As things stand, it seems that the politics of Edo State has been taken outside where it should be, beyond the realm of the ordinary people who may lose confidence in the system when it is time to come out to vote. Don’t you feel uncomfortable with the current scenario in the politics of your state?
It is unfortunate what is going on in Edo and some of us who are critical stakeholders did our very best to try to avoid this situation. At a meeting with the governor, I personally appealed to him that this fight is not necessary. I’m aware that for a very long time, even the national chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) refused to make any public statement. When I also went to him, I can say for sure that it is not about money; it is not about interference in the affairs of Edo State; it is not about trying to teleguide the governor. The entire thing is internal to the governor and those around him who managed to convince him that if he tries to swear in all the elected APC members (of the House of Assembly), he will be impeached. I can say as a critical stakeholder that there was no such thing on the agenda. Why would you impeach a governor who has one year or thereabouts to complete his tenure. Why? But he bought the false package and started acting accordingly and conducted an illegal inauguration or encouraged an inaugural inauguration of a minority of members of the house. Those of us who are democrats who paid dearly for the enthronement of this democracy felt we cannot sit back and watch such a wanton abuse of the constitution and a rape of due process and total disregard for morality. It was the first inauguration on earth not witnessed by friends, family, party members and supporters. Some of the members were shabbily dressed because they were literally abducted and forced to go in there for the inauguration and some of them have recanted. Without our raising any motion in House of Representatives, the House examined the issues and found the governor and his people culpable and advised that they should retrace their steps. Senate independently did the same and came to the same conclusions. But the governor and his people have been jumping from one court to the other, seeking one injunction or the other by hook or crook.
Now there now seems to be a stalemate and there is tension…
There is no stalemate. Those of us who are progressives are committed to the fact that the right things must be done whether the governor likes it or not. He is claiming that his second term is not negotiable. No democrat will make such a statement. There is nowhere in the Nigerian constitution or the APC constitution that says second term is automatic for any governor, every if you built a mansion for every Edo citizen. For us, there is no stalemate. There are candidates that are out; we are working towards a primary, INEC timetable is out. If he is popular, if he has respected the party, if he has carried the people along, if he has performed politically, economically and socially; if he has demonstrated political, moral and social spotlight to the point that people say ‘yes this is the man we want’, he will carry the day. But if he has not, somebody has to carry the day and we will rally round the person. It is now left for him to decide to fall in line, support the new person or take whatever decision he wants to or exit the party.
From the way you have spoken and considering your pedigree and standing in Edo and national politics, the governor doesn’t seem to stand a chance.
He believes that he will win because he has money. Not money of his own, he is presiding over the resources of Edo. Remember, he started by trying to blackmail everyone by saying that we wanted him to share Edo State money and we asked him to name those who were asking him for money. I ran for the House of Representatives, I didn’t ask him for and he didn’t give me a kobo. So, who were the people who were asking him to give them money? He has not listed them. In any case, they have the right to ask him for money because he is the governor of the state. It is his own responsibility to say ‘I don’t have or I will do projects in your place’ or whichever way he wants to handle it. He is not the first governor Edo is having. He believes that he can use violence. On the 23rd of December, I wanted to open my constituency office, award scholarships and employ legislative assistants; he sent thugs and encouraged the council chairman to send armed thugs to disrupt the event. Peoples homes have been burnt, people’s houses have been targeted. He has sacked anybody in his government who were nominated by those of us who are asking him to do the right thing. People are being intimidated. Lies are peddled in the social media against people; insults hauled. But nobody has ever won an election or a ticket using those anti-democratic and extra-legal methods. So it is between him and the rest of Edo State. If he carries the day, God help him.
In all of these, your common denominator is APC, your political party. Where is the place of APC in all of these? Don’t you think your party is endangered going into that election as a fragmented body?
No, our party is not endangered. In fact, we just received hundreds of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members into APC. More are coming. Those of us who anchor the politics of Edo will remain intact. We remain standing. In the presidential election, the governor lost his unit, lost his ward, lost his local government and lost the state. So, we know who is who in Edo politics. If he believes he has the majority, then there is no problem, he doesn’t need to use violence or insults. Let him just keep his team and go to the field. I am not on his side because I can never be on the side of injustice. I spent 12 and a half years in exile for fighting for democracy and I am not about now to allow people that we did not hear of much less see in the barricades or in the fields of struggle make mess of that system. So, for me, APC remains intact. We have no problems at all. We will settle it on the field using ballot box. So it is left for him to decide which way to stand.
So, we can also interpret this to mean ‘APC has no problem in Edo State except Governor Obaseki’?
As far as I am concerned, Obaseki is the problem. He is the one who says he doesn’t want peace. The Oba of Benin has intervened, the president has intervened. Even Aliko Dangote, his personal friend and that of Oshiomhole had intervened. Members of the National Assembly collectively and individually have intervened. The Governors Forum set up a committee chaired by Kayode Fayemi, he refused to accept them in Edo. They set up another reconciliation panel, he said he doesn’t want it because the Senate President is chairing it. Who does he think he is? Is he the owner of Edo State? He is not. He is just one person that was elected to govern following the constitution and the rule of law. If he steps out of that, he is liable. Everybody cannot be begging you to make peace and you are behaving as if your mandate is from heaven. It is not from heaven. It was given to you by people in the field and those same people can recharge it or discharge it as they please.
The governor has talked about the national chairman of APC using his office to create disequilibrium in Edo APC and indeed Edo State. If you examine his complaints critically, hasn’t he got any grounds at all or some points to be looked into as well as areas he is right?
He is just being mischievous. I am an Edo citizen. I have run for governor twice in that state and I have also contested for the Senate. I have my own followers as well. How can a governor conduct a primary? It is not a governor that conducts a primary. So it was cancelled justifiably and because of that he is angry. He comes on national television to say ‘I conducted a primary…’ He should be ashamed for even making that statement. If Oshiomhole had not cancelled that primary and had it redone, we would be like Zamfara today. Nobody would be elected from APC. He should be thankful that Oshiomhole did that and that he didn’t say it is my state so I will tolerate illegality. That is where his own anger is coming from as the beginning of some of those actions. For me, the national chairman of APC did not say anything for a long time. When the 14 members were moved out of Abuja, Oshiomhole did not know. In fact they moved to Abuja because he sent his CSO with thugs to attack them in a hotel where they were holding a meeting. They felt unsafe. The videos are available, these are not things we are conjuring up. So, for me, we look at who is the architect of instability? Who is the architect of anti-party activities? Who is the architect of trying to demonise leaders in order to explain away his own mischievous political trajectory? For me, it’s Obaseki. It may not be too late for him. They say when the handshake crosses the elbow, it is no longer handshake. It is left for him. In politics, you never draw a line on the sides. In politics you never draw a line on the sides because you learn to forgive, you learn to tolerate, you learn to accommodate. But everything lies in the hands of Obaseki and his deputy and his SSG.
So, to you the way forward is for them to look inwards and make amends and what about the other side?
Well if you say we should advise him, if he can retrace his steps, apologise to those he has offended, all the numerous, thousand and one injunctions he has put there, withdraw them; listen to the new reconciliation committee chaired by Mr Bisi Akande, maybe, just maybe people would listen to him. But that does not mean automatic ticket for a second term. No. He must go to the field along with those who are contesting now. But if he doesn’t do all these things, he will still go to the field if he is still in APC.
However, he must realize that he doesn’t have much time left. The time table is out. The primaries would soon be upon us. He can move around, he has the capacity to move round. He has been moving around trying to bring down the national chairman. He has his accomplices among some governors. If he thinks the destruction of another would precipitate his own progress, he is daydreaming. It will not happen.
Nigerian Tribune