gravely affected. 

The BEDC claimed that its unlawful action was necessitated due to huge unpaid and outstanding debts.

The BEDC‎ also claimed that its unlawful action was largely due to the vandalisation of its infrastructure by alleged miscreants. 

Distinguished, p‎ermit me to emphasise that the claims of huge outstanding debt and unpaid electricity bills are questionable, unrealistic and largely unconfirmed. 

I wish to note that the questionable claim of outstanding debt is tied to pre-privatisation era ‎and the regime of fixed charges even with epileptic power supply and weeks of no power supply.

However, most residents and communities have dismissed any indebtedness on electricity bills as they claimed the defunct PHCN was duly paid all charges.

I also wish to state that the claim of vandalisation of power infrastructure by miscreants is unconfirmed and therefore considered as untrue. Meanwhile, I know that the supposed miscreants, if they truly exist, also desire to enjoy stable power supply.

Distinguished, permit me to state without equivocation that the action of BEDC to disconnect Ondo South from the national grid is unlawful and it amounts to deployment of powers BEDC do not have de jure and ab initio. While it traditional for Discos to disconnect power supply from homes of debtors, it is alien to our country for Discos to disconnect power supply from entire LGAs and senatorial district. It is impossible and unrealistic for all households in the local government to be indebted to Disco. 

Having gone through the relevant sections of the Power Reform Act, there is no proviso that empowers BEDC to disconnect communities from national grid. Even if there are genuine claims of outstanding debts, BEDC is not empowered by any law to disconnect communities. But unfortunately, the same BEDC has disconnected Ondo South due to questionable and frivolous claims.

Distinguished, you may wish to note that this same senatorial district that has been subjected to 2 years uninterrupted darkness is the home to the Omotosho phase II Nigeria Integrated Power Plant that is suppose to generate 530megawatt. The NIPP was commissioned by the last administration. 

It was after the commissioning of the NIPP that you rightly said that across the country, the power plants were not working because of unavailability of gas supply to fuel them to generate power. 

Now that the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari has provided conducive environment for the availability of gas to fuel power plants which has led to a general improvement in the stability of electricity across the country, Ondo South is still subjected to unending blackout by BEDC. 

It should be stated that the NIPP project appears to be more of a misfortune than blessing to Ondo South. What an irony!

‎Distinguished, you may wish to note that BEDC has a history of lawlessness and impunity. The same BEDC was in the news recently for the reported disconnection of Edo State Police Command from power supply. The same BEDC was protested against by monarchs and youths in Ekiti State recently. 

Distinguished, I wish to state that throughout this period of blackout, the traditional institutions and youth groups have consistently engaged the BEDC with the hope of reaching an amiable accord to end the reign of darkness in Ondo South. 

However, it appears that BEDC is rigid on illegality and lawlessness.  

Likewise, we have engaged with related state government ministries, agencies and boards. 

H‎owever, the engagements have not led to power supply in Ondo South. 

We have also engaged the National Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC)  whose responsibility is it to, among others, license and regulate persons and companies engaged in the generation, transmission, system operation distribution and trading of electricity. 

‎However, I suspect a form of satanic collabo between the regulator and the BEDC. 

Distinguished, one can not but mention your intervention in #SaveBaga the saved the lives of thousands of Nigerians from lead poison in Zamfara State. Also, your patriotic intervention in the environmental degradation and Oil spillage that have ravaged the Niger Delta region of Nigeria is also note worthy. 

The above stated interventions further strengthened my conviction and I am most assured that as a detribalised leader, you will use your good office of the Senate Presidency to defend and advance lawful interests of Nigerians irrespective of religion and tribe. And in particular, to end the unending blackout in Ondo South. 

‎Distinguished, you may wish to know that this passionate appeal is tied with the collective aspirations of over 1million Nigerians in/from Ondo South senatorial district of Ondo State.  And I have reliably gathered that other parts Ondo State may soon be subjected to the Ondo South experience by BEDC. 

Distinguished, your intervention is most required urgently to forestall a situation whereby an army of aggrieved and frustrated ‎youths would take up laws into their hands. 2 years of uninterrupted blackout is not joke and I must confess that youths have grown out of patience, hence, the urgency of your intervention. 

Distinguished, I wish to refer you to your recent comment on the issue of power in Nigeria. You said, "We thought that with the Power Reform Act and unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), we will begin to see a relief with regard to power supply, unfortunately it is not so".  ‎Like you rightly noted, it is quite unfortunate. 

However, the Ondo South experience is worse because, even without insecurity or civil war, it is one experience of total blackout for years.

Distinguished, I also wish to refer you to the recent Senate order on abolition of fixed electricity charges.

The Nigerian Senate under your leadership directed the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to abolish the monthly fixed charges being collected from electricity consumers by the distribution companies.

Distinguished, I appeal that you engage and direct NERC to immediately intervene on issues of questionable outstanding debts in order to quickly reach an amiable resolution between BEDC and the people of Ondo South. 

Distinguished, I appeal that you engage the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and Benin Electricity Distribution ‎Company (BEDC) and direct the immediate reconnection of Ondo South to the national grid.

Ondo South genuinely expects your swift intervention, Our Distinguished Senate President. 

Signed:

‎Kayode Fakuyi, 
Kayodefakuyi@gmail.com 
On behalf of concerned citizens.


http://eaglereporters.com/2015/08/14/open-letter-to-senate-president-save-ondo-south-from-unending-blackout/