Tony Osauzo and Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
Lawrence Okah is the State Secretary of the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview, he explained what led to the crisis in the APC among other issues.
Governor Obaseki has joined the PDP. What does that say for the forthcoming election?
For the question of his going to another platform, we don’t mind him contesting in another platform. He wants to contest election, he will contest and we will meet at the battle field.
There is no cause for alarm. We brought him before and we also know what to do.
There is apprehension that incumbency factor will work in his favour, that he may likely retain his seat. What about that?
First and foremost, we are used to removing incumbents from government. Remember I started with Mass Club in 1982 with Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia. That is how we took over that government. So, I am used to that. So, Obaseki? I am used to that and there is no cause for alarm.
Yes, he is an incumbent, because we made him that and at the same time, those of us that made him governor have already said that we don’t want him.
He lost the election as a governor on the 18 of May last year. He is just there to complete his tenure. As a governor, you are not a democrat; we are not in the military regime.
You can imagine a situation 14 members of the state House of Assembly were not inaugurated out of 24 and they are all members of your party. How do you reconcile that?
It is very unfortunate. The party wanted to take very stringent measures against him because he has been going from court to court.
Today court injunction, tomorrow court injunction, even against the president, then National Assembly and the National Working Committee, everywhere.
So, we just kept quiet and anyway, let him go and prove his papers because there is a standard of entering any University in the world; Nigeria’s own has not changed.
So, let him explain that before talking of contesting election under any other party.
However, PDP took him to court before and it was just because the amended law talks about 180 days pre-election matter and that is why he survived it. The paper is there. Our people have taken it to court in Abuja.
We cannot allow what happened to us in Bayelsa to happen to us any longer.
At what point really did APC start noticing that this man is not doing what he was supposed to be doing as a governor?
It was just a year and before a year, we knew already that this man cannot survive. The National Chairman told us to calm down and that we should give him time. So, we gave him time and the time has come now. Here we are.
What exactly are the issues?
A man that won election on a platter, both primaries and all to turn around against the party, and the party leadership, what does that show? Potential danger! He started right from day one, sending party members to jail; you can imagine that, people that worked for you, you said they should go and lock them up and what is the problem? Because of Christmas rice. You go and lock up party leaders, you started destroying houses of party leaders, you started throwing bombs left and right, they are all his handiwork.
It has never been so bad in Edo State. We have been playing politics, different political parties, yet we will sit down together as brothers and sisters. My brother is in PDP. We go to each other’s houses, eat together.
He came and brought in bad blood into the party because he didn’t pass through the rudiments. He was just imported in from Lagos with portfolio. If he had gummed posters all over, sang from place to place, campaigned from ward to ward, he will know what it takes for a politician to put you in office. Let him go to PDP, we are waiting.
And Nigerians are not fools and Edo people are not fools. Are they not politicians he is going to meet there? If they know how he treated the APC members here, they will know what to do.
At some point when the government just started, you as the Secretary of the APC, Ogie, as the Secretary to the government and Chief Idah, the three of you were seen as very powerful people behind Obaseki and as a matter of fact, there is an acronym, OIL, deriving from Ogie, Idah and your name, Lawrence. You were the ones who were behind Obaseki. At what point did you fall apart?
My problem with him was that I told him don’t fight. In politics, you listen to leadership. That was my problem with him. He said he wanted to fight Comrade Oshiomhole, I said no. You don’t fight your leaders. Is there any problem? Let us go in and resolve it. He said no, that he wants to fight and that before they give him Ambode treatment, he wants to fight and I said no.
In any case, in fairness, Comrade was always saying let’s leave him to run the government the way he wants to run it. That was the Comrade idea but the man just started fighting for nothing. You know why? Greed. He wants to carry everything. He went to Lagos to go and bring small boys wearing coats and start dancing round the Government House. The breeze has just blown and the anus of the fowl has been blown open.
That was the origin of it? You alluded to the 14 members of the House of Assembly that were not inaugurated. But about two weeks ago the governor made moves to try and set up a reconciliation committee. What happened?
He was just using that to cover his face because of the screening he was going to because he knew that they will ask him such question at the screening. He left here to Lagos, to Abuja. The lawmakers, they were 24 of them, they met in Abuja. They told him that they don’t have any issues. And the panel knew that they were not having any problem and wanted to say let’s fix a date for inauguration. He said they should give him time that he was coming, they had tea break and after that, they said let’s give time that he will come and discuss it because he has told them and it was because of this screening that he was doing all that.
He was just dribbling them. They took that risk to Abuja and nothing came out of it.
You mean the lawmakers?
Yes.