Olorogun Barr. Adelabu Ejiroghene Bodjor, is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Delta State and immediate past Delta Central chairman of the party. He is currently the Director-General of the Ede Dafinone Senatorial Campaign Organization. In this exclusive interview with The New Diplomat South South Bureau Chief, Mr. Pleasure Onohwakpor, Bodjor extols the sterling qualities of his principal, Chief Ede Dafinone, describing how he is the best-suited to represent Delta Central Senatorial District, come 2023, amongst other salient political issues._**
*Excerpts* :
As the Director-General of the Ede Dafinone Campaign Organization, you have been part of the team that has been going round Delta Central Senatorial District in consultation with relevant stakeholders, canvassing for their support for your principal in the 2023 election. What has been the responses of the people so far?
My principal happens to be one personality that anybody will find very pleasant to work with. The man has those qualities you hardly find in very many politicians. He is humble; I keep saying that he is humble to a fault. He is an embodiment of humility and love, care and empathy. His love for his people, if you don’t get close, you will not know the kind of person he is. I have always looked at him from a distance, but getting closer to him today has opened my eyes to know that he is a fantastic man. He is well-cultured in every area of life. I can assure you that Delta Central is leaving a good ground and moving to better ground. His legs are big enough to fit perfectly into the shoes that the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege is leaving behind.
Wherever we have been to in the course of our consultation, he exuded love, he’s got charisma, any time he addresses an audience, he will always hold them spell-bound because the words that come out of his mouth are words of encouragement and love. People have been appreciating him, even across party divide. So, it has been a rain of appreciation and acceptance wherever we have been to. They always say it loud and clear that he is qualified both academically, in character and capability.
You have just stressed on the general acceptability of your principal but could you also attest to his capability to square it up against other contestants from other political parties who are also interested in representing Delta Central District?
Without sounding immodest, I know that, may be, one of the other political parties has a veteran politician as its Senatorial candidate, but I can tell you that in terms of capability, my candidate, Chief Ede Dafinone, stands shoulder high over and above every other contestant. There is none that can be compared to my principal. This is a man, outside government, has been empowering his people. He set up a foundation, that is the Dafinone Foundation, where he trains people in catering, tailoring, welding. Computer skills, et cet era. And he has trained and equipped well over 2.000 Nigerians, sons and daughters of Urhobo nation, outside office. So, it is not a case of me or him telling you what he will do but there are proofs of what he has done and he is still doing. The Foundation is an ongoing thing, it is there. So, he has been contributing so much to the economy of Delta State and Nigeria. If you drive that home, you will find that the family has factories in Sapele and farms where over 1.500 people have been employed as at today. So, as for me, we are in for a good time.
And given his connection, his outreach, nationally and internationally, he will attract so much goodies to Delta Central. That I can assure you. He is somebody who has the reach to every important sector of the economy of Nigeria. So, seeing himself at the Senate, I’m very sure that as much as he still remembers the good works of his father, late Senator David Omueya Dafinone, he will definitely strive to surpass the achievement.
The incumbent Senator representing Delta Central, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has been applauded by the entire Urhobo nation for his unprecedented achievement in terms of projects, empowerment and legislative prowess. It is believed that he has raised the bar of representation in the Senate. So, do you think that your principal can maintain the new bar or standard set by the Obarisi of Urhobo nation?
The bar is high, the standard is extremely high, but I can tell you that the Deputy President of the Senate was able to do what he did because he knows how to navigate his way. He has outreach. He knows how to lobby people. So, when you have such a man who wants to take over from him, in the person of Chief Ede Dafinone who has both national and international connection, then of course, you will know that he is very prepared to maintain that bar and even possibly take it higher. He is an ex-boy of Kings College, Lagos. His relationships and connections cut across all strata of this country. And these are the people he is going to meet at the National Assembly. Some are already waiting for him to come, to work with them. I can assure you that, yes, he will be able to handle the situation. The Urhobo nation will never regret sending Chief Ede Dafinone to the National Assembly after the DSP. It will be the biggest mistake of our life if, after the DSP, we cannot send somebody who can live up to standard. But I can assure you, Ede has the connection and can live up to that standard.
One of the Delta Central Candidates from another party was, some time ago, quoted as saying that sufficient laws have been made in the Senate and that he was not aspiring to go there to make new laws, rather he was going there to grab whatever he could, home. But with the superlative performance of the Deputy President of the Senate as of today he has not only attracted projects and empowerment to his people, has been credited with the making of very many new legislations that have positively impacted on the lives of Nigerians. These include the new Electoral Act, amendment of the 1999 Constitution, amongst others. How would you vouch for your principal’s preparation and capability in these areas?
He is adequately prepared. A man who sits on several management boards of several companies for years, both in England and in Wales and in the country has acquired sufficient experience in the art of legislation. He sits on several boards that oversee the affairs of nations continentally. So, in terms of the ability to make laws, I can assure you that he knows his onions, he knows that the primary responsibility of a Senator is to make laws and he is a man who believes in the rule of law. So, he will match lawmaking and the use his connections to attract the dividends of democracy to his Senatorial district and the nation in general because the nation is one constituency. I don’t have any doubt in my mind that he is going to be superlatively effective. Chief Ede Dafinone is adequately prepared to step into the big shoes which Obarisi will leave behind in the Senate.
Some persons express the doubt as to whether or not the Deputy President of Senate have total confidence and trust in the ability and capability of Ede Dafinone to take over from him. How would you react to that?
Go tell them that the Deputy President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is fully and solidly behind the Senatorial candidacy of Chief Ede Dafinone and he is going to work himself hollow to make sure that his candidate, Ede Dafinone is delivered. I can assure you that. So, go and tell any and every doubting Thomases that the Deputy President of the Senate is the sole sponsor of Chief Ede Dafinone.
You are a chieftain of the party and an immediate State Vice chairman and chairman of Delta Central. It was reported recently that some persons have gone to court to challenge the APC congress that was conducted earlier in the year in the State and candidates have emerged. What is your reaction to that development?
Well, when people go on a blind run, you leave them to continue on the run until they fall into the deep pit. The law is very clear on that. You cannot take anybody to court on account of an election that you did not participate. Even as a party man, I was not a part of that congress. So, it is only those who participated in the election that have the right to complain of what was not done right or not correct. You can’t leave your house to come to my house to tell me that the way I lay on my bed or sit on my chair is wrong. Does that make any sense? It is my responsibility to decide on how I lie on my bed or sit on my chair. So, those people who have embarked on that demonic voyage are wasting their time. It will come to no issue.
Again, it has been reported that some persons have also gone to court to challenge the eligibility of the choice of Hon. Friday Osanebi as the APC governorship running mate to the DSP. Their argument is that as at the time Osanebi was nominated as the running mate to the governorship of the party in the State, he was still an active member of the PDP and that he did not resign from the party before he defected and made the governorship running mate in line with the electoral law. What is your take on that?
Unless there is another aspect of the electoral law that I have not read, or there is a different electoral law that says there is a specific time for you to leave one party to join another party. How is that the business of anybody as to when I should leave Party A to Party B? It is my personal prerogative. You see, people are trying to whip up things that don’t exist. If Osanebi had joined the APC in 2019 and has decided to quiet over it, is there any law he has offended? He has offended no law. That is another wild goose chase because the man did join the party long time ago unknown to anybody who is now asking that question. It is only within our party that somebody can raise the concern that he is new in the party and therefore cannot be entitled to such privilege.
Embargo on political campaigns is going to be lifted by September 28. As the Director-General of the Dafinone Senatorial Campaign Organization, what is the level of your team’s preparation for that exercise?
Life is always easy when you have a foundation laid down for you. The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has laid down the foundation for electioneering campaign. If you could recall, his campaign in 2015 and 2019 was structured in such a way that he visited every ward. In Delta Central, we have 85 wards. And in some wards, he visited three, four or more communities. That is to tell you how much ground he covered. I was part and parcel of that movement. Now, as the Director-General of the Ede Dafinone Campaign Organization, having acquired that experience, it will be foolhardy of me not to put it to practice. It will be properly applied. And I can tell you that when the campaigns start, you will see us hitting the ground running. We shall visit every ward in Delta Central. We are very ready.
In a few sentences, what are the selling point of your principal over any candidate from other political parties vying for the Senatorial seat of Delta Central?
The number one selling point is humility. He is not the type of politician that locks his gate to prevent people from having access to him. He is humble, honest and caring. He loves his people. He invests in human beings and above all, he has natural charisma. When you see him, you will fall in love with him. When you put all these together and you cap it with his educational qualification and boardroom experience, you could then see why he stands like a colossus amongst other contestants. Then when you now add to that his being a scion of the Dafinone dynasty, the family that put the name of an Urhobo nation in the Guinness Book of World Record as first and only family that has the highest number of chartered accountants in the whole world, of course, you will realize that he has no rival in the Senatorial race for Delta Central in 2023. That is the product we are presenting to the people of Delta Central, Delta State and Nigeria.
