Alhaji Sikiru Oke is the Deputy National Chairman of Accord Party. He was the party’s pioneer National Legal Adviser and helped in drafting the party’s constitution. He spoke with SEYI ODEWALE on why his party is not fielding any presidential candidate for the forthcoming election, why the party has not adopted any presidential candidate of any party and other sundry issues bordering on election. Excerpts:
Why is your party not fielding candidate for the presidential election?
It is true we are not having a presidential standard bearer, but it is not we can manufacture by ourselves. People must show interest in the party to want to use its platform to stand for election. It is not that we did not have people who are interested in contesting on our platform, but when we did some screenings, we discovered that some people were not credible, they were just looking for a party to use to stand as its standard bearer, to negotiate with the two major political parties to collect money, influence and political appointments. Some of them after getting our party’s nod to represent us at the polls would go to these major parties and tell them that they are ready to step down for their candidates, if they are willing to pay much.
We had a similar case in Ondo State in the last election that held in that state. We had a candidate, who said he had no money to pay the nomination fee of N1 million and he was aspiring to become the governor of the state. We looked at him and said instead of us not fielding any candidate at all in that election, we could waive the money for him just to feature him as our candidate in that election, at least, our name would be mentioned in that election even if we did not win. To me, my belief is that if as a candidate you do not have one million to pick the form to express you intention to run on the party’s platform, how then will you campaign and mobilise the people? Election these days are not based on your character alone, you must be able to mobilise your people to vote for you and this involves money.
So, we fielded him in that election only to discover that he went to the Labour Party to negotiate, he also went to the PDP to discuss with them and he manipulated himself in such a way that the unfortunate happened to him. His name did not come out as a candidate for Accord Party in that election. On going to the Election Tribunal, he filed a case for exclusion in the election and the implication was that there had to be a re-run.
And since he did not pay the party’s nomination fee, some documents that were supposed to be sent by the party to INEC were not sent. This actually was the reason for his exclusion. But because certain forms were submitted to INEC through the back door without our knowledge, his name got to INEC, but was not printed on the ballot papers.
When we got to Ondo State, the case began, which at the end of it all may necessitate calling for another election, which again may put some huge financial burden on the Federal Government and the parties. So, everyone saw the implication of the re-run. Those who lost in that election wanted a rerun as it would help them improve on their performances. But the party that won did not want a rerun as this might deplete its already lean purse. So, we heard it on good authority that the parties started negotiating with that fellow, who was demanding for N1 billion. The APC wanted a rerun of that election and wanted him not to succumb, so also was the PDP. But the Labour Party did not want a rerun, so all these parties had to negotiate with him and offered him something. It was him these parties knew not the Accord Party and as such, he was not carrying the party along.
So, when we heard about all these, we said we were not going to be a party to any of it because it was fraudulent. When the issue got to my table as the party’s legal adviser for advice, because I was then the party’s founding legal adviser before I became its deputy national chairman, I said the man was not our candidate, he did not pay. When he spoke to me on phone, he said he had problem raising the money and promised to write an undertaking to pay later, which I said he should do. He then asked his personal assistant to bring a hand-written undertaking on an ordinary sheet of paper, not even a letter-headed paper and the said undertaking was not written in my presence. So, I told him on phone that he did not look to me as a serious candidate. I said if he was serious enough, nothing would have stopped him from coming to Abuja to see me and discuss, but he did not.
Eventually when we discovered his antics, we summoned an emergency meeting of the party’s national working committee and sent a delegate to Ondo State to appear at the tribunal because he manipulated the tribunal in believing that a representative of the party’s national executive was at the court, which we did not know anything about. In order not to tarnish the image of the party, the national secretary and some other executives were asked to go to Ondo State to testify against this fellow at the tribunal. A drama actually ensued when the case was called. Someone stood up and introduced himself as the party’s chairman while the real chairman was at the tribunal.
The chairman, accompanied by other executives, also stood up to introduce themselves. The court was thrown into pandemonium. The impostor later ran away. But the party categorically told the tribunal that it did not know the plaintiff and that he was not the candidate of the party as he did not purchase the party’s nomination form and did not fulfill all the conditions laid down by the party for him to run on its platform. We did that in the interest of the party and the nation. We did not collect any money from any party to have done what we did.
So, we were guided by that experience in screening those who came out as presidential aspirants this time around. We then resolved not to have anybody who may want to use our name to start negotiating as we had it in Ondo State. And coming to our participations in general elections, you would recall that our party had an affiliation with the PDP about 70 to 80 per cent of our founding national officers were from PDP.
Were they deployed from PDP or they defected?
They were sort of deployed because at that time, PDP was having some internal wrangling and the late Chief Solomon Lar took PDP to court on the issue of leadership of the party. So, because they were not sure of what might befall that party, some of them needed a plan B and the Accord Party was their supposed alternative in case PDP crashed. That was how Accord came up. But shortly before we were registered, PDP got over its problem and some of those that came to join us went back to PDP.
I was not a member of the PDP. I started with Accord as its legal adviser, being a lawyer. I took part in writing the constitution of the party and I became the first national legal adviser.
Looking at it from that angle, it got to a point that they said since PDP is not having problems again we should all fuse into the party. But I said no, I was not a member of PDP and would not join it. We have to start negotiating with them, don’t forget, that was 2003 when election had held. That time we had our party members in the National Assembly some state assembly. We had Senator Osakwe at the upper chambers, while three of our members were in the Delta State House of Assembly and a commissioner was appointed from our party then in Delta State. This was our party’s first outing.
We then said if we were to go back to PDP we should negotiate and we set up a committee to meet with their committee and they were about holding their congress then. We then said as conditions for joining them that if they (PDP) took the slot of the party chairman, the slot of the deputy must be given to us. The same formula was to be applied for the secretariat. But unfortunately, this could not fly as they queried the strength of our party. Olusola Oke, who was their legal adviser then, said we should come and collapse into the PDP that was because all the parties were making one move or the other, but we said no, instead of doing that we would rather maintain our identity as a party. What informed our decision was the way the former Vice President Atiku Abubabakr was treated by the PDP when he was begged to return to PDP after his initial exit.
Atiku then returned to PDP and was asked to go to his ward to register to be readmitted into the party. He was reduced to an ordinary party man. So, at my level then I’m sure if I had gone to the ward to register, they would not have given me an ordinary ward leader. So, its better I remain in my party where I will be relevant. I preferred to stay back and if they call for leaders of the party I’m sure of being counted as one.
Since my survival does not depend on the party; I would not mind staying back in my party than to go to PDP and be rubbished. And as God would have it in 2007, Senator Rashid Ladoja was not given the governorship ticket of the PDP. This was the fall out of his impeachment, which he fought at the court and won. I was one of the lawyers, who defended him up to the Supreme Court. But before the Supreme Court could give its judgment in favour of Ladoja, the PDP in Oyo State had done its primaries, which chose Alao-Akala. Ladoja was still interested in contesting, but he had no platform, hence he joined our party. I presented him to the electorate at Mapo Hall, Ibadan. I was then the national legal adviser of the party. And he tried a lot, but lost the election. However, through him we had four House of Representatives members, 11 House of Assembly members. So, we are in the minority in Oyo State and without us in that state Assembly, nothing can move. We have the deputy speaker and five commissioners in the state cabinet.
Recently PDP approached us based on what we had done for them in the past. In 2007, we adopted Yar’adua/Jonathan ticket as our candidate. In 2011, we were silent about endorsement. The result of our endorsement in 2007 was some ministerial slot to compensate us for supporting them. Our first chairman, Ikhra Bilbis, was made a minister. In 2011 our national secretary was made a commissioner in Imo State and all sorts of positions were given to us. Although we were silent on Jonathan’s endorsement in 2011, we were still given some board appointments. Our national chairman, Lawal Nalado was given a board appointment
This time around the PDP approached us, but we have not yet given them our word; we are still talking. We have not endorsed any party. This is because we don’t want a situation where some people will go and collect money on behalf of the party. Something happened last month, some top members of the ruling party approached us and we told them our proposal and before we knew it they had invited the media and I spoke specifically that we are still talking and have not endorsed any presidential candidate or any party. The door is open to any party that wishes to talk with us; we are not an appendage of the PDP. If APC approaches us we will talk with them and see how our discussion can benefit the nation. So that day, I told the media that we have not adopted any party. The following day, I was bombarded with many calls telling me that they heard me say that my party has adopted Goodluck Jonathan. And I said no. Cleverly, what the NTA did was to cut an area where I said we have adopted PDP before and attached it to where I mentioned that members of our working committee are meeting with them to give the impression that I said we have adopted Jonathan. What I specifically said that day was “we have adopted PDP before, we are still talking and nothing will stop us from adopting them if we agree on terms”. The station did not complete my statement to give the impression that my party has adopted President Jonathan. The following morning I made some calls to the organisers of the meeting and I told them that, that was not what I said. I then called another press conference to set the records straight where I said we have not adopted Jonathan and that we are still talking.
At another forum where other parties gathered to discuss similar issue, I was categorical about it and I said we have not adopted President Jonathan and I equally spoke to press to make my party stand known that we have not endorsed President Jonathan. Concerning the shift in polls’ date, I said my party did not support it. We wanted the election to hold. If we had endorsed President Jonathan, we would have taken the same stand with the PDP.
The impression people had was that every other party apart from the APC was cajoled to support the shift in the election date and people thought the parties were perhaps induced to have rallied support for the ruling PDP, which it needed at that material time. So, people felt that Accord Party also supported the shift.
Myself, and the national secretary of our party, Alhaji Nureni Adisa, represented the party. Why I’m representing the party these days is because my national chairman has been indisposed of late. He travelled for medical checkup and just returned. So, while he was away the responsibility fell on me as his deputy to represent him. Of course, we heard it that they lured some parties. As a lawyer, I must be mindful of what I say, what I don’t
