Gideon Obhakhan is a former Commissioner for Education in Edo State and a former Secretary of the Public Affairs Directorate of the Tinubu/ Shettima Presidential Campaign Council. Prior to his entrance into partisan politics, Obhakhan made his marks in the business and corporate world.

He was a General Manager, Network Planning at MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, before he resigned in 2014 to contest the 2015 general elections. He eventually became the House of Representatives candidate to represent Esan West/Esan Central/Igueben Federal Constituency of Edo State.

In this interview, Obhakhan bares his mind on his much touted bid to become the next Edo State Governor.

Excerpts: You were Secretary of the Public Affairs Directorate of the now-disbanded All Progressives Congress PresidentialCampaign Council. Are you satisfied with the way the party now in power is handling governance at this early stage?

I am satisfied with the decisions made so far by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He has shown that he has the courage to make tough decisions. This is evident from his bold statement on the removal of fuel subsidy, which was made on his inauguration day.

He has also made appointments which cannot be faulted, and he is busy engaging key stakeholders in society. This is a demonstration of the fact that he came prepared for the job, and he is ready to lead Nigeria on the path to tremendous growth anddevelopment.

You spoke about fuel subsidy removal. Is there no better way it could have been handled better?

The discussion on fuel subsidy removal has lingered for so long in this country. Successive administrations made several attempts to remove the subsidy, but they ended going back to square one. The nation has now pretty much been caught up in a vicious circle, and the negative impact of fuel subsidy reflects clearly in virtually all aspects of our daily lives. There is no better way of doing handling the removal other than to simply remove it. Yes, there will be a phase that citizens will feel some inconveniences because of the removal.

However, as we can see, Mr. President has already set up an intervention team to evaluate the situation and come up with measures to ensure we all get value from the subsidy removal. I strongly believe it is a good decision and that Nigeria will be better for it.

To have averted these issues you have raised, would dialogue and consultations have been out of place before that announcement given the manner President Bola Tinubu announced it at his inauguration?

Negotiations are currently ongoing, and I think the debate on whether the consultations would have happened before the announcement may not really be necessary at this point.

Having said that, it is worthy to note that Mr President merely stated the obvious as the previous administration did not even make any budgetary provision for fuel subsidy beyond June 2023. Let us remain optimistic that the outcome of the ongoing negotiations with the Labour groups will be positive and everyone will have cause to heave a sigh of relief.

You speak with such conviction, how can Nigerians be assured of the benefits of the subsidy removal at the end of the day? What parameters should Nigerians hold the APC and the Tinubu administration on at the long run?

Tinubu/APC’s campaign promises were clearly stated in the Renewed Hope Action Plan which was made public at the beginning of the campaigns. Nigerians can hold APC to account based on that document. True to the promises, we can already see the fuel subsidy removal promise being fulfilled, and Mr President has also hit the ground running, just like he said he would do.

When the cabinet is fully set up, Nigerians will begin to see the benefits of subsidy removal. This is when the savings from the subsidy removal will be channeled to projects that will add value to the lives of Nigerians. These include infrastructure development, improved health facilities, education, and so on.

Give me an idea of what an ideal Tinubu government in terms of composition should look like?

The composition of Asiwaju’s government from the executive c a b i n e t perspective will be aligned with the dictates of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which talks about Federal Character. So, I believe there will be equity and fairness in his choice of personnel to work with him. Most importantly, he has demonstrated his talent-hunting abilities in the past, and I don’t think this time will be different.

There are reports of you being interested in Edo State governorship? Are you running, is this true?

Yes. It is true. I am currently consulting with key stakeholders of my party, the All Progressives Congress, APC as well as other strategic members of the society that are interested in the growth and development of Edo State. The consultations will be on until INEC guidelines are out, and then we can firm up all relevant structures to reach out to the public as part of the build-up to the elections slated for 2024.

What is your pedigree and what are you bringing to the people of Edo State? What is different?

I am bringing my wealth of experience having come from the corporate world into the world of policies and excelled in both. As far as academic qualification is concerned, you may say I am a bookworm. I am currently on my 7th degree as a PhD research candidate in Comparative Politics and Development Studies, the University of Benin. This is after I had obtained an OND and B.Eng in Electrical/ Electronic Engineering, a Master’s degree in Communication Engineering from the University of Lagos, a Master’s degree in Political Science, University of Benin, a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom, as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration from the University of Benin. My experience in the corporate world and my private business spans telecommunications, oil and gas, and merchandising. I was in MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd (Now Plc) for 13 years, rising through the ranks to become the General Manager, Network Planning.

I resigned from MTN in 2014 to serve my people as a public servant. I became APC House of Representatives candidate in Esan West/Esan Central/Igueben Federal Constituency in the 2015 general elections. However, I didn’t win the main election, but later became the Commissioner for Education in Edo State, giving me yet another opportunity to add value to the lives of my people.

So, with my experience in the corporate world, growing private businesses and public service, I believe Edo State will be a lot better for it when I become the governor come 2024. You were Commissioner for Education in Edo State in the Adams Oshiomhole administration.

What was your impact and what hallmarks did you leave?

The benefits of the transformation of education sector during Comrade Oshiomhole’s administration are still being felt till date in Edo State. The Red Roof Revolution, as the special project was then called, focused on the construction and reconstruction of dilapidated school buildings across the 192 wards in the 18 local governments of the state. The quality of education was greatly improved with the training and retraining of teachers, and lots more. We developed policies that led to unparalleled efficiency in the deployment of teachers between the Junior and Senior Secondary Schools in all the public schools. This I shall continue to propagate when given the opportunity to serve.

How do you rate the Obaseki administration thus far?

Very poor, to say the least. Virtually all the laudable projects started by the previous administration were abandoned for reasons best known to him. Chief amongst these is the Storm Water project that was meant to eliminate flooding in Edo State. He has spent a better part of his time in office fighting perceived enemies and has lost focus on what our priorities are as a people.

It will be time-consuming to list all the failures of the current administration. So, I’d say we should ignore that. It suffices to say that Edo deserves better than what is currently being experienced. Given the complex nature of Edo State politics, would you support zoning?

And would the people of the state go for zoning or rather talk more on capacity and competence? The two issues of zoning and competence are inseparable in politics. Zoning does not mean that a political can present any candidate and the candidate will be voted for irrespective of competence and capacity. Yes, for fairness, equity and justice, zoning is necessary because it gives everyone that sense of belonging. There is no senatorial district in Edo State today that does not have competent people to chart the course and steer the ship of leadership.

Finally, how do you hope to rally round the support of Edo people starting with your party delegates
ahead the primary election?

Like I said earlier, the consultations are in top gear mainly on two fronts. First is as regards the issue of zoning for fairness, equity and justice. This is particularly important because if people were to vote strictly along zonal or tribal lines, Edo Central may not stand a chance judging by their relative numerical strength. So, the focus has been to put the facts on the table for an honest engagement with critical stakeholders of the party. The point here is that since the beginning of the 4th Republic in 1999, key positions in the state which include that of the Governor, Deputy Governor, Secretary to the Statem Government, Chief of Staff, etc have largely rotated between Edo North and Edo South Senatorial Districts. The consultations have been yielding positive results because the APC has reasonable people who are able to assess these facts