Morayo Lebi is a legal practitioner and also a public figure. He is an All Progressive Congress (APC) chieftain vying for the highest seat of power in Ondo State. In this interview with Topshot, he spoke about his gubernatorial aspiration as well as other issues.
See Excerpts below:
Why did you join 2024 gubernatorial race in Ondo State?
I came into the position of wanting to contest because we have deliverables we want for the states. We want to take this state to the next level. I am a technocrat and also a professional in politics..I am somebody that have seen a lot and I believe that we have enough in this state to cater for our needs. I want to be able to use my wealth of experience to help develop our state through internally generated revenue. We have lots of resources everywhere. What successive government has been doing across many states of the federation is to just to align themselves with Godfatherism by staying for 30 days and waiting for federal revenue. I joined this race so that I can help my people to think outside the box rather than wait for the N7 billion allocation every month in orde to develop our infrastructures. I believe we have more than enough to do that for ourselves in this state.
How do you intend to change the system?
One way to do that is to tap our own resources. For instance, we have large deposits of bitumen and in the process of tapping it, a lot of our people will have jobs. There will be expansion. I will ensure that we provide opportunities for job. The former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi gave us license since 2017 to explore our resources .What have we done? Rather than exploring our mineral resources, our government wait for the 6- 7 billion naira monthly federal allocation.
Ondo State need people like us who are into private sector business to drive the economy. Your own established business that you have become successful should be the yardstick to judge what you are capable of delivering. The truth is that Ondo State is the richest state in Nigeria but we are the poorest. Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, president of ADB said the same thing that Ondo State alone is capable of feeding the whole of Africa and here we are. Just like Nigeria that has so much the bane of our development is bad leadership.
Looking at the primaries in your party, sir, do you think you have the financial muscle to win other strong contenders?
I am not poor by any standards. At 27 years old, I already had four houses in Lagos. I live in Banana Island and everybody knows the class of people you find in that area. So, I believe we have the money to contest against any human being in this country. That’s the truth. I usually don’t always want to talk about Money. We must think beyond money politics. I am saying this because already some candidates are distributing money they were meant to use to develop their areas for campaigns. But even at that, we will compete.
Some aspirants are already stepping down their ambition for others, what assurances are you giving your supporters that you will also not step down?
I’m not one of those. I’m a man of my own. You see, this country is resisting progressives. We say we are the progressive with fresh idea and yet we ourselves don’t support progressives. But I will keep knocking at the door in the hope that it opens for me. The Bible says knock and it shall be opened.
The issue of insecurity is another major challenge – how do you intend to handle this sir?
The issue of insecurity is a national issue. We have our formula already but we can’t divulge it now so they don’t prepare to counter us. Indeed, there are lots of issues but it boils down to having the willpower to do the right thing. It’s also high time we stopped Godfatherism and practice federalism.
Let’s talk about some of the things you have been doing to impact lives?
If you are in the south, you will know that Morayo Lebi has been a friend of the poor. We started off with giving money to widows. We also followed that by giving those that are 55 years and above stipends. We give foodstuffs like rice, beans. This is something we have been doing and we will continue to do it. Let me tell you, my ministry is welfarism. I give and I enjoy giving. During COVID 19, we shared money and foodstuffs as well to help our people. We will continue to do our best. I know that we have enough I in this state to feed our people .So, we will operate into such a way that there will be a ministry for such that will take care of the downtrodden.
Credit: Topshot.
