By Omoniyi Salaudeen

Prior to the recent judgment of the Supreme Court on the prolonged power tussle between the erstwhile national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ali Modu Sheriff, and Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee, not a few cynics had predicted a final eclipse of the opposition in this current dispensation. But the apex court’s affirmation of Makarfi leadership brought a new ray of hope to the party. This was further strengthened by the successful outcome of its non-elective convention held in Abuja. In this interview, Senator Joseph Waku describes the resurrection of the PDP as a danger signal to the APC.      

What would you like to say about the recent convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?

From the faces of the people I saw at the convention amidst jubilative mood, I think Nigeria is beginning to see a strong opposition that will put the ruling party on its toes. That convention was an experimental convention to see if people are still there. And from what I saw, people are still there and even looking cheerful. From what I watched on the television, there was no dull moment. I think it is a healthy opposition. With the new development, the ruling party will now be mindful enough not to do anything that will undermine the rights of every member to aspire for any position. If it does, there will be a counter change. APC is now a pregnant woman; no one can predict what child it will bear.   

I congratulate those who stood by the party and condemn those who left immediately after the election. I have no respect for such decampees. If you decamp before an election, you know you are going into an unknown destination. When you cross there, you are a man of integrity. 

With the crisis the PDP had as soon as ex-president Goodluck Jonathan lost the election, it became too obvious to many Nigerians that the party would be in total disintegration. But then I kept telling people that it was too early for anybody to be jubilating about the misfortune that befell the party. When Modu Sheriff was coming, they were jubilating, not knowing that he was going to put chain on their neck. But now, the chain has been let loose.

This gives a danger signal to the APC; after all, it was Jonathan rather than the PDP who lost the election. In the same vein, it was Buhari and not the APC that won the election. PDP has never been a bad party, but its managers were bad managers. They defied the ideological ideals of the founding fathers and took to looting. It was as a result of bad managers that so many people deserted the party. I can see those at the back bench now moving to the front row. That is a danger signal to the ruling party. My advice is for the APC to entrench internal democracy within its fold; otherwise, there will be a counter change. I consider those who stood by the party up to this point rare democrats and not opportunistic job seekers. 

In the light of what you have said, how would you project the 2019 general election?   

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That is why I said that what the PDP did at its recent convention is a danger signal for the APC. Let nobody deceive you, it is a danger signal. There are quite a number of people in the APC who have impunity in their DNA. My advice to such people is for them to begin to have a rethink. If the impunity in their DNA is not treated, they will be a target for a counter change. It is regrettable that many of those who came from the PDP to join the APC perfected the art of impunity and even made things worse than what PDP used to do. Therefore, if the PDP could make good its words to discard the idea of impunity, APC will have crisis unless the leadership stops the impunity of running the party like a one man show. 

What is your take on the motion for the INEC to conduct local government elections?

The most embarrassing election in Nigeria is local government election. And this cuts across all political parties. I made bold to say that there is no state in the federation where the grassroots people have a say in who runs their affairs.  This is a danger to our democracy because democracy begins from the grassroots. It is only Nasarawa State that conducted a free and fair local government election in the recent past. PDP won some local governments and APC also won in some. That gives some ray of hope to democracy at the local level. But it is the other way round in virtually all the rest states of the federation. Where are we heading to? It often makes me feel sad. That is why some of us are in absolute support of the Independent National Electoral Commission conducting local government elections throughout the country. At least, this will give the people the hope of choosing who they want. That will also reduce the level of primitive impunity and arrogance of our governors.

Will this not also look like putting the cat before the horse bearing in mind that the central government may also want to use its might to win at all cost?

The use of card readers at the national level has come to stay and it has brought some sanity into our electoral process. During last general elections and the subsequent bye-elections, nobody snatched ballot boxes because such votes would be rejected. You could see results neck and neck. With the new electoral process, many political parties will no longer bring their cousins, their in-laws, their drivers, their servants as party candidates, knowing full well that the other aspirants will move to other parties. If INEC is allowed to conduct local government elections, nobody will again sit in the government house to write and declare result. I give you an example, in Benue, there is no single PDP councilor in the South Senatorial District where Senator David Mark hails from. That is not correct, it is not true and it cannot be true. It is an ungodly victory. It is my party that won but I am not happy with that intimidating and embarrassing victory. If there was a body from somewhere else which conducted the election, it would not have gone that way. In 2002, I was at the forefront of the campaign for the INEC to conduct local government elections. Can you imagine George Akume, a former Senate minority leader and governor for eight years losing in his ward? Is that fair?

At a time the local government election was conducted by the PDP, he lost in his polling unit. Would you say that was an election? When we met after the election at the caucus of our party, ACN then, and there was an opinion that we should go to the tribunal. I asked: Do you go to the tribunal to challenge malpractices? Do you go to the tribunal to say that there was no election?  So, when the Benue State government then established a tribunal, it was only aggrieved members of their party, PDP, that went to the tribunal.  The ACN did not go to the tribunal. How could we have gone to the tribunal to challenge an election in which you didn’t see the ballot papers and other election materials? You can’t even call that one rigging. You rig an election where people come out to vote.  In this case, nobody saw the ballot paper not to even talk of knowing the colour.

After that, my party, APC, also came and conducted the local government election in a similar manner. I did not congratulate anybody that won the council election because my conscience will never let me go home and sleep well. It is good as appointment.