For 5 months last year, Kayode Salako was the Chairman of the Labour Party in Lagos. He was a valued member of APC in Lagos before he left the party and joined Labour Party.
Because of his organisational capabilities and experience in politics, the leaders of Labour Party in Lagos asked him to become Chairman, so that he can plan how the Labour Party can defeat the APC which has been in power in Lagos for decades……CONTINUE READING...CONTINUE READING
Why did he leave the APC when he did last year? What did he go through to have made him dump Asiwaju Tinubu, his age long mentor and his party? A few days back, Kayode told City People the story of what happened. This is the 1st time he will be granting interview since he left APC. It is revealing.
How did you see the performance of Labour Party in Lagos State during the Presidential elections?
The performance of LP was a performance of a gracious political revolution of that party. Peter Obi came to Labour Party and the noise of that revolution started. The revolution was borne out of the fact that Nigerians are tired of their situation, and how their country is being run. They just want a change, they want the change of the ruling party and the government, so that they could try their luck maybe Labour Party would have something better for them.
Moreover, Labour Party did well and won Lagos State for the first time in 25 years.
Because they are aggrieved, Lagosians defected from APC, PDP and among others. This were veritable important tools and experienced politicians who think they were not fulfilling anything in their platforms, maybe the reward system in their political platform is very poor, and they are not gaining nothing so they changed camps.
So out of annoyance or grievances they left their political platforms and consolidated with what is on ground which is Labour Party. Labour Party right now have experienced political arms in all the various political structure around the state. That was the reason they could win Lagos for Labour Party for the first time. This has never been recorded for any political party.
The same victory would have been recorded for the governorship election; if not for the technical mistakes of the Labour Party on its own party. Right now, the party is learning it’s lessons from its mistakes.
Many people were surprised when you left APC for LP months back. How easy was it when you made such move?
It wasn’t easy for me to sit down and decide I was leaving the side of the progressive political movement. I call APC the side of the progressive political movement in Nigeria.
It was not easy, because I am not a political prostitute, I am not the type that jumps from one political party to another. I never left the side of Tinubu’s political movement, political force and Tinubu side of political divide in over 20 years. Even in 2014, PDP came to my local government to beg me to run on their political platform for House of Rep, I did not take the ticket because I was on the side of Tinubu then. I did not want to go because I wanted to remain in one place, make my contribution and count my blessings.
After 22 years of staying true to the letters commitedly and sincerely on the side of Tinubu. I sat down to review my gains, losses and achievements, and discovered that I was stagnant politically, and there was no achievements, I could not point out anything that this is what I have gained.
Tinubu’s political system never gave me a job, they never got me involved in anything that will make me feel good. It was just like I was not seen and I was carrying Tinubu on my head. The whole world knew I was a die-hard Tinubu man. I pictured him everywhere, and I was an unrepentant fan and lover of Tinubu. When I got to Labour Party, I faced a lot of attacks as the State Chairman of Labour Party. That was part of the reasons I forcefully stepped aside because they never trusted me. All they were saying in LP is that Salako will betray LP. He will betray Peter Obi. He is a Tinubu man, he is a mole from Tinubu, he can not be trusted. I was denied every right as a State Party Chairman financially, for 5 months for my sincere hardwork and my passionate contribution I put into Labour Party. I was just acting as a shadow and window dressing State Party Chairman in Labour Party.
I was not given any tool to work with, they denied me of everything as the State Party Chairman and they did not give me access to anything and they also denied me my peace, including administrative stability. They kept attacking me, because they thought I was a mole who came to work for Tinubu in the party.
So, I was in the midst of that confussion after 22 years of working and picturing Tinubu everyday, everywhere and he did not notice my effort. As of today in APC chamber from the state to the national there is nobody that does not know Salako as a dedicated Tinubu man and a party man in APC.
I am a progressively inclined politician, I love to run my things with virtue, I am always honest in everything I used to do. At a point I got tired of my situation in APC, I said it then that I will not be active politically, I will rather stay on my own.
Until Peter Obi came to Labour Party and one of my political god parent spoke to me about going to Labour Party and buy a ticket to contest for House of Representative and I found it as a good idea. Afterall who can give me such opportunity in APC, except you are favoured by the powers of the prominent people in APC. I was there for 22 years, they did not give me anything, they did not give me a job. If you are jobless in a place and an organisation offers you a job, the next thing for you to do is to go because you can die of hunger. So, APC did not give me a job for the years I stayed with them and when Labour Party offered me that opportunity to contest as House of Representative and even made me the State Chairman of the party and I saw it as a good opportunity that I have been seeking and I went for it.
Why did you resign as the State Party Chairman of Labour Party?
I did not resign, I was asked to step aside for certain reasons. I was asked to forcefully resign because some members of my party went to report me to our National Party Chairman that I don’t let the Ibos to have their way, that I do not reckon with them, and I dislike the Ibos and also because my wife Madam Foluke Salako was working for Tinubu. So for that reason, I should lose that moral right of running the party as the State Party Chairman.
They also accused me of being a mole in the party, someone who can not be trusted with the money of the election. They also said because I am contesting as the House of Representative that I can not be trusted with the election money assigned for the state election that I will divert it to sponsor my election campaign.
So, the National Party Chairman said I should step aside under duress. And since I am a man of peace, I stepped down.
I don’t drag things with people when I see that it’s not worth it. Moreover, I was regarded as the State Party Chairman, while I was running the party and building the party structure that won in Lagos State for, the first time in 24 years. I was the one who built it, all alone with my sweat and blood having meetings in every nook and corner of Lagos day and night, resumming office by 9am and leaving office by 11pm.
But, with all the attacks I was recieving from them, my mission was to make it possible for Labour to win Lagos State, so that I can make history for myself in my name.
I wanted to be that young man who won Lagos for his party in 24 years. I put in all efforts to win it for the presidential election and as well for governorship election. But when it comes to the Governorship election, the Operational Culture of Lagos State did not allow it and it is also the Operational Culture that made Labour Party to make the mistakes that led to their down fall in the Governorship election……CONTINUE READING
