Former Southwest Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caretaker Committee Chairman Chief Ishola Filani spoke with Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN on the protracted crises in the ruling party, reconciliation efforts in the troubled state chapters and other partisan issues.
Why is reconciliation of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) factions in the Southwest zone difficult?
It is not true that we have factions of the PDP in the Southwest. Take, for instance, what is happening in Ekiti has nothing to do with factions, but members or groups angling for governorship ticket. There is a difference between faction and contention. The only problem in Ekiti is that the party’s state executive wanted to force consensus and the aspirants are kicking against it. Their argument is that consensus cannot be embarked upon by a third party. All the problems in Ekiti State chapter have been solved. So, faction does not exist in Ekiti.
Osun state chapter has been peaceful all along. As regards Oyo, what is happening there has to do with people fighting for positions. There are those contending for senatorial ticket in Oyo North Senatorial District, then the Ibadan people are fighting over the party’s governorship ticket. Very many of the Ibadan people want to be governor or senator. All this fight over positions is healthy. If a group of people within the party come together to promote their interest, you can’t call that a faction.
In Ondo, there is no problem and that is why we allow their executive to remain. The rift between the late Dr Olusegun Agagu and Senator Bode Olajumoke factions has been settled. I must mention here that Senator Olajumoke, Chief Sola Oke, the state chairman and Otunba Fasawe played key role in bringing the party together. Similarly, in Oyo State, the likes of Senator Lekan Balogun, Alhaji Hashim Gbolarumi, Ms Jumoke Akinjide, Otunba Alao-Akala and Senator Teslim Folarin have come together to work for the party’s interest in the state. All of them must be praised for their efforts.
What about Ogun and Lagos?
In Ogun State, everybody is satisfied with the court judgment; they are working together. There was a big rally in Abeokuta last Tuesday.
In Lagos, the three groups namely: the Establishment, the Union and Non-Align are working together. If people belong to different groups in pursuit of their political ambition, does mean they are quarrelling? They are working together. All of us in the Southwest are working together. Good enough, we have capable hands running the party, since we have resigned as members of the care-taker committee.
Concerning Osun, the issue of National Secretary has been resolved. The court ruled that Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola should be replaced by a valid nominee, pending the outcome of his appeal. That was the judgment. As a care-taker committee that believes in the rule of law, we upheld the court ruling. Oyinlola asked for s stay of execution, which the court refused to grant him. It was on the basis of this development that the care-taker committee conveyed a special zonal congress held in Ibadan in July. Since the position of National Secretary was zoned to Osun state, we asked the chapter to nominate a replacement for Oyinlola and that was how Prof, Wale Oladipo emerged. His appointment followed democratic process. We have made a return to court that its order had been carried out on the replacement of Oyinlola. In all we did, that is, filling the vacant position and reconciliation, we were guided by the rule of law.
I can assure you there is peace in the Southwest PDP. Political scene is like a football pitch, where you cannot avoid physical contact. It is not every physical contact that the referee declares foul. So, also in politics, there are contentious issues. Politics is about winning elections and in the process of wanting to fight and winning elections; issues of contentions arise between parties and individuals. You cannot say because, in trying to follow the democratic process, there is conflict. There is no conflict in the Southwest PDP. All that is happening is that people are expressing their interest for elective office particularly in Ekiti and Osun States where governorship elections are due in 2014.
Why did the Southwest PDP zone endorse President Goodluck Jonathan for second term?
One thing that must be noted is that the caretaker committee, in conjunction with state chairmen, who have been the pillars of our success and some of our leaders, took the decision. The endorsement was conceived by the caretaker committee. I had to discuss with our leaders across board in the six states of the Southwest at a stakeholders meeting where President Jonathan was unanimously endorsed. The endorsement was based on the improvement that his administration has made, since he became President.
If you go into the area of electricity, you will see that a lot is being done in privatising power sector. It is our belief that it is only true privatisation that power supply will be stable. We have seen what happened in telecommunication sector where privatisation has improved telephone services in the country. If you look at Aviation sector, you will discover that a lot of improvement is being made, particularly in the development of infrastructure in all the airports across the country. Mark you, there is difference between the management of airlines owned by individuals and corporate bodies that is responsible for plane crash and provision of infrastructure, which is the responsibility of the Federal government.
A lot of investments are being carried out by foreigners in Nigeria, thereby improving our economy. Nigeria is the a singular country that has become the toast of foreign investors in Africa.
In the education sector, even though we still require improvement for quality education, infrastructure for the development of higher education is being laid by the Jonathan Administration. It established new nine federal universities two years ago, and another three were added last year. These are commendable efforts towards improving education sector.
We observed that he is laying a good foundation for a better and greater Nigeria. By the time all this gestures by government starts germinating, Nigeria would have become a better place for all of us to live.
One thing we note about him is that he is a quiet worker, not a noise maker. His contention is to build a better Nigeria for future, thus laying foundation for greater Nigeria.
Of course, a lot is being done by Jonathan’s government to improve and modernise agriculture. Agric has turned scientific now for people to practice, given the facilities and services being introduced by the government to revolutionise the sector. As a result, a lot of people are returning to the farm. When we put all this together, we believe such a man should be given the opportunity of another four years to carry out these reforms and more so, when he is constitutionally qualified to run for second term. Being the first zone to make the endorsement, it is our hope that other zones will follow suit to have him unanimously adopted as our party’s standard bearer in 2015.
The protracted PDP crisis is affecting governance at all tiers of government. Is quick resolution of the crisis in sight?
The aggrieved members are expressing their dissatisfaction, but the manner of their expression appears wrong. They are asking the national chairman of our party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, to resign. They are also saying that President Jonathan should not run for second term. They want to stall democratic process to satisfy their parochial interest. Alhaji Tukur emerged as chairman through democratic process. To remove the chairman from office there are constitutional procedure to follow and not the whims and caprices of individuals or group. Asking him to resign is undemocratic and unconstitutional. The constitution allows the President to run two terms. How can a group deprive him of his right? It is not possible.
I like the way the President and the party leadership are handling the matter. They are treating it as a family matter and they are succeeding. It is only in PDP that internal democracy reins and due process are followed. There is no command structure in PDP. We are operating as a democratic party. In the PDP, every member is free to express his view. We are lucky we have a patient President and an astute party chairman. Both of them have brought maturity to bear in handling the situation. It is hoped that our brothers will see reason and sheath their swords.
Would PDP adopt consensus in picking its gubernatorial candidates in 2015?
People misconstrued Mr President’s advice when some party leaders from Southwest visited him. He said consensus candidates would be better, if possible, to avoid the post-primary rancour and crisis that used to take a lot of time to resolve at the expense of field work. It is a good advice, if it is practicable. Aspirants can come up with a consensus candidate among themselves. Where it fails, democratic process through primaries comes in. We would not allow third party to impose candidates under the guise of consensus.
It has been alleged that you are being sponsored by prominent party stalwarts in the Southwest for the office of National Vice Chairman to rubbish the influence of Chief Bode George. What is your reaction?
I am not being sponsored by anybody to rubbish anyone. Based on what we were able to achieve in the caretaker committee within five or six months, a lot of people believe that, if we continue to remain in office, it will be to the betterment of the party. That is why we are heeding the advice. It is their observation and advice that is motivating me to contest for the National Vice Chairmanship of our great party.
What are the chances of the PDP in the Southwest in 2015 general elections?
There are a lot of chances for the PDP in the Southwest, provided we take advantage of the situation on ground. We are greater in population than the opposition parties put together. Our problem has been our inability to harness our strength and counter the propaganda of the opposition. Having started organising ourselves properly through leadership restructuring, proper mobilisation and putting in place propaganda machinery that will match that of the All Progressives Congress (APC), we shall definitely capture the Southwest.
One thing we are lucky about is that people are tired of the lies of the APC in all the states they govern in the Southwest. For example, Lagos people are complaining of excessive taxation. In other states, the statutory allocation is no longer sufficient to execute the few projects they claim to be undertaking. They have therefore, resorted to borrowing and have perpetually put generation unborn into the bondage of repayment of loans.
When is the special congress of the PDP Southwest Zone postponed on the eve of the mini-national congress holding?
Former National Vice Chairman (Southwest) Mr Segun Oni and the ex-Financial Secretary of the zone, Mr Ireti Oniyide, deceived the party to say that there was a court injunction stopping the congress. Our party has respect for the rule of law and that was why we decided to postpone the congress. At the last hearing, the Judge categorically stated that at no time was any injunction given by the court to stop the congress. A new date is now being expected to be fixed by the National Working Committee (NWC) of our party for the congress. The congress will help to put the Southwest in a strong position to contend for the governorship election in Ekiti and Osun states in 2014.
What is your assessment of President Jonathan’s performance?
He is doing well. He is a humble and determined person, who does not believe in flamboyance. That is why some people are under assessing him. But when you look at what he has been able to achieve and his developmental programmes, you will note that he is a very good leader.
Like a teacher that he was, his goal was to ensure positive dividends and that is why we in the Southwest are supporting him for a second term to enable him carry out fully all that he has planned for Nigeria. In addition to our physical support for him, we are also praying for his success.
