Greed, Power Lust Behind Friction Between Governors, Deputies – Ondo Ex-Deputy Governor

Former Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Alhaji Lasisi Oluboyo, has attributed the recurring rift between state governors and their deputies to greed and an unbridled lust for power by some deputy governors.

Speaking in an interview in Akure, Oluboyo emphasised that the Nigerian Constitution clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of a deputy governor, and that stepping beyond those boundaries often causes unnecessary tension.

“It all depends on how you treat your boss, and how your boss treats you,” he said. “Greed is what pushes some deputies to rebel. The Constitution already outlines what they are meant to do.”

Citing examples from Ondo State, he noted that history has shown that deputy governors who failed to respect their roles often ended up clashing with their principals.

Oluboyo also used the opportunity to declare his intention to contest for the position of Ondo State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), adding that opposition parties in the state were no longer relevant.

He said: “A deputy governor is not a spare tyre. The way I look at a spare tyre is that if the main tire has a problem, then you replace it. But the deputy governor is not like that. When the Governor go for another assignment, the deputy governor steps in. In fact, when I was a deputy governor, I attended national meetings with Buhari. My governor had other very important assignments. So I can say the governor and deputy are one.

“I’m sorry to say this, some Deputy Governors are overambitious. They want to be Governor. Why don’t they wait till the tenure of the Governor ends before they start nursing ambition? The rules are very clear. When the governor is not around, the deputy governor steps in. The emoluments, the salaries, everything about the deputy governor is clearly stated.

“We are practising the written constitution. I don’t know why we misunderstood all these things. It’s a very clear situation, but greediness and fighting for what is not. If your governor didn’t give you something, that is his style. Otherwise, wait for your time. We should have the habit of waiting for our time.”

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Alhaji Oluboyo said the dearth of opposition in the state would make the planned Coalition against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC not materialised in the state.

He said those spearheading the Coalition were politicians who failed to perform when they held various positions of Governors and Ministers in the country.

He said his interest in becoming the next state party chairman was because he remained the best long the contestants.

According to him, “I’ve said it earlier that there is no opposition in Ondo State. If somebody is thinking that one party is coming to sweep in Ondo state, that person is wasting their time.

“There is nothing bad about it, the Coalition. This is democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of association. If two or three parties come together and form a coalition, fine. The Coalition, at the end of the day, can adopt APC. I can assure you of the way they are going. I don’t see any sign of a Coalition in Ondo State. Maybe they are doing it on the network. If there’s a real coalition, somebody like me would have noticed that. But there is no coalition in Ondo State.

“We, the seasoned politicians, are not looking at the Coalition. Our focus is on how to better the lives of the citizens. They are not there as far as we are concerned. We are not there. We are not looking at the Coalition.”

“I’m a frank person. If any Coalition is going in Ondo state, I would have noticed it, because I started my politics from the grassroots, and I’m not a politician who stays in the state and doesn’t know what is going on. I go home every Friday. I know what is going on in Akure here. I know what is going on in our so where is the Coalition? Maybe they are still warming up, or maybe they are still doing the activities in the inner room. But I want to tell you it will die on arrival.”