A member of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Ebenezer Babatope, has urged his party to embark on what he described as “genuine reconciliation” if it wants to make impact in the 2019 general elections. In this interview with WILLY EYA after the just concluded PDP national convention, he also said among others that the PDP should not toy with the South West geo-political zone.
Your party, the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) recently held its elective national convention with some aspirants from your geo-political zone, the SouthWest feeling aggrieved over its conduct. As one of the elders of the party, what are your thoughts on the development?
My assessment of the national convention cannot be as you want it because I supported a candidate. I was an interested party in that convention. I supported and absolutely canvassed for one of the aspirants to the chairmanship seat, Chief Olabode George. So, there is no way my biases would not affect my assessment of the convention. I am partisan and I am one of those who believe that the South West person ought to have been elected as the chairman of the PDP in that convention.
The night before that convention, the aspirant you supported, Olabode George withdrew from the race alleging all manner of shenanigans in the process. Part of his complaints was that the PDP failed to respect the issue of micro-zoning of the chairmanship position to the South West. What do you think is the implication of those ill-feelings to the future of the party?
Remember I am a party man and a member of the PDP Board of Trustees(BOT) and to start discussing the internal affairs of my party on the pages of newspapers is not proper. Bode George withdrew from the race because the Yoruba race was insulted. That is the truth and I also feel strongly and sad about that. But the party has to find a way to appease the Yoruba, because late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, when he was alive said it that you can only be a good Nigerian citizen when you are first and foremost a good person from your region. Somebody just informed me today that the PDP has set up a reconciliation committee to address the grievances. But what I am saying is that we are members of the PDP, we would get a good result in 2019 if only we can put our house in order by ensuring that all the grievances of people are addressed.
With the bad blood which the convention generated, do you think that the PDP still has a chance against the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019?
If the PDP can get its acts together and they do not go on doing what they are doing, why not; they would have a very bright chance against the ruling party.
What do you make of the position of the APC that the recent convention was an “abnormal convention?”
What does the APC mean by an abnormal convention. They are praying for our downfall, but they know what the PDP can do. They know that the PDP has the structure that can win the 2019 election. However, I can assure you that it would be suicidal to underestimate the political might of the APC. You cannot joke with that. If you underestimate it, you are going to pay dearly for it. But if the PDP gets its acts right, it would be able to challenge the APC in 2019. However, like I said, if the PDP wants to destroy itself, it should continue the way it is going. They should set up a genuine reconciliation committee and do a genuine reconciliation of all those aggrieved, as that is the only way forward. They should pacify those who have been badly assaulted. When you do that, the PDP would be in a better position to go into 2019.
What do you make of the insinuations that having lost the chairmanship seat, the South West would then produce the vice presidential candidate of the party?
Nobody is thinking about that. That has not come to the mind of those of us who belong to the Bode George chairmanship campaign organization. What is vice president?
As it is now, with the national convention over, which kind of presidential candidate is the party likely to present in 2019 that would be able to match President Muhammadu Buhari?
Already, we have agreed in the PDP that the presidential candidate of the party would come from any of the Northern states. That zoning arrangement is settled. But even at that, like I said, it would be madness for anybody to write off the chances of Buhari. I am not talking about his party, the APC but Buhari as an individual. I cannot say anything against Buhari because he has not offended me at all. But between President Buhari and who emerges as the presidential candidate of my party, of course, I would vote for my party PDP. But as an individual, I would not condemn Buhari at all.
Do you think the reconciliation committee would be able to manage the grievances trailing the just concluded national convention?
Like I said, it depends on what the PDP led by its new chairman, Uche Secondus, is able to do in terms of the effort to reconcile the people. We had a genuine case and those of us in the Bode George group are not apologetic to anybody. We took a reasonable stand that the SouthWest should lead the party this time. We want to see what the party would be able to do in terms of reconciling everybody in the party. Before anything, it should be first things first in terms of bringing everybody together.
Would you like to comment on the speculation that former vice president Atiku Abubakar came back to the PDP because he was assured of the presidential ticket of the party?
I do not know if Atiku would get the presidential ticket of the party. It is not for me to say. All I know is that he has come back and he is already a member of the PDP. You can go and ask Atiku that question but as far as I am concerned, I do not belong to his campaign organization; you can go and ask the former vice president that question. If God says Atiku is going to be the president of Nigeria, nobody can stop him, but if it is not the wish of God, he cannot be president no matter how he tries. I do not want to narrow that position to an individual. But let Atiku go and try his luck in the presidential race. So, like I said, it is for Atiku to answer the question of whether the power brokers in the party have assured him of the ticket before he rejoined the PDP. If he wants to contest the ticket for the president with other members of the PDP who are aspiring for that position, why not? He is free to contest if he so wishes to do so.
Aside the national convention of your party, how do you feel about the confusion in the anti-corruption war of the current administration? Many feel that the government has lost the battle especially since the pension scam came to the public domain.
The question you should ask yourself is whether there is any anti-corruption fight going on in the country. I do not believe in that nonsense that they are talking about as anti-corruption fight. Ask yourself –who is corrupt and who is leading in corruption. Were people not saying in the North, change the changer? They were saying it that we must change the changer. Tell me the corruption they say they are fighting. All the promises the APC made were mere propaganda. As far as I am concerned, we would work very hard to ensure victory for the PDP in 2019. I want Nigerians to monitor what is happening to help them make their choice in 2019. They must not panic and they should make sure they use their vote to change their fate by voting for the PDP.
By implication, even as a member of the opposition party, are you saying that President Buhari has done well in office?
He has been able to manage the country. But having said that, I know that the PDP would have the opportunity to launch itself back to power in 2019 if only it can get its acts together and put its house in order.
But with the perception that the SouthWest has been schemed out of the PDP, don’t you think that people of the zone would now feel that their interests would be more protected in the APC, hence, may not vote for the PDP in 2019?
Members of the PDP in the South West belonging to the Olabode George group have nothing to do with the APC. We have absolutely nothing to do with the APC. I have said that many times. Having said that, I know that the PDP is set to recover power from the APC in 2019 and we are going to do so.
You sound so optimistic about the PDP, but on the road to 2019 general elections, what do you see?
I see a great effort to take over power by the PDP from the APC.