…Explains his mission to House of Reps

Mr Gbenga Power Oyekunle is the founder of the Gbenga Power Foundation and he has been involved in various empowerment programmes in Kwara State for about a decade.

 Gbenga Power, as he is fondly called, hails from Igbaja in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State and is aspiring to represent Ifelodun/Offa /Oyun Federal Constituency of Kwara State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC. In this interview, he speaks about his aspirations, the plans for his constituency, and other sundry issues. 

As a chieftain of your party, what efforts should be made to reconcile aggrieved members of APC in Kwara State?

Most people do not know what politic is all about. Most people believe that politics is for self interest. Politics is when people with different ideas come together for a common goal and that is for the development of the people and their community.

I think we should forget all bickering. We need to come together and develop our party and our state. We should forget about the past and forge a common front.

There is no way you will be in politics and you will not be hurt, there must be tolerance, patience and endurance. In politics, you need to absorb and move on. I want to urge all aggrieved members to reconcile and move on.

We have heard and read where lawmakers have failed to return to their constituencies due to insecurity, what should be done to tackle the worsening security in Nigeria?

Security begins from our homes. When a stranger comes into your community and you do not investigate him, you are endangering yourself. The security of Nigeria begins with the individuals, we should not leave everything to the government and that is why I support community policing. When you talk about community policing, it does not mean the person must be a policeman, An individual is the police to his or community; no intruder can attack you at home if there is no inside information about you.

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Townhall meetings and regular meetings on security should not be over-emphasised. In our respectively communities, everybody should be security conscious and report to the relevant authorities when they observe strange faces in their area.

We need to help the police because the police cannot be everywhere because they work with information at their disposal. In security, the surest asset is information and it is only the people that can provide such information.

Still on your Foundation, are the beneficiaries only restricted to members of your party?

My Foundation cuts across party lines, we do not care which political party you belong to, we do not care about gender, all we care about is the people.

We ensure that the beneficiaries are from Kwara State, it is not restricted to any political party, once you are an indigene of Kwara State and a Nigerian, you are qualified to benefit from Gbenga Power Foundation.

What influenced your decision to join politics, which many consider dirty?

Politics is dirty when you have ulterior motives or plan to steal public funds. Politics is dirty when you do not have the interests of the people at heart. Politics is not dirty when you want to serve your people. I got into politics because I wanted to serve my people, and I have been serving my people through my Foundation.

Speaking of Foundations, why did you venture into philanthropy in Kwara State?

For over 10 years, we have been empowering women, widows, young men, and women across Kwara State, not only in Ifelodun.

It is not because of politics that I started my Foundation, but to meet the needs of the people.

What I did was that a percentage of my income was set aside and used to give back to the community where I hail from.

I do not like seeing my people in need. Also, the government alone cannot cater to the needs of the people. My Foundation was set up to help humanity.

What we discovered was that some old women can no longer go to the farms and they need to be fed and meet their needs, so we organised a medical outreach and empowerment programme where we reached out to them.

We also give out scholarships to students whose parents are poor. Recently, we gave out over 600 JAMB forms to students and it is ongoing. We also embarked on bore holes sinking across Kwara State and we have been doing this for years. I believe that when God blesses you, you need to give back to society.

So, if I have public funds, coupled with what I am doing, I believe it will go a long way towards alleviating the plight of the people.

Having thrown your hat in the ring to contest the House of Representatives seat, how involved are you in Kwara politics?

I am a grassroots politician, I am close to my community, and what I do is that, thrice a year, I visit all the villages in Kwara South to meet with them, hear their needs, and see what can be done to improve their lives.

I do not delegate people to do it on my behalf, I go there myself. 

What are the needs of your constituency?

From my visits, they need roads, light and water, and that is why we took up the water project.

We have sunk over 22 boreholes in Igbomina land by the grace of God. For example, in Idofian in Ifelodun, we sank a bore hole a few days ago through the Gbenga Power Foundation. We are called to serve our people. It is not for you to stay in Abuja and say you are representing the people.

Ahead of the party primaries, what are your concerns?

My concern is that we need to unite the party, we need to leave sentiments of ethnicity or religion, and we need to work together as a team, promote peace and develop our party.

Do you think the governor has lived up to the expectations of the people of Kwara State? 

The governor is trying his best, but he cannot develop everywhere at the same time. He needs time and more funds and you should know that Kwara State is not an oil producing state and despite that, the governor is trying his best with the resources at his disposal, he has constructed roads, built health centres and created jobs for the unemployed. As far as infrastructure is concerned, the governor is doing well.

The governor also believes in equity and fairness, you are aware that he has brought in more women into his cabinet, we need to commend him and support him. The governor is representing the party and if he is doing well, the party is doing well. We also need to assist the governor by doing the best we can to support him.

Do you think you have enough support base to achieve your ambition?

When you look at the credibility of candidates, I have credibility because God has helped us. What have you done to the benefit of the people if you want to contest an election. It is what you have done as a politician in the last four years that will determine your success at the polls. Most of those elected have not done one tenth of what God has helped me to do for the people. I do not see any challenges and I believe that the people in my constituency are happy with the projects we have done and those ongoing. We are reaching out to them and I am optimistic that I have their support when the time comes. I am optimistic about winning the primary and elections.

We all know that there are capital projects and there are projects that are not money consuming. When elected as a member of the House of Representatives, I intend to embark on capital projects. For example, some of our rural roads need to be graded, while others need to be tarred. We will directly intervene and leverage on our relationship with the Executive branch of governments both at the State and Federal levels to ensure that we bring development to our people.

When we have good roads, it will help the farmers convey their produce to town. I would work to ensure that our roads are fixed and ensure power supply to our communities.

I also intend to provide ICT in my constituency to aid development and youth empowerment.