By Peter Agba Kalu
Alh. Rabiu Bako, was a former Commissioner for Local Govt. and Chieftaincy Affairs and that of Information and Home Affairs in Kaduna State. In this interview, he spoke on the state of affairs of the PDP.
The Supreme Court just declared Makarfi the authentic Chairman of PDP, what’s your take on that?
With the Supreme Court Judgement, I will say it is all over now. I congratulate my PDP and H. E. Senator Makarfi, and urged him to take the advice given by some governors and leaders of the party that there’s no winner and loser. The Party is for all members who are with him or not, and as a matter of urgency, call for a national convention of the party.
Do you see PDP rebuilding and forming a formidable opposition in 2019?
Why not? That’s our main aim and reason we headed to the court in the first place, to recover our party and rebuild it towards 2019.
The president has been out of the nation for a longtime now on medical grounds and some people are calling on him to resign. What’s your stand on that?
The honest truth is that I don’t support the way and manner Peter Ayodele Fayose and Femi Fani-Kayode have been going about it. If they believe they have evidence of a deteriorating and incapacitated president, they should approach the House of Representatives and the Nigerian Senate with it and ask that the rule be followed as provided by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria . Not all this media razzmatazz. We are making a mockery of Nigeria if we think that it is what opposition should do, by discussing the president’s health in such a manner.
The irrational comments of Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has become worrisome not only to the PDP but to all well meaning Nigerians. Opposition should not be vindictive but constructive, the way the governor is always talking about the health condition of President Buhari is not in good taste at all, up-to a state of going to put out a damaging picture of President Buhari. Let me remind the governor that he is the president for Nigeria and for all Nigerians irrespective of political differences. He should be talking about what government should do about unemployment, recession, and infrastructural deficit in the nation. In other countries, leaders get sick but their people and government officials do not talk the way and manner Governor Ayodele Fayose is talking about our President’s health.
There’s a lot of agitation going on in the nation today, the Biafran agitators are calling for separation, while some are calling for restructuring, what’s your take on that?
On the issue of agitation and referendum I am advocating for a strong and united Nigeria, we stand to gain as one Nigeria than having a divided country bearing in mind the old adage, ‘United we Stand and Divided we fall.’
Don’t you think it was bad leadership over the years that are responsible for these agitations?
Not really. But, the truth is that our leaders should be up and doing because there are a lot of issues that needs to be resolved at national and state levels. Most importantly is that of unemployment, lack of good medical facilities, corruption etc
Which boils down to issue bad leadership, isn’t it?
No! It is not only about bad leadership, it is about corruption and the way people are stealing money left, right and centre without any development. For example, this Paris Club money that was given to governors, what the hell are they doing with it? No clue at all.
Can you rate the APC government?
APC Government that came to power were accusing PDP of not underdevelopment and corruption for good 16years but does it make sense to say that PDP for those number of years have not made progress at all? Today APC are in the same shoes, corruption everywhere, kidnappings, robbery and other problems. The failure of Buhari is not for him alone, but for all the governors, ministers, government officials and that of the APC hierarchy.