After serving as Minister of Special Duties and Minister of Niger Delta Affairs in the cabinets of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Godsday Orubebe was one of the ministers President Jonathan reportedly relieved of their positions last week. But the ex-minister told some reporters in Asaba, the Delta State capital, including our own VINCENT AKANMODE, that he was not sacked; he voluntarily resigned his appointment to pursue his governorship ambition. He also spoke on President Jonathan’s rumoured second-term ambition and his relationship with the Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark who once vowed that Orubebe would not become the governor of Delta State while he (Clark) remained alive.
Why did you quit the cabinet of President Goodluck Jonathan?
First and foremost, people should help me to thank God who made it possible for me to serve the nation for more than six years. In the history of this country, only very few people have been there for more than six years. I also believe that the opportunity is not meant for only one person. I have done my best serving this country.
I also believe that I should also come to my state to use what God has given to me to join the Governor and the people of Delta State to move the state forward. I had to appeal to Mr. President, and he allowed me to come and play a great role in Delta State, having spent over six years as a minister, working for this country.
I remain grateful to God and the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. I also remain grateful to my leader, my mentor and elder brother, President Goodluck Jonathan. I remain grateful to the Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, and the people of Delta State for the support they gave me to remain in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for more than six years.
Are you saying that the reports to the effect that President Jonathan sacked you from his cabinet are not correct?
How can? After every FEC meeting, the Minister of Information comes out to brief journalists. It was unfortunate that so many people decided not to listen to the Minister of Information. They decided to form their own opinion.
I worked with President Jonathan very, very well. He is an elder brother. He is a friend. He is my leader. He is a great Nigerian leader and I worked with him over the years. I was not sacked. I resigned and he allowed me to go when I told him that I needed to come to Delta State to support the Governor and the people of the state to move it to a greater level, having contributed my little quota towards the advancement of this country.
I do not want to end my political career without coming to my own state to deposit what God has given to me through President Goodluck Jonathan. That was why I resigned to contest the governorship election in Delta State in 2015.
Are you saying that your relationship with the President is still very cordial?
In fact, is 100 per cent cordial. At every given time, I am ever ready, I am at his beck and call to do what he wants me to do. My coming to Delta State cannot stop me from working for him. Anyday, anytime, I am at his beck and call to do whatever he wants me to do.
Why do you want to govern Delta State?
I believe that having been a councillor, a local government council chairman, an executive member of the primary education board in Delta State, a party chairman, an adviser to Governor James Ibori on Urban and Regional Planning, Minister of Special Duties, Supervising Minister of National Planning Commission, Minister of State for Niger Delta and thereafter the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs over these years, I have garnered some experience.
God has been faithful to me. He has deposited enough knowledge in me and I want to dedicate the knowledge that has been given to me by God to the service of the people of Delta State. I also want to support the governor that has moved the state this far, to add my own quota to move the state forward. And I think God has helped me and endowed me to be able to take off from where Dr. Uduaghan will stop.
You inaugurated a group known as the Delta Peoples Forum (DPF). Many people believe that it is the springboard for the realisation of your political aspiration in Delta State…
It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO), which aims to bring all Deltans together, to uplift the state. That is why their slogan is “Deltans Working Together.’ It is a great NGO and it is there to support the government; support Dr. Uduaghan to move Delta State from one level to the other. I believe the NGO is a strong team that would support any government that would come to power in Delta State. It is going to be a focal point of political activities.
What can you offer the state if you are elected governor?
If Deltans work together to take the state to the next level, we must be able to push the state forward. We are going to add to what Governor Uduaghan has done to take Delta State to the next level; to glorify what God has destined for the state.
What is your relationship with the Ijaw National Leader, Chief Edwin Clark now, given his earlier threat that you would not become the governor of Delta State in his lifetime?
Chief Edwin Clark is my father, my leader, my master and my mentor. He has the right to correct me any time he feels that I should be corrected. I have no disagreement with him, and if for any reason he feels bad about whatever statement I must have made or I was misquoted to have made, he should in all graciousness consider it fit in his mind to forgive and forget.
Chief Edwin Clark is a rare gem. That we are seeing him now in our generation is a rare privilege. He is not only the leader of the Ijaw in Nigeria and Diaspora, many ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta, which comprises nine states not only in the South/South but also parts of South/West and South/East, also accept him as their leader. No man can disregard such an elder statesman.
What is your take on the alleged second term bid of President Goodluck Jonathan?
One, I want to say that President Goodluck Jonathan is qualified and allowed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to run for a second term. Two, those people who are opposed to him also know what he can do. President Goodluck Jonathan has the capacity to provide for Nigerians what we need.
In the almost three years that he has ruled this country, we have all seen what he has done. The rails that were not working before his time are now working. The roads that were not fixed are now being fixed. The East/West Road, which was not meant to be completed, is about 68 per cent complete and it is going to be completed by December 2014. Our airports are working and power is now put deliberately by government in the hands of the people who can make it work. It is the private sector that can do it. President Jonathan has initiated policies and programmes to ensure that Nigeria moves from where it is now to a higher level.
For a leader to move a country forward, he is bound to step on toes. I believe that the opposition is coming from the people who are used to the old order. But there is a new concept of governance in Nigeria now and President Jonathan is determined to take Nigeria to the next level. He is a great leader who loves Nigeria and thinks about Nigeria. I implore all Nigerians who worked for him in 2011 to come together to do it again, because he will not disappoint Nigerians.
Having worked with President Jonathan for this long, do you share the sentiment in some quarters that he is a weak leader?
I think having been governed by the military over the years has also affected our psyche and our perception of people who are leaders of this country. President Goodluck Jonathan is a democrat per excellence. He has allowed the rule of law to work in this country. So, what are they talking about? President Goodluck Jonathan is a firm leader. If he believes in anything, he will take it to a logical conclusion. President Goodluck Jonathan does not believe in waking up and sacking people because of rumour.
He is very thorough. He must know why something has happened. He must investigate, he must ask questions to know why these things should happen, and you know Nigerians are not used to that. And I think a new way of governance, which is the democratic process, must go into the reasoning of Nigerians. That is the only way we can develop our democracy.
He is not a weak leader. He is a great leader who rules the country by the rule of law and the provisions of the constitution of this country.
What do you think are his chances in the 2015 presidential election?
Very, very bright. I can tell you that I have not seen any candidate from anywhere that can rival President Goodluck Jonathan. Who has the credentials that he has? I believe that the challenges we have now that people are talking about are not as serious as the one we had in 2011. If you listen to the programme during the power and economic summits, the private sector openly testified that the revolution we are having in Nigeria now, we have never had it before. I believe that Nigerians know what to do. I am convinced that he is going to make it again.
But there are claims in certain quarters that President Jonathan agreed to serve for a single term of four years…
People have peddled this rumour over and over, but none has been able to come up with that agreement that they signed. The President has told Nigerians that he never signed any agreement. Who do you want to believe? Is it the people who are saying he signed an agreement because of their personal interest or our President, who has said that he never signed any agreement?
I worked very closely with President Jonathan. I was the Deputy Director-General of President Jonathan Campaign Organisation. There is nothing like the one-term agreement that they are talking about. It is a mystery to me, and I believe Mr. President wholeheartedly, that there was no agreement of that nature. He could not have signed such an agreement when he knows that he is entitled to two terms. He is free to run, the constitution permits him to run and we will encourage him to run.
How would you rate the performance of Governor Uduaghan?
I think my friend and brother, His Excellency Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan started very well and he is finishing very strong. I will continue to support and pray for him to take this state to greater heights. He has tackled the problems of this state from so many dimensions. He has been able to work hard to ensure that security is maintained in the state. He has introduced a new concept of moving Delta State beyond oil. He has tried his best and I think that he is finishing very strong to the glory of God.
Do you have any regret as a minister?
I think I should thank God, first, for the opportunity He gave to me, and, secondly, for what I have learnt and for the knowledge I now have about Nigeria. I have no single regret. I remain grateful to God. I remain grateful to my elder brother, mentor and leader, President Goodluck Jonathan. I can’t help but to thank God.
How do you react to the emergence of the new National Chairman of PDP, Adamu Mu’azu? Do you think he can return the party on the path of sustainable peace?
You can even see from the few weeks he has spent as chairman that things are turning around. He is great Nigerian. He has the reach, the capacity, the contacts and the courage. PDP is fortunate to have a dynamic chairman, and he is building the house very fast. He is leading PDP to victory again. He is already leading the party to the promised land. The signs are very, very promising and glaring and we are very confident that he is moving the PDP to victory again.
I want every member of PDP to pray for the leadership of the party and to support the leadership of PDP so that we can make it again. By the grace of God, PDP will win more states. Our credentials can speak for us and we are confident that PDP will make it again.
