HON OROBOSA Omo-Ojo, publisher of the Mid West Herald and political activist was a former Commissioner in the Edo State Civil Service. Shortly after contesting the primaries of his party, the APC to represent Ovia Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, he was dropped by Governor Adams Oshiomhole. Breaking his silence since he was dropped for the first time, he told Vanguard that he has not been told why he was relieved of his appointment just as he gave pass marks to Oshiomhole for fulfilling most of his electioneering promises to Edo people. Excerpts:

By Gabriel Enogholase

Since you were dropped as a Commissioner in the Edo Civil Service, how has life been?

Life continues. As journalist every day is Christmas for us.   We take every day as a challenge. Outside being a commissioner, for the past three months or thereabout, the usual daily activities for me is that I have found more time for reading and writing.

I am working on my memoir; I took that window within the last three months to work on my memoir which has to do with the historical struggle in Edo State and the part I played.

So since my leaving office as Commissioner for Transport, I have used the time very well to add some chapters to the book.

Were you expecting to be dropped as Commissioner by the time it came?

Right from the first day, I felt someday I was going to leave office either ceremoniously or unceremoniously.

First, I was posted to the Ministry of Oil and Gas and we all know in the state that before I was posted there the Ministry basically existed on the pages of newspapers. That set

me out to be in the limelight either negatively or positively.

After that, the Comrade Governor drafted me to the Ministry of Transport because of the prevailing negative report.

Of course we are aware how one TV station here took on me for about six weeks, asking for my removal because I insisted everybody must respect traffic rules in Edo State. I was happy then that the Governor openly said that even if he beats traffic light he should be apprehended. And we did our best. Basically I was always at the receiving end.

But to answer you whether I expected it I will say, yes because I have never had a smooth ride in public service because of my training as a journalist. I have not been able to learn the rudiments of politics where you see one thing as far as it does not affect you personally, you will let it go. We always ask questions and that has always put me in conflict with certain people and the highlight of it was gang up, mudsling which stimulated the announcement on the fateful Sunday morning when I was relieved of my position.

I am sure at a later date or in my memoir, just like President Jonathan said, I will tell my story at a different date.

I kept quiet all this while because I did not want to heat up the polity, I do not want to be seen by the people I have criticized with my pen over the years jumping from party to the other because I believe if we all jump we won’t be   able to build strong political institutions.

But there were insinuations that it was because you refused to give way to the governor’s candidate in the primary?

Well, as journalist we all have different sources of information. You may have heard that, I can’t be everywhere. But by and large, till now nobody has told me what I did wrong, why I was dropped.

Yes I am aware that certain things happened in the course of seeking the ticket for Ovia Federal Constituency in APC and we saw the drama that happened on TV, how a serving commissioner then who has now found his way into PDP, shoved and pushed me, broke my hand then kicked the table where the votes were being counted during the primaries.

Electoral violence

I kept my cool, I remained calm but I did try to ensure that the culprits that perpetuated the electoral violence were brought to book. I reported the main actors; I petitioned the police that those actors needed to be arrested because if you want INEC to conduct a very acceptable election, we as politicians must play our role.

It was not an act to denigrate my party, APC but I don’t think any party worth its salt will dispatch senior government officials- local government chairman, serving commissioner, aides to go and disrupt a primary. So I never suspected they were sent by anybody.

Do you think that the comrase governor has been able to fulfil the promises he made to the Edo people?

First, we promised then that our people must lead. Our slogan then was let the people lead. On that one, the Comrade Governor has delivered 110 per cent.

Before it amounted to satanic verses for anybody to criticize government in office when PDP was in office. I am saying this because I suffered tragically for it.