Tag: Reconciliation

Hon. Khamisu Mailantariki represents Gombe/Kwami/ Funakaye Constituency in the House of Representatives. The All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain spoke with reporters in Abuja the party’ prospects in the next general elections. Excerpts:

What are the challenges confronting the APC in Gombe State?

The APC is on course. But, there are some challenges. You are aware that former Governor Danjuma Goje has joined us. We gave him all the support because we built this party from the CPC/ ANPP/ACN merger. The senator was the governor of Gombe State and it is on the record that we fought him tirelessly. We faced a lot of challenges to defeat him as a sitting governor to have the seats that we have in the House of Assembly and the National Assembly. We have three members of the State House of Assembly. We are all from Gombe North. Goje did all he could using his power as a governor and his wealth to frustrate us. Considering the situation he found himself in the PDP, we thought we are giving him a rescue, a home where he can come to. But, it is clear that he has not come to build this party, but to take revenge of the defeat that he got in 2011, which of course, our followers will never accept. They are all crying.

We all supported him to be our leader. But, he is not uniting us. We made sacrifices for the APC, but, we are not getting anything. For example, I sponsored the CPC from the day I joined in 2010 till date. I paid for all the offices. During council elections, I bought forms for all our contestants across the state. I printed posters for all of them with their councilors across. I gave them financial support, branded vehicles for campaigning. I provided 26 motorised boreholes that cost me N7 million each, solar streetlights, scholarship. I gave out more than 300 motorcycles, 40 cars for youth empowerment programme, fertilizers to farmers, food items to people annually. More than 70 people got capital to to start business. More than 25,000 constituents benefited from me directly, but none of these achievements were acknowledged by Goje.

At the grassroots, Goje does not have followers. All the people that were following him in the PDP still remain in PDP. They are still loyal to the PDP government. The only people on ground now are our supporters that are known to be in the opposition for over a decade. So, they are still supporting us and, because of the love they have for the APC, they remain in the party.

Can you prove these allegations?

These things started from the beginning. He constituted the Interim Management Committee. He took four out of five seats that were supposed to be shared among the legacy parties. We started complaining and, thank God, the NEC came to our rescue. They said it should be reviewed. But he connived with other members of the National Interim Management Committee, especially the Vice Chairman, Northeast. They didn’t review the Gombe situation. They have done that of Adamawa. Then, the idea of constituting interim committees at the local government level has created crisis. Our former foes are now our leaders.

But Goje is the APC leader in Gombe State…

Yes, we supported him to become the leader. We have no problem with him leading us, if he is going to lead us well. But, with his kind of leadership, I don’t think any of us or our supporters is comfortable. In fact, that is the main challenge we have in Gombe State. Many political stakeholders, our elders, responsible leaders; none of them want to associate with the APC simply because of Goje’s presence. His style of leadership is dictatorial. He picks, selects peopl,e irrespective of their capabilities.

How prepared is the Gombe APC for the challenge of 2015 elections?

We are concerned. We want the national leadership of the party to identify these problems and resolve them as early as possible because we are the opposition in Gombe. We have the whole followership and our people are now crying because of the manners in which Goje is handling the situation, especially the exclusion of members of the legacy parties. But, we still have hope, if the leadership can do something quickly.

What are your expectations?

There were four things that happened. The Interim Management Committee was wrongly constituted. The leadership intervened and directed that it should be reviewed. But, it was not reviewed. That is where the problem started. Secondly, the illegal constitution of the Local Government Interim Management Committee has created problem. The national leadership of the party will have to do something about it. Then, the constitution of the State Registration Committee, which was supposed to be made up of representatives of the three legacy parties, was not proper. The legacy parties were excluded. We complained. We even wrote on the best way to go about it. That is why when they went to Gombe, they couldn’t see enough members to register. We are still calling on the national leadership to look at this issue nd do something about it before our proposed congresses. But despite the exclusion and the problems, our people have registered and they are waiting for free and fair congresses.

Is reconciliation possible in Gombe APC?

Goje is our leader. But, he should accommodate all of us. He should always follow the rules and regulations of the party. We need reconciliation in Gombe APC. We are desirous of an amicable resolution of this crisis. I have no problem working with Goje. Our request is that he should build the party.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Anambra State, Chief Nze Nwankpo was a governorship aspirant for the November 16 election. He spoke with AUGUSTINE AVWODE at the weekend in Lagos on the division in the party, the primaries, zoning and what the in-coming governor of the state must focus on.

Don’t you think that the division in the Anambra State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will spell doom for it in the November 16 governorship election?

Well, you can say that again, but I have learnt over the years that it is not over until it is over. As far as I am concerned, nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it. I want to say this with all sense of responsibility, that the people involved in the crisis are human beings, they are sons and daughters of Anambra State. Don’t forget that everyone of us declared our intentions to lead the state and went into the primaries of the party with just one thing at the back of his or her mind; and that is to serve Anambra State, lift Anambra, develop Anambra and make the state a better place for Anambrarians where life is meaningful. I think that is the main reason behind the expression of the desire to lead the state.

We all know that only one person can be governor at a time, and couple with the fact that, all we want is the best for the people and the state rather than ourselves, I see a situation where all the protagonists will, in the interest of the people and the state, let go and a reconciliation will happen.

Are you saying that reconciliation is possible in the state chapter of the PDP given the recent happenings in the party?

That is exactly what I am saying, reconciliation is very possible. We still have two months to that election day. In politics, 24 hours is a very long time. It will be wrong for anybody to write us off, and conclude that oh, Anambra PDP has thrown away the governorship because they could not agree. There is no where in the world where there are no frictions. Mr. A says he can do the job better, Mr. B says, no, I am the better person to do it. Put differently, Mr. A says this is the best method, and Mr. B says, no, that method is flawed, let us do it this way. Is this not the bottom line of all the argument? And is that what we cannot resolve? I said reconciliation in this party is very possible before that day.

Are you surprised at the outcome of the PDP primaries in which you were an aspirant?

The people have spoken. And don’t forget that we all pledged to abide by the outcome of the primaries to be conducted by the party. What I think we should focus on now is the fact that the state needs all of us to grow it. God loves Anambra State, take a look at the state, you have some of the best human beings from the state and that is why we are all passionate about serving the state. What is left for us now is to join our hands together and ensure that our party comes into power. That is the platform through which we can serve the people and serve the state. Anambra is a special state. That is why it is called the “The Light of the Nation” and truly so because it is the home of numerous legends, who in their various careers, have carried bright torches across the nation and the world. The roll call is incredible and their footprints are massive. From Nwafor Orizu, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Blessed Michael Iwene Tansi, the great Odimegwu-Ojukwu, Kenneth Dike, Sir Louis Mbanefo, Chinua Achebe, Dr. Pius Okigbo, Dr Chike Obi and so on.

So, you can see that what the state needs is a facilitator. A man, who will facilitate development, because our people are self-driven. You don’t need to tell Anambra people ‘this is what you do to be successful’. God has endowed us in an exceptional way. Sometimes I have wondered why God put so many talents in one location, so much wealth in one location, so much energy in one location. So, Anambra needs a quiet facilitator, someone who understands what is required and the fundamentals. Anambra is indeed one of the few States in Nigeria where conditions exist for spectacular economic growth. It has become important and urgent to overcome the several challenges presently drawing Anambra State back from realizing its very tremendous potential. I aspired to be the governor of Anambra State because I understand these facts and the potential of the state. The primaries have come and gone and we must be gentlemen, who say something and abide by it.

What are those things the next governor in the state should focus on?

That is fairly easy to answer. I have spoken about the type of people that are in the state – highly endowed and resourceful. Therefore, Anambra need somebody who will provide an enabling environment fo0r the people to be able to harness all their abilities and potential for growth and development. Without doubt, the incumbent governor has tried but there is still a lot of room for improvement in such sectors as security of lives and properties, infrastructure development and upgrading, quality health care delivery, availability and accessibility of qualitative education. Then there is urgent need for socio-moral orientation.

The next governor of the state should focus on employment generation from the angle of enterprise promotion. In Anambra State we are business people. The idea here is to recognize that fact, work with our market and business communities and apply the leverage of Government in syndicating funds for driving rapid growth of small and medium scale enterprises. Right now our mentor system has basically collapsed. In those good old days young people go and sit with their masters in the markets, who trained them overtime and then gave them money to do business. But desperation has destroyed that today. We need to find a way to recover that system.

The next governor of the state must be able to look into the vast arable land that is available in the state and put it into proper use in the areas of land for investments, agriculture and agro- allied business. If any state wants to develop, the first thing is to find the means and ways to feed its people. The next governor of the state should be able to provide an appropriate enabling environment to support the achievement of food sufficiency in Anambra State by intervening in the following specific relevant areas; agricultural mechanization, production and distribution of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, and improved varieties of commercial seeds, seedlings, brood stock and fingerlings under government certification and quality control, supported with a virile and effective extension service.

The governor should be able to pay attention to the environment by aggressively tackling erosion and dealing with the issue of waste management.

What do you make of the sharp division in your party at the national level?

It is not unexpected. That there will be misunderstanding and disagreement in a party as big and large as the PDP is taken for granted. The first thing that should tell you that things will be sorted out amicably is the fact that those who revolted or stormed out in anger, up till now as we speak, have not labbelled themselves as a different party. They claimed to be the authentic PDP, while our national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has advised them to stop parading themselves as a breakaway group.

The second thing is that, since the incident happened at the Eagle Square in Abuja, almost who is who in the party has got down to business to say no, this misunderstanding and disagreement must be resolved. I tell you the truth; all of us know what is involved. We all know the implication o9f what is going on and that is why I can safely tell you that nobody would do anything to jeopardize the chances of the party in the 2015 general elections. And to be successful in 2015, it should begin today.

The appointment of Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State to head the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 30-man member reconciliation committee has predictably opened the floodgate of protests within the party, including some of his fellow governors.

If the Bamanga Tukur-led national executive of the ruling party had consulted or thought over the implications of this latest reconciliation effort, it would probably have dropped the idea of appointing Dickson to head the committee. Many of the aggrieved elders and leaders of the party are not Dickson’s mate and, therefore, it is difficult to explain how they can relate with him comfortably.

In fact, this appointment has left many tongues wagging as to the seriousness of this latest peace initiative. Ordinarily, nobody should quarrel with the idea of reconciliation. What is, however, disturbing is the sincerity of these peace overtures by the PDP national leadership. The Dr. Alex Ekwueme’s and Gen. Ike Nwachukwu’s reconciliation committees that were previously set up had made wide-ranging practical and sensible recommendations, which would have restored the PDP to the path of sanity. Strangely, these recommendations have been discarded, thereby throwing away the baby with the bath water.

Dr. Ekwueme and Gen. Nwachukwu sacrificed their time and energies into what they thought was going to be sincere efforts by the ruling party to bring about reconciliation. Can you achieve reconciliation if certain people are defined as “permanent enemies” who should never be allowed to return to the party or be allowed to participate in any party activity or decision making? Should reconciliation initiative be destroyed for the sake of appeasing the ego of anybody or pandering to their ambitions? The PDP leadership didn’t tell the nation what was wrong with the recommendations of the Ekwueme and Nwachukwu reconciliation committees.

Nobody should blame Nigerians if they smell a rat over this curious situation. Why should the party waste people’s time with reconciliation efforts when the leaders don’t appear sincere about it? The party leadership seems to have been caught in a moral dilemma between doing the right thing and breaking the rules to gratify the ambition of the President to run at all cost in 2015. If members of the PDP national executive cannot follow their conscience or conviction to do the right thing, no reconciliation efforts would go anywhere.

It follows therefore, that the appointment of Gov. Dickson to head the latest reconciliation effort is another charade designed to fool Nigerians. The committee is a political smokescreen to divert attention from the determination of the President to force everybody into line, by hook or by crook. There is nothing wrong if the President aspires to run, but that ambition should not be used to destroy the very foundation of the party or to force out anyone who resists his unfair methods of seeking political advantages.

Dickson is from Niger Delta and one of the politicians rooting for President Jonathan’s second term ambition. This, by itself, morally disqualifies him heading any reconciliation committee. For example, if in the course of seeking opinions and the committee finds that Jonathan’s ambition is the core issue dividing the PDP, would the Dickson committee have the courage to advise the President to reconsider his ambition? With a committee headed by Dickson, this kind of reconciliation is highly unlikely.

Such is the implication of appointing Dickson to head the 30-member PDP reconciliation committee. Earlier, another advocate of Jonathan’s second term ambition, Governor Godswill Akpabio, who is also from the Niger Delta, was appointed the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum without the consent of fellow governors. All these are part of the silent problems complicating matters for the party. How would Dickson relate with the aggrieved elders of the party such as former President Ibrahim Babangida, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and other embittered leaders of the party?

It is highly unlikely if these aggrieved elders would give audience to Dickson, a man who was too young when they formed the PDP. Bad faith would destroy any reconciliation effort. Seeking to mould the PDP in the image of Jonathan will take these reconciliation efforts nowhere.

Insincerity is the core issue in all these so-called reconciliation efforts. You cannot sacrifice democratic principles on which the PDP is founded for the sake of gratifying the inordinate ambition of any leader. In party affairs, the President is primus inter pares (first among equals). And, therefore, every member of the party can legitimately aspire to compete with him. The Dickson committee lacks the credibility to lead the efforts to save the PDP from irrelevance in 2015. Governor Murtala Nyako’s threat to help bury the PDP is not idle talk. The party leadership should get serious and save itself from ruin.

— Ganiyu, who wrote in from 89, Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Ilorin, Kwara State, is a former UNCP member and currently, a political commentator.