By Ndubuisi Orji  and Charles Adegbite

Chief Olabode George, former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and ex-military governor of Ondo State is not happy over developments in his party. In this interview with some journalists in Lagos, he spoke on various issues including the challenges facing the PDP with regards to the role of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, the immediate past chairman of the party. Excerpts:

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Senator Ali Modu Sheriff said the Edo State primaries of the PDP was illegal, do you feel worried over the statement as a chieftain of the party, looking at the implication?
That kind of statement portends two areas of concern for the party. First of all as a friend, I want to appeal to him that he should dance away from this political lunacy. He should because there is a subsisting legal directive that he should not parade himself as chairman of the party. So, what other authority does he want? Look, there should be respect for the rule of law. There was a directive from a court that there should be no election for chairman, secretary and auditor. The party complied and there was no election into those positions. But the convention by our constitution has the right to set up any committee  it dims fit. So, legally, Makarfi’s committee was constituted legally. And they have the right to manage the party until the next convention.
Sheriff has ceased to be the chairman of the party. One: he was acting chairman. He chaired the last NEC meeting where approval was given that a convention should be held. He put himself forward to contest as chairman of the party. He took a nomination form, paid the fee and appeared before the screening committee. Automatically, he has ceased to be the chairman, because you can’t be the midwife and be the new born baby.  Now, having done all that, somehow, at the convention he now found out that there was an order of court that there should be no election and so many other things. And so, the convention, which is the supreme authority of the party, now said instead of doing any election, let us appoint a caretaker committee. So, he has ceased to perform any function. He is an ex-acting chairman. He should please just go home.
The implication of what he is doing as politicians we know. Now we have elections in two states this year. He wants to make it look like PDP is in crisis, so that INEC will not take form from either Mr. A or Mr. B. And so, PDP will not have candidate. I want to plead with him.   He is yet to imbibe the culture, the norms, he is yet to even know what we do at close quarters in the PDP. If his mission is to prevent PDP from presenting a candidate at Edo and Ondo, Nigerians will not forgive him. Let him remain on the path of honour, decency and civility, and go home. So, as far as I’m concerned, by all the legal things and the constitution of the party, he is a former acting chairman of the party. Now you can see, nine out of 10 have thrown in the towel.
Now, he is calling those who are their deputies to come and take over. I call that political rascality; sometimes bordering on the man. How do you now call on deputies? Which deputy will show up? Which convention? The time of the NWC has ended. Our constitution is not in Arabic, not in Yoruba, not in French or German but in simple English. So, please, I’m appealing to him, to head home. End of story.
Is this crisis not preventing PDP from playing the vital role of the opposition party?
You see, if you have too many things you are thinking about, definitely you will be divided. What he doesn’t understand is that PDP is not ANPP. PDP is a formidable, grassroots-based party. We have an incredible resilience. Look at the primaries conducted in Edo State. It was in public glare. Everybody was satisfied; even those who contested and lost. Why is he bringing his own “katakata”? Or he has a feeling that he is still in ANPP? No, this is PDP. And, of course, it is affecting our focus, because today, you are in court, tomorrow you have somebody flagging an injunction here, PDP cannot grow that way.  I want to say also that we should take part of the blame because when this nonsense political thing and judicial rascality came in, there is a section in our party constitution that forbids any individual from going to court without exhausting all the avenues within the party. So, most of these people going to courts, creating unnecessary diversion should have been fired. Everybody kept quiet. I don’t want to offend people. If you don’t like heat, then get out of the kitchen. There are many other political parties. Let them carry their “wahala” and join them. This is a party that has rules and regulations which was conceived by the founding fathers.
Yes. It is affecting us. But if he thinks that it will affect us and blind us to the fact that when we go for election people will not hear our voice, that is why some of us are presenting our own side of the story to the election. There is no problem in PDP. Sheriff who has just joined with Wale Oladipo and the other young man, auditor, or whatever, they should go home quietly. All the other zones are stable. And we will do the election and compete with every figure that God granted us and battle Edo, to give Edo people brand new government.
There is this rumour flying around that the All Progressives Congress (APC), might have planted Sheriff in the party for a reason, What do you have to say on this?
I don’t have concrete facts. But if you look at the behavioural pattern, then what will you conclude on? You know, in politics if you don’t put on the real story, rumour will start flying. Whether it is true or not, that is why I’m advising him, don’t let him be a canon further. Don’t let him be used by others. What will be his benefits? A nation that does not have a reliable, constructive, democratic opposition, that country will head into perfidy. Is that his intention, to decimate PDP? He can’t achieve it. PDP is deep rooted in the people. Yes. We made our mistakes. But we have learnt our lessons. We are ready to present new managers of the party. And we must convince Nigerians that we are ready to manage them again.
All these attitudes, I don’t have concrete facts, but it is not far-fetched, to start thinking that what does this man want again? The court said sit down in your house, don’t parade yourself. You said you are still there. Who is behind him? You know, he made a statement on the television that he would go over the IGP (Inspector General of Police). Aaah! If you have problem with the police, whom do you go to, is it not the IG? If you now say you will go over the IG, then where do you want to go? That was what brought the suspicion that who is the bigger masquerade behind this man?
It is illegitimate. You know, normally you expected certain behaviour from people. But when the behaviour starts falling into other realm, you start to wonder what is wrong with this man. In my part of the world, when one starts behaving strange like that, my people will look for the family and say,”hold this man, examine him, something is wrong with him”.
What do you have to say on the Obanikoro case?
That is the judiciary. They have a system. But like in my case, when they took me there, it was convoluted conspiracy. That was what I called it. We heard “pam! Pam!! Pam!!!” And before we knew it, they sent us to jail. Is it a joke? Then the judge was promoted for doing a good job. They kept me away. But I am a living witness of a testimony of the power of the Almighty God. The awesomeness of his power. We went there. We came back and went to the supreme court. We paid through, everything we could make up to pay lawyers all the way to the Supreme Court. And then the final judgement came. And the man said, we should not have gone to the supreme court at all. I believe God through all that to appreciate his powers. I have been at the topmost mountain. I have sat in the bedroom of Mr. President, the President of Nigeria, and I have been to the gulag, in one cell. So, in everything we do, let us put the Almighty God in it because what is being done today with your absolute power, tomorrow, the pages of history may be different. You can even be on the flip side of receiving the ills. Whatever you sow, you will reap. I believe in England, once there is a criminal case, it doesn’t take long. They will sit continuously, day after day. But before your case gets to the court, all investigation would have been completed. There will be punishment for it.
Even in America, by the time FBI knocks on your door, you normally hear what they say.” You either settle or you go to jail.”  The moment they finish every investigation, even camera, everything will be there. They show you yourself. And you will say “haa!” Look at that Jefferson man. He said he was busy, he was still arguing. When they opened the freezer, they saw all the money, he just gave up. He went to jail. Here what is wrong? Why do you give adjournment till this, adjournment till that? That is why justice delayed is just denied. It takes a long gestation. If it is the fault of those investigating, let them finish before they land him there. The judges too will have no option.
I read one article, one report, the judge said “look, you people are delaying. I am ready for the judgement” You know lawyers have all kind of tactics. So, both sides, let them complete their investigation on time because the people who are locked up without trial are suffering. Their children are suffering.
The public is waiting to hear the judgement. And now, it is not military government now. It is democratic government. You know in those days, they just gave 130 years imprisonment, 150 years imprisonment. And they all came back. So, now it is an appeal. Let them complete their investigation, thorough investigation. Put the people there, the judges will have no option.