InterviewPolitics

Kwara 2019: I pray APC resolves crisis – PDP Campaign DG

 

In this interview with HEAD POLITICS, MUMINI ABDULKAREEM, Director-General, Mandate 2019, Professor Suleiman Abubakar speaks on recent defections from the party, purported emergence of new PDP executive in Kwara, the controversy over the APC campaign slogan among other Sundry topical issues in the party. Excepts. 

Since your emergence as the DG of the Mandate 2019, what has been happening?
We have settled down for work knowing that we have a number of challenges that have to do with perception of the situation and some intra party squabbles that we have to resolve arising from the last primary election whereby some aspirants could not make it. We have to put in place some conflict resolution mechanisms toward resolving all lingering crises and I want to tell you that we have made a lot of inroads in that direction. To this end, I can say with confidence that none of the gubernatorial aspirants have left the party. Others including myself, we are loyal to the party and still relevant and we have accepted the outcome of the primary as a divine direction which nobody can question.
Secondly, our party has been stigmatised in the eyes of the public and it is the duty of the mandate team to ensure we remove such wrong perception about the party and its leadership and I can tell you we have gone a long way on that. If election should hold today now in the state, we will come out victorious. The APC has labeled the PDP and its leadership in the state with so many wrong labels giving the impression that all the woes in the country today in terms of economy and hunger were caused by the PDP. We have to educate the electorate on the state of the Nigerian economy, why it wasn’t like that during the PDP government and why it is now on account of mishandling of the economy by the APC. In the last few weeks, we have done a lot on this regard and now, opinion moulders have now accepted the fact that there is no alternative to PDP in Kwara and the leadership of the Senate President.
Why did you pick Kwara North, precisely Bode Saadu in Moro for the flag-off of the PDP campaign?
We did the presidential flag-off in Kwara Central and the believe is that we have to take the party to other parts of the state. Moro is strategic because of its centrality which will give all Kwarans a sense of belonging and inclusivity in the electioneering process.
Some key people recently left the party in Kwara South, is this not a sign that all is not well with the party?
The people that defected in Kwara South did that out of the disagreement arising from the party primary. They are at liberty to decamp and they have done that but it was not out of genuine love for the people. To me, I don’t see that as a civilised political culture. In saner climes, people don’t decamp on account of denial or failure to get a ticket but for more cogent ideological reasons. As the few are leaving, we are receiving in our camp thousands of decampees. Those two people in Irepodun are quite insignificant compared to the thousands we are receiving especially from the APC in the state.
Are you saying the party is not under any threat with this and the recent bye-election in the district?      
The bye-election gave a different scenario and so many variables informed what happened then, but as we are approaching the general election now, we’ll see what will happen. The Kwara South people are civilised, educated and more enlightened and that some people decamped because of the failure to get what they want will not have any impact on the perception of the electorate. People will not be deceived on the account of their defection and the effect will not erode the popularity or support base of the PDP in the region
Some former leaders of the PDP have alleged that the old executive of the party was not properly dissolved before the coming of the Senate President. You are one of the key members of that era, how true is this?
I think what is important is that these people are no longer in the party and whether the executive was properly dissolved or not is not part of their business. As far as we are concerned, they should take to their own internal affairs. When you leave a party, other people are expected to come in and the party at the centre has done the needful by reconstituting new structure and we are moving. It is not their business to know whether it was properly done or not. What is important is that out of their liberty and right, they have left and we that  believe very strongly in the party have decided to stay. They should just allow us be and face their internal wrangling. Today in PDP, there is harmony, peace, stability and less friction unlike in APC.
(Cuts in) …is the PDP having a hand in the crisis of the APC as being alleged by some members especially in the light of the emergence of the Balogun-Fulani and Basheer Bolarinwa-led factions?
How is that? I am not even talking about the Balogun-Fulani and BOB faction, the crisis in the APC is far more than the emergence of these two factions. It was cancerous and has been there for the past three and half years. We were there together and I asked them to address and heal it then, they could not. It is a fundamental issue. The Prince Sunday Fagbemi and Iyiola Oyedepo factions are still there and this affect the way things are being run. I think they should just look inward instead of finding blames elsewhere and trying to meddle into the affairs of the PDP. I wish and pray that they are able to resolve the crisis because right now, there is no opposition in Kwara state and we need it.
Do you agree that this election is going to be one of the toughest for Saraki and the dynasty?       
It all depends on the scenario that played out in the few weeks ahead. For me as the DG of Mandate, I don’t see it as anything serious because we are in charge and on top of the situation. It’s about omission and commission here and there and my team and myself have been trying to change the perception that people have about the party and its leadership. And from what we have achieved so far, we are losing no sleep about the election. Before, yes, it might be possible that some have that fear and the phobia was there but I can say with all pride now and a sense of responsibility that we have no cause to fear anything and we don’t see anybody or party as a threat in Kwara come 2019.
Is it true your appointment was based on need to fulfil the sharing arrangement between the old and new PDP rather than merit?
To be the DG of a political party campaign is beyond working arrangement but rather capacity, capability and popularity, ability and skill and experience to deliver, if you don’t have all these then forget it. What stands me out is more than loyalty but my acceptance in Kwara State. A good product without a good marketer amount to nothing and vice versa. But now, we have both and for all our good product all over to scale through in Kwara state, especially in the midst of the animosity, there should be a good promoter, vibrant and credible marketer.
What about other members of the directorate, some have insinuated that their appointments were based on the need to patronise party members rather than capacity?
If I happened to be the DG of the campaign, a man that just defected about five months ago, where lies that variable or theory of patronage or even loyalty. What is important to any campaign team is the head, forget about other members of the team. If the selection of the head was not based on patronage, that tells you the type of sincerity of the leadership of the party. While I wouldn’t (totally rule that out), most people in this team were appointed on pedigree, experience, capacity and popularity.
What will you be bringing into the picture?
It is about what I have already brought in. In the last few weeks, the perception of the people about our party and its leadership has changed and that informed the calibre of the team here. This is not about jamboree campaigning but about skillful and tactical consultations and our ability to win and regain the confidence of the electorate vis-à-vis our agenda and correct certain impressions to remove the stigma on us and we have deployed our resources both material and human to appeal to the people and that is already working. I will not want to tell you the details of the minds and souls we have won to our side and the quantum of the convertees and the kind of confidence we have rebuild in the last few weeks, you will see it in the outcome of the election.
Is there any forum to see how to bring back those that are yet to join you? 
They are already coming back and some that are yet to do so are still waiting for us to invite them and we will do that. Before February 12, you will see the influx of those APC members to PDP because they don’t have any business there. APC in Kwara State is a party of fragmentation and they don’t have a candidate. So where lies the future in that party. We are appealing to them and they are coming in droves. Some of them are still in that place out of pride, ego and complex. But we are seeing positive responses from them and we will continue to talk to them.
How is the party responding to the slogan of the APC that seems to have caused some disquiet in the polity?
The APC is at liberty to come up with any slogan. O to ge is just a slogan without any meaning and people can dance to it or echo it. But in terms of using it as an instrument or benchmark to determine what people would do, it has no meaning. The point I keep on saying is that enough is enough of what. If you say enough is enough of the (Saraki) institution, then everybody must ask where are we moving to? We are not saying anybody shall live forever because that is only for God, but when you say you are tired of A and we must move to B, what does the B stands for, what is our future there. The A has open the land space of Kwara State in terms of Aviation College, Diagnostic Centre, Kwara State University, roads construction and even in religious affairs and empowerment, he has contributed so much and rose to the number three man in the country. But if we are now moving from this man to another person, where lies our prospects, this is the point. Look at the pedigree and antecedent of the other person and whether he or his family has impacted anybody in Kwara state in terms of all the variables we have listed. Even politically, we don’t even see him attend any political meeting or gathering when we were in PDP. So we have to be careful and Kwara must shine their eyes very well not to enter a one chance bus, that would be very unfortunate. Every Kwaran must ask who is the APC gubernatorial candidate and where is he coming from, how has he impacted on the people of Kwara state and what is his philosophical life style about among others. I am not saying people should die with Saraki, but who is the other man. It is better to stand by the man we know and we can identify with than somebody who has zero impact record even in his family.
What is your message to the people?
That Kwarans should be patient enough, they have shown some level of perseverance, have faith in God and keep hope alive. They should know that our situation in Kwara is not as bad as that of many other states and understand that it was better off some years ago. With some doggedness, commitment and faith in God, we shall come out of our problem in Kwara State, They should keep faith with the leadership of the party.

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