From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The campaign for the 2023 general election is heating up by the day. Already, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has drawn a battle line with the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, in this interview, says the APC is already in panic mode, in the South West, which is the base of its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, and the rest of the country.
Ologunagba believes that the crisis in some state chapters of the PDP will be resolved soon to enable the party go into the 2023 election as a united front.
There are fears amongst members of the PDP that the party might be defeated from within in the 2023 general elections, especially as there are crises in some chapters, aside the issues at the national level. What effort is the party making to resolve all the issues within its fold?
As I always emphasize, in a human organisation, there are conflicting interests that the organization must try and reconcile. And that is what we are doing. Again, I will use this word even if it becomes like flogging it over and over- this party is an organic party; that has structures to take care of such. It will not be correct to say nothing is happening.
I will recall in Osun State, the crisis there was unimaginable at a point. But when the NWC came up, we set up a 24 man member committee, I was a member of that committee. And we appointed another committee headed by Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), to reconcile the party. And then within the confines and structure of the party, the committee was able to submit a report.
It was set up specifically for Osun and Lagos. It submitted interim report. That created the platform and foundation for bridge building and consensus among the warring parties as at that time. The result was that they came together shortly before the election and we won. And we have a brand new governor in Osun State today.
In Lagos, there have been so much improvement in the area, closing in the gap because reconciliation of human interests are involved, whether political, cultural and religious; they are woven together because human nature, interest and emotions are involved. You do that carefully. Secondly, in politics, 24 hours is a life time. In 24 hours, anything can happen, including reconciliation of very divergent views. And we are on that path working, believing that we will be able to solve that problem.
In any event, reconciliation is not a 100 meters dash. It is a marathon. We acknowledge and recognize the anxiety and interest of Nigerians, because they look unto the PDP. And so they want to see PDP settled substantially. We acknowledge that and we appreciate Nigerians interest in PDP.
Activities (peace talks) are going on at different levels. From NWC level to BoT, to governors to leaders and even statesmen that are not even party members. Because we know the interest of Nigerians and Nigeria as a country; the unity of this country is far above any personal consideration and everybody is conscious about that.
I recall that Governor Ortom said recently that Nigeria is sick. So, he recognized that there is need for all of us to come together. If Nigeria is sick, then all of us must come together to do the job.
I believe not too far from now, we will get ourselves together. Those areas of concerns and challenges, we know that with the kind of actions we have taken both formally and informally, up to the level of the Presidential candidate and other leaders, discussion is ongoing, reconciliation is ongoing and slowly, surely, I am confident based on what I know today, that all issues will be resolved. But majority of these actions are taking place behind the scene.
Some of your state chapters like Ebonyi, Edo, Imo amongst others are torn apart by internal wrangling and you would recall that the last NEC resolved to set up a zonal panel to mediate in the crises. But months after, nothing has happened.
I won’t characterise that as tearing apart. That is your own invention. If something is tearing apart, you will probably not recognise it. It will come to smithereens. I just referenced the fact that when you have human organisations, there are conflicting interests. And people will continue to have this conversation.
It might take time but the important thing is that there is always room for reconciliation; which is happening. Within this party, we are talking and we are very confident that all those areas of concerns will be resolved.
Are they people who have concerns, yes they are. It is expected in politics. But in the states you mentioned, there are reconciliations ongoing. Imo State you mentioned, a few weeks back, we brought all the stakeholders here and we resolved that and slowly those concerns are being resolved and people are working together. One, for the presidential election, and to reclaim the state in the November 2023 governorship election.
Are there concerns? Yes, there are. But we have inbuilt mechanism in this party that allows us to resolve those issues. Unlike the APC, where it is seemingly peaceful but it is the peace of the graveyard because in the graveyard, nobody speaks.
But in our party, because it is a democracy, we allow people to say their mind. That is the beauty of democracy. So, we are constantly engaging in those states and in all the areas. And we are making progress. And the zonal Committees, if I am reconciling you, I won’t call the world to come and bear witness. I won’t call the NTA to bring their klieglight. It is behind the scene.
In Osun, you didn’t get to know when we started that process. Now, we got the governorship and we all celebrated. So, you will see from state to state and from locality to locality. We are confident we will do that since the Nigerian people are partnering, they are listening and they are connecting to our message.
Recently you said the turnout at the flag off of the PDP presidential campaign in the South West in Akure is an indication that the people of the zone has rejected the APC. But you know the South West is the base of the APC candidate, Bola Tinubu.
The rally in Ondo State is significant in so many ways particularly for the South West. One, it represents the gateway to the South West
if you look at the background of what Ondo State represents. These are highly educated people, highly principled. Very calm, a determined people. And when they make up their mind about certain things, because they are well informed, they go for it.
In 2019, in the whole of the South West, the Ondo people decided that they have had enough of the APC and the pain and the misery that they have brought to the Ondo people. And they decided that for the presidential election and other elections, they voted for the PDP.
And it must be noted that the highest vote for Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate, the Ondo people delivered the highest vote in the whole of the South West.
Added to this, in 2023, the Ondo people have decided that they will be going with the PDP, because the failure of the APC at both the state and federal level is so manifest. Ondo State is largely a civil service state, an agrarian community where the people depended largely on agriculture and education. All these subsectors have been destroyed by the APC government in Ondo State.
It is not whether the zone will reject Tinubu(in 2023 polls). He has been rejected because he has never stayed with the people. He only becomes a member of the South West zone when it pleases him and whenever, it is not pleasing to him, he goes on vacation. He goes on AWOL.
Again, the presidential candidate of the APC is from Osun State, Iragbiji to be precise. Osun State has just been rescued from the clutches and from the maladministration and the insensitivity of the APC government in that state. If he was roundly defeated in Osun State, including his own village of Iragbiji, that is a litmus test about how rejected he has been in the South West.
The good thing about the South West is that we are largely very educated and well informed. Someone can be your brother but if he does not have some certain qualities, we are very bold and will be able to say “yes, you are my brother but you haven’t done well.” And we have done that severally.
In the South West, irrespective of the political leaning, even from their political party, the APC, they might be there, they might defend the APC but on the due date of the election, you will see what will happen. In terms of being rejected, he (Tinubu) has been roundly rejected. In the South West, APC had been rejected. In Ondo State, they have no foothold.
If there is anywhere the strangulating and the suffocating effect of the APC can be felt more, it is in Lagos State. It is always like a fiefdom of an individual where for every amount you pay as tax, an individual takes some percentage that is completely so obscene for doing nothing. So, the Lagos people are willing to rescue themselves. And you can see how the APC is jittery in Lagos State. That is why they will prevent our candidates from putting their billboard. It is to tell you that they are already panicky.