Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain and the Balogun of Epe, Chief Lanre Razak, in this interview with EMMANUEL OLADESU, speaks on the party’s primary and the chances of the chairmanship and councillorship candidates in the July 22 local government elections.
How united is your party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the July 22 local government election in Lagos state?
We are very united. The APC is one united family. You may think the outburst of a few individuals who want positions in the party and they are not getting it should be taken seriously. Don’t use that as a yardstick to determine the unity of the party. We want to believe that it is a question of people that want positions in government and it is power. If you don’t get it, you can apply a lot of ways to let people know you are missing something. But, at the end of the day, I want to assure you that the APC as a party has a very strong mechanism to resolve all issues and remain united.
Have you pacified those who felt aggrieved during the council primaries?
That is a job for the state chairman of the party and elders to do, and they are doing it. And I don’t think it is necessary I put the details on the pages of newspapers. but, I know those in charge and who know the process of resolving this kind of situation are really working hard. For everyone missing any form of position and those to be given, all of us will smile together.
Are there assurances that angry party members won’t undermine the APC during the council poll?
That could be the imagination of some people. they have considered the option available with the way we are talking and discussing and they believe remaining with the party will be a better option for them.
After all, it is only one chairman in a local government and you know that there is no local government in Lagos state that we don’t have up to one million people and out of one million people, if one person want something and did not get it, you cannot because of that destroy the party. I am aware that the party has assured that all aspirants who could not make it, there is an opportunity, there is a lot of positions for them to share. There are supervisors in the council, there are secretaries to government. They will be pacified and the elders of the party are working hard, it won’t be winner takes all, we are not telling candidates to hell with you, no, we are talking to all our members to see reason with us.
So you may question the process that produced the candidates because you don’t know what we know and you don’t see what we see. There is no perfection in humanity and you can’t have a perfect situation in everything you do but because of the facts and information available to the party leadership they have done what is considered to be the best option as at now.
What is your reaction to the recent observation by the APC national legal adviser, Dr. Muiz Banire, that the primary was flawed?
I will not take that opinion as the official position of the national leadership of the APC, I will take it as a reaction of an individual who only happens to be legal adviser in the national level because what we call a political party involves a lot and if anybody is at that level and you don’t think or believe you should do certain things that will remedy the situation rather expose and aggravate the situation, I don’t think that is right. You should evolve a culture that will unify the party rather than throwing stones and bricks to the party from whatever position for whatever reasons. This is not the first time a primary election of a major political party is being organized. When you organize a political party, you are taking decisions over people and when decisions are taken and they are not in the best interest of the people, a true and sincere national leadership should now the channel of addressing these issues rather than national legal adviser threatening to take the state chairman to court, a state where you came from. And that is why the issue of true federalism had to be considered than the restructuring that some people are talking about, it should start from the party because if I am a national officer of a party, if the state does certain things that I don’t like, not in tandem with my own personal proposal then I just rise up and use my national status to say a lot of things, is not right. I don’t see Banire position on this matter as the official position of the national leadership of the party. If I may ask; is there a petition from the state to the national body in respect of the process? And if the answer is yes, is it to the National Chairman and the National Working Committee of the party? Has a decision been taken on the matter? There are ways of handling things. I don’t think because he has said one thing or the other that is not in tandem with the chain of command of a political party, he is saying something very important, I don’t believe so. No matter how bad the primary election in Lagos was conducted, the leadership should sit down and examine how to correct the wrong. I don’t think it is the right thing for you to discredit your party for whatever reason because if you remove value from your party, you lose election and the major role of a political party is to provide the platform to win elections and be in charge of government. How do you reconcile what Banire said with the principle and major reason why we set up a political party? The major reason of forming a party is to win elections, run government and run a very credible and successful government. But when the entire structure of the party has been condemned, that they cannot manage the party or do things that are right, are you strengthening the faith of the electorate or are you telling them that it is dangerous organisation?
Is there party discipline in the APC and what are the factors that will give victory to your party on July 22nd?
Yes. There is no organisation that will not think of discipline to ensure a disciplined group or society. There is a mechanism for party discipline, I think what we are facing now is not just saying because something has been done wrongly let’s set up a disciplinary committee, no. But, the most important issue is what we should do to improve the image of the party. Luckily for us in Lagos State we have the foundation of government laid by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who was elected governor in 1999 that stood strong and his successors and subsequent governments have been improving on it. Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola did his own and the incumbent Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode is doing a wonderful job in the state. You can imagine we had rains for almost eight days and many of our roads turned bad but since I have been moving round I discovered that most of the roads that were bad are being repaired by officials of Lagos State Public Works Corporation who are working day and night. Those are the kind of things that citizens will be happy to see and what the public would be happy to see, that government is rendering service to those we should. They are meeting the needs of the people and meet their requirements and this kind of good work Governor Ambode is doing is strengthening the confidence of the electorate in the APC and I strongly believe the people will stay put in the party.
What gives your party the confidence that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will not defeat it in the council election like the case in Osun recently?
The only thing Nigerians understand in politics today is a political party who will meet their needs and aspirations. As long as the APC continues to meet their needs and deliver good governance to the people based on the resources available to the government, the voters will stand by us. I am confident that the APC will sweep the election given the tremendous achievements of the administration of Governor Ambode so far. I want to assure you that Lagosians are happy with his sterling performance.
You cannot use what happened elsewhere to determine what will happen in Lagos, Lagosians are very articulate, who are not going to be taken for granted like what happened elsewhere, you know too well that I know Lagos and I know people of Lagos and I know what they can do and they strongly believe in APC. There will be no surprises in the forthcoming council election, I can assure you of that.
What is your assessment of preparations by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) for the poll?
They are men and women of honour and they are tested people. They will give you a free, fair and transparent election and the result will be acceptable to all Lagosians. The process of conducting election will guarantees its outcome. It is a a straight process, the voter should go to polling unit, collect your ballot paper, thumbprint and drop it in the box. The votes will be counted and the result announced in the open by the officials and many observers will be there.
What is your advice to voters?
My advice is that already they have a very good government in the state and that is APC government under Mr. Ambode performing wonders in all aspects of human endeavours. They need council s that will support that government to replicate the good job the governor is doing across the 57 local governments and local council development areas. My appeal to Lagosians is that it is not a personal matter, it is a matter that concerns all of us which is the progress and development of the State of Excellence that should come before any other issue. They should go out on the 22nd of July and vote APC candidates to ensure continuity, continuous development in all areas including infrastructure, education, health and other sectors so that Lagos will remain a pacesetter and home to all Nigerians.
