Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, Hon. Aderemi Oseni in this interview gives insight into the politics of opposition forces ahead of 2027, ongoing road infrastructure projects being executed by President Bola Tinubu as well as the condition of All Progressives Congress in Oyo State, among others. Raheem Akingbolu brings excerpts:
Opposition parties have formed a coalition against President Bola Ahmed ahead of 2027. With this coalition, is his re-election not threatened?
In every democracy, opposition is a critical element that defines both politics and governance. For me, the recent coalition of opposition parties is in line with democratic practice. However, we are not threatened at all by what they are doing. First, this administration is undertaking key reforms that will make Nigeria a prosperous nation if we push it through. It is a matter of time. We will all see that President Tinubu means well for Nigerians. Second, the coalition has not come up with credible alternatives. If they think President Tinubu is not governing right, they should bring forward what they will do differently. But they have failed to offer Nigerians credible alternatives. Nigerians are not fools. They are intelligent people who are looking for credible alternatives. Third, the coalition comprises diverse interests that have been tested in different capacities at the national and state levels. But they all failed the people. After they betrayed public trust at one point or the other, what do they want to offer now? As for us in the APC, we are not threatened by the coalition of opposition parties. We are confident of victory in 2027. Our record of achievements will speak for us, and the electorate will cast their ballots based on what we have done. The truth is it will be misleading to say that the so-called coalition is not making noise. But there is a difference between noise that is result-oriented and noise that is purely attention-seeking. For me, they are a group of people making noise to gain some attention. As a one-time formidable opposition party, APC offered Nigerians credible alternatives. We also complained with the strength of our people-centric policies and programmes. And we earned public trust and won the 2015 presidential election. Some of them were in our fold then. They knew how we leveraged our position as the leading opposition party to defeat the ruling party. They know they are not serious at all. We are waiting for them in 2027. God willing, many of them will join us very soon.