APC unopposed in Ogun, PDP’s Adebutu can’t beat Abiodun—Assembly Chief Whip, Bello

The Honorable Atinuke Bello, the current Chief Whip of the Ogun State House of Assembly, is the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Odogbolu Constituency for this year’s General Election. She speaks in this interview about the upcoming polls, APC’s chances in the state, including as a female politician. BOLA BADMUS brings fragments:

What is your opinion on the likely outcome of the poll in Ogun State, a few weeks before the presidential election?

The APC candidate, Senator Bola Tinubu, will win by a very wide margin in Ogun State. Even the people in the main opposition are not campaigning for their presidential candidate; they only campaign for the candidate for governor. Here in Ogun State, we have a governor who is capable and campaigning for his presidential candidate.

Our Senate candidate, Chief Gbenga Daniel, is also from my constituency. The former governor is campaigning for Tinubu. We win the elections without a doubt.

Don’t you think the APC’s failure to deliver on campaign promises will affect Tinubu’s chances?

Politics is local. When Tinubu was governor of Lagos state he did so well even without state revenue not given to the state. He even increased the income of Lagos State; he raised it to a point where the standard has not yet been met by any state.

Tinubu is tested and trusted. He is a man of ideas, a man who knows what to do at the right time to make things work. Why would Nigerians leave such a man and vote for a man who failed at the federal level? Tinubu was tested at the state level and he did so well there. We expect him to do more at the federal level with the resources at his disposal.

He created the LCDAs in Lagos and they are still there. Lagos state has the autonomy of the local government and that is something that sets that state apart from others. I know that in this upcoming election people are going to vote for personality and what you’ve accomplished rather than parties.

What are the chances of the state’s governor, Dapo Abiodun, against People’s Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate, Ladi Adebutu?

There is no opposition in Ogun State. Speaking of competence, we need someone who has done well as a professional. If you say Ladi is popular in Ogun, I say no. If you say his dad is popular, I say yes. We don’t want a man who wants to piggyback on his father’s achievements to become our governor; we want a man who has been tested, a man who has achieved achievements in his private life, someone who is capable and has shown ability. Being governor of Ogun State is not a family law; it is not a family legacy. It is the collective decision of the people of this state.

So someone can’t say because of my father: I want to be this. We want capacity and character, what Abiodun has shown as a manager in his private life, what he has shown as a father and husband. Dapo Abiodun is a good father and a good husband. Let’s see what he (Ladi) did when he was elected to a lower position earlier. Is it about carrying the family name up and down? No. It’s about competence and capacity.

What is your experience as a female politician in Nigeria?

It was a challenge. There are men who think that intimidating a woman makes them feel good. We are constantly controlled by men when making our decisions. It was also very challenging and interesting. The challenges have kept us going in performing our duties.

According to statistics, there is a reduction in the number of women participating in the 2023 polls, compared to the 2019 figure. What do you think is responsible for this?

The reduced number of women participating in the 2023 polls is due to all the things women see on the field. You just want to come out and say I’m not doing this anymore.

You know, Nigerian traditions and culture support male dominance. Most females don’t want to stay in a place where their voice doesn’t count. Most females don’t want to stay in a place where they are always being challenged. If you are not strong willed and careful, you can eventually break down emotionally and lose it.

Also, as a woman, you have the task of holding public office and taking care of your family. Taking care of yourself, as a woman, is a task in itself; you have to dress well. Men don’t care. If they’re wearing shirts and pants, they’re good to go. But women need more time. We have several things that limit our participation in politics. If the political climate is not too favorable for women to participate, they may eventually give up and fall back into their shells. It takes a tough woman to say I want to keep going.

That’s why when some of us get tickets, a man just comes and gets it. I had a similar experience in my local government area, but we thank God for where we are today. To succeed as a female politician, you must have a husband who is very understanding. Matching home front work and political work is not easy. But you must have a husband who understands you and knows when you are tired. Taking care of the children is not only your responsibility, you need help. The challenges make a woman want to go crazy and give up.

How far did you go in your re-election campaign to secure victory?

We have consulted with stakeholders. Thank goodness it’s been great. We talk to departments and everyone in the area. We flagged down the governor for the first time; we run the local government campaign flags. Soon we will start with the door-to-door campaign.

People have responded to the matter and we thank God for that. We’ve done a lot of things. We have done souvenir and awareness programs. We have our posters. The things we tell them are things they can see; our people have responded in a very large measure. The reception has been great. So we are confident that we have won the election.

What are your achievements as a representative of your consistency in the House of Representatives?

Let me start with the little things we’ve done before I talk about what we’ve impacted in local governments.

When we came into office we were able to drill boreholes in several places in my constituency. We have been able to build toilets for garages and large markets in the neighborhoods of my constituency. We have been able to re-roof health centers that were in poor condition.

For the back-to-school program, we have 13 students whose school fees we pay per semester. These are people who are not thriving financially. We have a program where we distribute free books and uniforms to students. There was a time when we handed out chairs to schools. We’ve done electrical installations in communities; we drilled boreholes in several communities. We have facilitated two blocks of classrooms in Odogbolu. We also facilitated transformers in Odogbolu.

In my local government area, we have given an entire building of classrooms to the Catholic school. We have installed solar panels in most parts of my constituency. At the Comprehensive High School we also facilitated classrooms. We have facilitated community transformers in addition to several other projects that we cannot list here due to space.

Is there a particular project you’re passionate about if you win re-election?

Yes, that is an important empowerment of women in my constituency and the maintenance of existing projects.

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