Tony Osauzo, Benin
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and member of the Governing Council of Ambrose Alli University, AAU, Ekpoma, Elder Matthew Emiohe, has predicted that contrary to the held notion that APC would cease to exist after the second term of President Muhammadu Buhari, it is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that would go into extinction after Buhari’s tenure of office.
In this interview, he urged Buhari to establish himself as a man who changed the country for good by addressing the economic and security problems of the country, just as he cautioned the president and the APC to avoid the mistake of 2015 and ensure a committed member of the party emerges the Senate President. Emiohe also spoke on other issues.
The day your board was inaugurated one task by the governor was to fulfill his dream of making Ambrose Alli University one of the most reputable institution. How has the board gone to make this desire a reality?
We are working very hard to make sure that the task given by the governor is achieved by making the university world class. Unfortunately, most of the things that we heard about the negative narrative are not true. Before I was appointed to the board I was always afraid to come close to the gate of the university because of the scary things being peddled about the institution. We always requested for police escort to go there. Surprisingly, we were amazed to see that some facilities and structures can even compare with any other ivory towers. We have established that some of the negative information gaining grounds in the media is not very correct and a far cry from the real situation on ground. However, with the chairman of the board, you can be rest assured that some of the little challenges in the institution will soon be a thing of the past and restored to its old glory.
As a chieftain of the APC, your party went through an election and the APC won the entire Edo Central and other parts of the state. Edo Central is known to be strong hold of the PDP. What was the magic?
The key was simply performance. The people are now reacting to good governance and performance under Governor Godwin Obaseki. What has not happened before in Esan land has started to happen. In Ekpoma, APC has never won, but if you go to Ekpoma today you see massive road constriction going on right there as we speak and the people appreciate that so they voted for the APC. In Ugbegun, there are schools and hospital projects going on right now; so tell me why the people will want to vote otherwise?
After Obaseki’s eight years, the governorship should naturally go to Edo Central. Do you think this victory is sustainable as against talk that how Edo Central vote will determine if the governorship will go there?
By the grace of God the victory is sustainable because it is our belief that the governor will continue to do what he is already doing and we know that in his election by next year he will win again. We have started to win and we will continue to win and when the time comes to have a governor from Esan land there will be no reason to say we haven’t delivered, everybody has seen it
There seems to be cold war between the governor and some leaders of the party despite the work he is doing in the state. Don’t you think this might affect his return bid?
I don’t really think there is any cold war that I am aware of. Maybe you have forgotten that it is Oshiomhole that brought Obaseki, if he didn’t trust him to perform I don’t think he will bring him in the first place. So as far as I’m concerned, Obaseki is doing everything planned for him to do. Where Oshiomhole stopped is where he has started and he is doing it well. The only reason there will be quarrel between Oshiomhole and Obaseki is if the governor is not performing. I hear people talk about stomach infrastructure; I think all that will be addressed at the right time.
Before the general elections, there was rebellion within the APC. However, in spite of that Buhari was re-elected. What will be your advice to him?
Buhari must strive to establish himself a man that will change Nigeria for good. He will want to be remembered as a Nigerian leader that will bring about economic prosperity for his people, a president that can solve the problem of insecurity. You know before Buhari came Boko Haram was a big problem to the nation, but that is not the case today so he needs to also do more in that area to completely eliminate it, including the herdsmen crisis. We want Buhari to be in same hall fame like Obafemi Awolowo, Sardauna, Tafawa Balewa, Muritala Mohammed among other great Nigerians, in fact, we want him to be greater than them.
What is your take on the horse-trading for new leadership at the National Assembly?
We don’t want a repeat of what happened in the last four years to happen again. Yes, we know that party is supreme, but the party must tread carefully and consult widely to avoid pitfalls so that only committed APC lawmakers emerge as Senate President or Speaker not what we experienced in the Saraki’s led Senate. If APC lawmakers are divided the PDP will take advantage of it and take over the National Assembly. We must come together as a united APC lawmakers and members. Besides, the president must take a stand and decide on who should emerge if not the one that may emerge will be worse than Saraki.
Some analysts are of the view that the APC as a political party may not survive after President Buhari. What is your take?
I totally disagree with such analysts. APC is not built around an individual. APC is a strong party. For example, APC is strong and alive in Edo. That is why I said the party must have a good manifesto and programme. In Edo State, APC didn’t win because of Buhari’s factor, because Esan land is predominantly PDP, but APC won there because of what the party is doing which the people appreciated. As long as the party has people-oriented programmes we will continue to win. People are angry with PDP because of what they did in the past. Rather it is the PDP as a party that will go into extinction after Buhari.