Why I visited Obasanjo – Ex-Education Minister Gbagi

From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta

Former Minister of Education Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi has disclosed the reason for his visit to the Abeokuta residence of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.

According to Gbagi, who served as the Chairman, Legal Aid Council, the visit was to intimate Obasanjo and seek his blessing over his ambition to govern Delta State come 2023.

The former Minister had on Tuesday led a team of politicians from Delta State on a visit to the former President.

The team, which arrived at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) Abeokuta around 2:45 pm, was received by the former president at the boardroom of the OOPL.

Speaking with newsmen after the meeting which lasted over an hour, Gbagi said he was in Abeokuta to consult with the former President over his governorship ambition come year 2023.

Describing Obasanjo as a father and ‘God-sent’, the former Chairman of the Legal Aid Council, said he wouldn’t have consulted any other person regarding his future political ambition other than Obasanjo, who he said still remained a reference point in People’s Democratic Party (PDP) politics.

‘Former President Obasanjo was the one who appointed me as the Chairman of Legal Aid Council before I later became the Minister of Education. He is a father… I can say very cleverly that he is God-sent,’ Gbagi told reporters.

‘I am contesting the governorship in Delta State. As a leader of the party in PDP who then would I have believed in?

‘Honesty has become very costly and not available at all. So, if you know anyone who is honest, you go anywhere to look for him. President Obasanjo is honest, he has character.

‘In fact, some of his characters are what have moulded some of us, that we have names and we cannot afford to toy with. That is what informed me in the course of my consultation and it is my turn to tell him where I am heading to.

‘When I told him about my ambition, he said thank God that you have made up your mind because I have asked you several times and several questions what you want from Nigeria.

‘He has offered me ministerial appointment before, but I told him I did not want to be a minister. There is a lot more to be done in my state,’ he stated.

Gbagi, noting that there is a lot of work to be done in Delta, declared that he has the capacity to lead the State.

‘If Delta State is earning less than N20 billion in a month, for example, I know I have the capacity to [make it] earn earn no less than N100 billion a month from local arrangements. I know it because if I am the biggest industrialist and the biggest creator of employment, I know what to do.

‘With the power of governance and what is available in Delta State, the State can generate up to N100 billion in a month,’ Gbagi said.

Speaking, Obasanjo commended Gbagi for summoning the courage to express his intention to govern Delta state in 2023.

He advised him to diligently do his consultations in accordance with the needs of the people of his State, with a strong determination to serve them accordingly.

The former President further tasked Gbagi to do the footwork in human management, stressing that promises made during the campaigns must be honoured wholeheartedly.