you were chairman of the PDP in Kogi State for six years, what can you point at as your achievement?
I assumed office as the chairman of the party in 2008. There was a serious crisis of confidence between the party and the governor at that time. That was the first challenge I encountered but I resolved it. I managed to remove the party from the control of the government and gave the party the much needed autonomy. By doing that, I attracted a lot of personalities to myself and to the party. Many people started to join the party. Although the beginning was rough and the job was tedious, it was beautiful. Under my chairmanship, the party won all elections. The most difficult one was the 2012 governorship election but with the help of God and the support of the people, we won. What made it difficult was that there were about 20 aspirants. We won it with 21 House of Assembly members. I equally delivered all the chairmen in the local government election. Unfortunately, in the last presidential election, Muhammadu Buhari, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), changed the permutations. One significant thing to learn from that election is that there must be a separation of the presidential election from National Assembly election. Conducting the two at the same time is not the best. I believe it does not augur well for our democracy. In a post-election paper I presented to the national headquarters of the PDP, I said combining such elections is not good and therefore, should be separated. Interestingly, in the House of Assembly election, we turned things around through hard work and we won 14 seats as against the APC’s 11, and it happened within two weeks. This is evidence that we are on the ground. Some of our members defected to the APC, but as the chairman, I was looking at strategies to combat the challenge of the defection. I will discuss with the new chairman on how to bring them back as some of them left as a result of alleged imposition of candidates. If you conduct true primaries, the loser would surely embrace the winner, but the moment you impose a candidate on the people, there would be problem and that is exactly what is going on in the state presently.
Besides, the PDP was looking at itself as a party of yesterday. The beginning of the fall of the party was when five governors left and nothing serious was done to reverse it [the development]. I knew then that we would be in serious trouble. Another thing is that nobody can wish former President Olusegun Obasanjo away from the PDP. Whether he was wrong or not, if his suggestions had been accommodated, maybe things would have been better. In Kogi State here, many people have defected to the opposition but most of them have overrated themselves. They are no more important in the politics of this state. Most of them are yesterday’s names. Somebody who could not win in a polling unit in front of his house making noise that he has defected! If the PDP can strategise and work very hard, we will bounce back.
How do you think the new party officials in the state will handle the task of the forthcoming governorship election in terms of preparation, conflict resolution, among other things?
The new executive members must be ready to listen and give room for collaboration. They must not see themselves as capable of doing it alone. They should always work with past executives in order to move the party forward. I will constantly pray for them to succeed because that is what will benefit all of us. The past executives are not saying that we know everything or have the solutions to all problems, but, as they say, experience is the best teacher. I equally appeal to them to be independent of the government and be ready to mend fences with the defected members. Politics is a game of numbers, so, we need them. The new chairman must have an independent mind, be a team player and be focused. He should make the issue of money secondary, because the moment he makes money primary, the governor would no longer give him respect and the electorate would not believe him. He needs to be focused and know where he is going with the rest of the executive members. The new officers need to be independent and constantly advise the government, not only on party matters, but also on policies.
What are the chances of the PDP in view of the swelling of the APC with the defection of your former party members?
I am not God, but I am sure that we will triumph at the end of the election and you will come and congratulate me. If you go round the town presently, you will see the billboards of the APC, but very soon, I assure you, they will come back to the PDP, which is their home. Most of the time, you look at people as being relevant politically because of their noise, but in reality, they don’t have any electoral value. The PDP has a lot of chances in the coming election. We are politicians and the facts on the ground are enough to seal our victory. The PDP has a lot of challenges at present, but they are surmountable and by the grace of God, we will overcome them. But most of the people that defected from the party did so for selfish interest, and by the time they don’t get what they want at the other end, they will come back.
How will the party deal with the fallout of the primary?
The electorate and watchers of political events should not believe that the incumbent governor, Captain Idris Wada, will be favoured. He is not an automatic candidate. Captain Wada, as an aspirant, will pass through all the processes as due process will be followed during the primary. There will be no preferential treatment for anybody. As you all know, the PDP believes in internal democracy and we have a superb machinery to resolve any crisis that comes after the primary. We will conduct a free and fair primary and, therefore, whoever emerges will get the support of all of us. It is true there is crisis within the PDP but God will support us to end it in time.
Governor Wada has tried his best in almost all areas of governance with the available resources. His administration has completed all projects left behind by the previous administration, so, in criticising him, I urge the people to be objective. But what I want my people to focus on is power rotation. After the next governor, there must be power shift. Power must leave Igala kingdom to [Kogi] West and Central senatorial districts. Instead of dissipating our energies on what would not profit us, we should look ahead. The gap between the winner and the loser in the coming election will be marginal. That is my prediction. The western and central senatorial districts should put their house in order now. After this [election], they should clamour for governorship.
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