Former deputy chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George has called for an urgent meeting of all the stakeholders of the party to discuss the issue of zoning offices ahead of the 2023 presidential elections..The party chieftain, who was also the military governor of old Ondo State, expressed disappointment over current moves by presidential aspirants on the platform of the party, which he acknowledged are geared towards discountenancing the north- south zoning, and micro-zoning formula put in place by the founding fathers of the party. He said the vision behind zoning was for the peace and stability of the party and the nation and to give every section of the country a sense of belonging. He further declared that PDP would die if urgent actions were not taken to nip it in the bud.
He also said the presidential aspiration of the leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Ahmed Tinubu would hit the rocks despite his high profile spending, arguing that the former governor of Lagos State was only being deceived by his supporters because of the money he has been doling out to them. He also tasked President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the Electoral Bill into law to secure a good name “on the golden pages of history. He spoke more on other critical national issues with CHIDI OBINECHE.
How is your party handling the issue of zoning offices?
They are playing politics with zoning. And that is very dangerous. They are dodging the issue, engaging in rigmarole, refusing to come together, close the doors, sit down and discuss it. Zoning is a crucial element in next year’s election and should not be toyed with. It will determine where the presidency goes, given the situation in Nigeria today which the APC caused. When we talk about unifying Nigerians again, it should not be by mouth. It should not be by words alone. Our actions and decisions should portray it from the word, go. We must call meetings of elders, BOT, (Board of Trustees), NEC (National Executive Committee) etc and resolve it. They are closing it up, dodging it and shouting ‘ Oh, we don’t want zoning anymore,’ as if they have outgrown it.’ It cannot work like that. Zoning system is more important today than before. That is what they don’t understand.
Is it only the elders of the party that are dodging it?
Not only the elders. Everybody is dodging it. And that is what is puzzling. If the party must remain, we must all come together and decide the way forward on zoning. They are still pussyfooting. They are still sorting out the challenges in every zone left behind by Secondus and his team. They are trying to throw it open, which is also dangerous. They are scheming, trying to blindfold us. I remember when and how zoning was fashioned out in the beginning and when I listened to the man from Jigawa, former governor Lamido the other day, saying “there is no need for zoning now,” I slipped into shock. What a crack? Have you forgotten how it started? Have you passed that stage? Or is it because it favours you? The simple thing I always tell them is to go back to history and have the interest of the party at heart. When our founding fathers sat down to put it together, nobody thought there would be another big political party in the near future to necessitate considering any parameter in the equation. Now, it has happened. We need to consider all the variables. Do we discountenance it and say it doesn’t matter? Hausa /Fulani from the deep north will also take over for another eight years? Come on! Does that really make sense? You see it? It appears to me that our thoughts are not clear enough to understand these things. What will happen to the party after you must have taken a controversial decision to kill a very good idea? The party may break up. Let us not allow personal ambition destroy what good people put together. It is not only in PDP that there is war on zoning. Look at the other political party; they are up in arms with themselves. It is not only the Fualani in the North West clamouring to run, look at the South-West; everyone saying president, president. Where is our sense of justice? So what should others from the other zones do? They should be onlookers and be cheering and clapping? We need to tell ourselves some home truth, save the country and save the party.
Now, what should be the solution to the impasse?
That is what I am saying. Let them call a meeting now before it is too late. No matter what, let’s call the meeting and talk to ourselves. That is the essence of being in politics. Let’s be rational. Let‘s not bring emotional rubbish here and destroy our party. In case in the future, the south produces the president from another party, are you going to tell us that another Southerner should continue? Come on!
On whose laps does it fall to call the meeting?
It is the National Chairman that should initiate it. Between now and June/ July, they must do that, because time is fast running out. The election is drawing closer and closer. The timetable is not yet out. Maybe they are still sorting out the mess created by Secondus and his men. They must call this all important meeting. We are waiting for them. They are merely deceiving themselves. The truth must be told. That is where we are now.
What of the Tinubu presidency? It is getting hotter and hotter. Some Nigerians are already tipping him as the president-in-waiting. What do you have to say about that?
It is getting hotter and hotter according to you, because he has a humongous amount of money that he is throwing around. O yea! He is spending as if money is going out of circulation. Who wouldn’t do that? They just increased his monthly income by N2.5 Billion. Yes, the Lagos State government increased it. So he has all the money to throw around and cause ripples. He is not getting near the place. If he does, this country is gone. They are deceiving him, collecting his money and chopping. People are questioning him. They know what he has done. All this free money he is throwing around is not his money. It is from our treasury.
But no one has gone to court to stop the government from releasing all this money to him?
If you go to court in Lagos you’re wasting your time. You will only get good result if you go to a federal court. His hands are everywhere. People are ready, people are angry. Some of us will not stop talking.
How do you see the reluctance of the president to sign the Electoral Bill which is adjudged as the only instrument that can guarantee a free and fair poll next year?
I said it even yesterday that the only thing that this president will do and the nation will never forget him is just to sign it. He should just sign it. If he refuses to sign it, what will happen in future, if he is still alive, he will not like it. He is no longer contesting for the president. That is the only major thing he must do before he leaves. He should put pen to paper and sign it. It is the only thing that will make his name to be written on the golden pages of history. He should do what is just, fair and truthful. If he fails to that, it will become a serious campaign issue.
Okay, back to PDP. Who is actually in power in PDP? Is it the NEC or the governors of the party? Some people say it is the governors. How true is that?
You see, I remember the last time when I said the moment Atiku disappeared, there was a vacuum and there can’t be a vacuum in a political set up. If he had stayed back to attend to the issues pertaining to the results declared by INEC and face the consequences as the leader of the party, the governors would not be in charge today. You won an election and ran away. How can people trust you? The governors saw an opening and they went in. And you should know that we have more governors in the south in PDP than in the north. So, when they are talking, they know what they are talking and why they are talking. Whatever they are doing, they know what they are doing. In their reasoning, if you left us in limbo at that time, how can we trust you now? The man who is running the party is from Benue State. The ones that are planning to come for the presidency; one is from Sokoto, the other is from Bauchi and then you have Atiku from Adamawa State. No, no, no. They cannot be perpetually leading us. I have made my position clear, but I still prefer we should sit down and talk. Only the truth can make us free.