… Says party has failed woefully
From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
In this interview, 2011 Deputy Governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), in Benue State, Alhaji Usman Abubakar, known in the local parlance as Young Alhaji, has disclosed that he was waiting for the decision of his people before announcing the position he would be vying for in 2019.
Young Alhaji, running mate to Prof. Stephen Ugbah, also took a swipe at the APC-led government in Benue State.
Excerpts:
Why have you been silent on the political scene in Benue State?
I’m not silent politically. One does not dissipate his energy when there is no need for such. This is 2017 and political activities will start presumably in 2018. But that does not mean that inwardly, I’m not active politically. We are brainstorming and discussing with various political leaders, opinion leaders, youths, women and chieftains.
Does it mean you are part of the Mega Party?
Mega Party? I’m just hearing that name from your mouth now. Yes, there would be alignment and realignment as well as permutations here and there. But, as you know, for now, I belong to no party but I belong to all opposition parties, except the APC at the state level. However at the federal level, I belong to the APC.
But sometimes ago, you declared that you were a member of Accord Party. So, which party are you now?
Yes, I’m a member of Accord Party. I’m a member of PDP, APGA, Labour Party, SDP, APP, KOWA Party. I share the same relationship with all these parties. So, for now, I’m a member of all these parties. But I don’t belong to any of them.
Why are you saying you don’t belong to the APC at the state level?
Well, it is because of their highhandedness, insincerity, misinformation and deceit, imposition and so many other things. These are the reasons I am not in the APC, in Benue State.
For politicians, 2019 is not far from now. What are your plans for 2019?
The only position that I know I wouldn’t contest for in 2019 , is that of the President. But as for governor, senate, House of Representatives or State Assembly, yes, why not?
So, which one are you going for specifically?
I don’t know yet. It depends on what my people want me to vie for. If they want me for governor why not? If they want me to go for senate, why not? If they want me to go for House of Representatives or House of Assembly, why not? I will make myself available for whichever position my people call on me to go for.
Many people think you routed for Senator David Mark in the rerun election because of an agreement both of you had, to the effect that he would hand over to you in 2019. Is that correct ?
No, not at all. I voted for PDP, yes. Yes, I campaigned vigorously for Senator David Mark in the said election. But, it was purely for the sake of the future of the Idoma people of Benue South senatorial district. I did that because of the interest of my people. My action then was to protect the future of the people of the Benue South Senatorial District. I saw that something was at stake then and that was why I supported Mark. Nothing more.
How would you access the APC-led government in the state?
Very very poor. It is very poor and disappointing. APC in Benue state is disheartening because they discuss politics with its citizens, but don’t share the dividends of politics with the people. They made campaign promises to the people, but they have not lived up to those electoral promises.
What are you insinuating?
As far as I am concerned, Benue APC has failed woefully.
If you ask me as a Benue indigene, I would tell you they have achieved nothing. When I said the APC in Benue has failed woefully, I mean it. The APC is on ground zero in Benue. APC Benue is like a plane fully loaded with passengers, prepared to move from point A to point B for a journey of four hours, but it has not even started taxing two hours into the time, yet the door of the plane has been shut and the people in the plane are dying of heat already.
So, what is the way out?
The way out is to rout them out in 2019. Already, we are forming alliances to rout them (APC) out in 2019 by God’s grace. As a Benue indigene, I would tell you that the party, I mean APC in the state, has failed woefully. The people they are governing are hungry but all they have been told in the past two years are lies. My being in the APC at the federal level is because of one person, that is President Muhammadu Buhari. But I don’t believe in the party leaders.
What is your advice to your supporters ahead of 2019?
What I will say to them is simple; they should wait patiently. We will not run into political action until when we see the cloud gathering. They should be patient enough to wait. They soon hear from me soon.