APC Will Win Edo, Ondo With Landslide – Mai Mala Buni
In this interview, the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Mai Mala Buni, said his party will sweep the gubernatorial elections in both Edo and Ondo states and accused the PDP of lacking the legitimacy to call on President Mu
While the election in Ondo State is drawing nearer, the APC is having a divided house in the state. How would the APC settle this crisis and ensure that it does not affect its chances at the poll?
You see, there is no election that does not come with complaints. Moreover, when you have good and competent hands like we do in Ondo State, with all of them vying for the same office, it is natural to have issues here and there.
However, it is the mere wish of the opposition that the APC should be a divided house not only in Ondo State but across the states in Nigeria. I am happy to say that we have conflict resolution mechanisms in this great party, with committed democrats and stakeholders, who have the interest of the party and the country at large. We allowed the wish of the delegates to play out in Ondo and we are working closely to ensure that there is no gap. Therefore, APC is united and waxing stronger to win the governorship election in both Ondo and Edo states.
There is this claim that the crisis has refused to abate because the anointed candidate of the leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu, did not scale through.
People would say all sorts of things but as I said, the APC believes in the Rule of Law and that is why there was a primary election in the first place. And an appeal committee also did its work which the national headquarters is working on. We would come out stronger.
Don’t you think the PDP will cash in on the division to win the election?
How? What is PDP? Who is the candidate of the PDP? The two camps in the party have presented separate candidates and they are all in court. They don’t even have time to show their manifesto. The people of Ondo are politically conscious and they would not allow themselves to be ruled by a dead party. I want to assure you that the APC will win with a landslide.
The PDP has alleged your party influenced the postponement of the Edo governorship election for fear of defeat. What do you have to say to this?
That is a pedestrian argument and totally baseless. The security agencies made their reasons very loud and clear for every rational thinking person to appreciate. The security agents said that they had intelligence report on planned attacks by insurgents during the Sallah celebrations which was to be marked in almost all parts of the country about the same time. Therefore, there was the need to prepare to counter the planned attacks because the life of every single Nigerian counts. It was on the basis of this that they advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to shift the election, because the additional operatives needed to beef up security in Edo will be on duty in their respective states. Was the APC at the security meeting to suggest that it influenced the decision making? No. I think it is only fair to appreciate the security for their proactive approach such that we had a hitch-free Sallah celebration in all parts of the country.
More so, from the PDP’s experience, shifting elections does not favour the ruling party. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been defeated in 2015. The PDP knows that it is losing the election and therefore, taking a defeatist position by making empty, false and baseless claims to justify its expected defeat in the Edo election and, certainly the Ondo state governorship election too.
What is your reaction to the PDP’s call on President Buhari to resign over Nigeria’s ailing economy?
It would be ridiculous and shameful for any person or group from the PDP to contemplate toying with the idea of advising President Muhammadu Buhari to resign because of the ailing economy. Perhaps, they think the citizenry have too soon forgotten the genesis of Nigeria’s economic woes. In May, 2015, just before the handing over, former Minister of Finance Ngozi Okwonjo Iweala, made it emphatically clear that Nigeria was financially broke. She said the federal government had to borrow N473 billion to pay salaries. She was quoted as saying that things have been tough since the beginning of the year 2015, and were likely to remain the same for a long time and look at where we are now. Many scholars and experts saw this coming and predicted same because of the large scale looting perpetrated during the previous government. Therefore, it is an act of deliberate mischief for anyone or group to feign ignorance of the state of the economy before President Buhari took over office.
Sir, the argument is that the APC-led government was fully aware of all these problems but yet promised heaven on earth…
Well, you should also know that it was the PDP’s lack of economic vision and plan to save funds accumulating from the country’s earnings for a rainy day like this that caused all the setbacks. President Buhari should be commended. I can assure you that if it was any other person, Nigeria would have been grounded by now. The PDP and others are only making noise because we have relative peace in the land; they have the luxury to sit in the comfort of their homes, offices and in front of TV sets to make noise, not even credible opposition. If it were at the height of the insurgency, would they have the guts to utter a word? The PDP watched when its public officers, party chieftains and supporters massively looted the nation’s treasury which landed the country into the present predicament. If you look at revelations from the EFCC on the arms deal, the sharing of oil revenue for the PDP campaigns and seizures from public officers, these are clear evidences to the merciless thievery of the national treasury. Nigerians need no one to tell them where the recession is coming from. It is only looters, mediocre and political job seekers who want to divert the attention of Nigerians from the exposure of their unholy acts while in office to a baseless call for resignation. Therefore, the call is diversionary, ridiculous, ill-intentioned, misleading and disgusting.
PDP said it has been over criticized for the nation’s problems and believe it is time to move forward. What do you say of this?
It is always very important for somebody, group or a nation to understand where they are coming from so as to appreciate their present position. So, we cannot run away from analyzing the past to avoid those careless and avoidable pitfalls committed by the previous administrations for us to progress. However, it sounds very selfish if the PDP, after 16 years in office, cannot accommodate criticisms and perhaps apologize to Nigerians but engage in a wicked and malevolent call for the president’s resignation.
But Nigerians voted President Buhari into office with a very high hope that he has the capacity to clean up the mess. Why the nagging over the shortcomings of the PDP?
You are very correct. Nigerians have a lot of faith and confidence in Buhari’s capability and that was why he was voted into office. Let me assure you that he is still the most capable for the challenges. Let us look at it from this perspective: You will agree with me that when he came into office, the price of crude oil slumped from over $100 per barrel to about $30 per barrel, creating a huge deficit in the expected revenue. With that challenge, militant activities in the Niger Delta disrupted oil production and compounded economic problems for government and the country. I am sure you are also aware of the negative criticisms that trailed government’s intention to borrow funds to bring back the industries to life, to scale up production, to create employment opportunities for our youth and spur economic growth of the nation.
However, let me assure Nigerians that government is considering series of measures to create a vibrant economy that will provide robust employment opportunities and wealth creation to improve the lives of the citizenry. The recession is temporary, we will soon come out of it and government will meet its projections.
As the ruling party, do you think you have met the expectations of Nigerians?
If you go to the North-East, Nigerians who were hitherto devastated by insurgency and forced to flee their communities are returning to their localities. Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states suffered excruciating pain during the Boko Haram insurgency under the PDP. Thousands were killed and maimed, while over two million men, women and children were displaced.
The previous regime starved our gallant security forces of arms and equipment to effectively contain the insurgents. The government mercilessly exposed its citizens and soldiers to untold danger and hardship. Our respected armed forces that had been a reference point locally and internationally were ridiculed due to lack of arms.
This administration has reversed the ugly trend, it has fully equipped our security forces and there is no more diversion of arms funds. Communities under the control of insurgents have been liberated and secured. As we speak today, people in the troubled areas are gradually returning home. I think these are achievements worthy of commendation.
The issue is there is hunger and this is not what the APC government promised…
Government has made deliberate efforts to encourage local food production for food security. Name any self sufficient country that excelled through importation of food. Buhari deliberately said we must produce what we would eat and also export the excess. I can assure you that the little shortage we have is temporary, thanks to a blessed farming season. Nigeria will reap a lot of advantages towards food security.
If you look at the cultivation of rice in Kebbi, Zamfara, Kano, Taraba, Ebonyi and a host of other states, it is evident that although the policy may be tough, it is quite rewarding.
Another point of reference is the availability of petrol in Nigeria. We are all witnesses to the acute scarcity of the product before this administration took a decisive measure on deregulation/subsidy removal.
Most importantly, this administration has to a reasonable extent, grossly checked corruption in governance by entrenching transparency and accountability in revenue generation and remittances. For the first time, Nigeria is generating higher revenue from the non-oil sector than the oil revenue. I think the coast is very clear that corruption can no longer be celebrated in this country.
The APC is seen to be averse to criticisms. What is your take on that?
Let me clearly state that the APC government will accommodate honest contributions from everyone, including the PDP members with genuine interest of the country. We can’t keep quiet when there is baseless allegation, we can’t allow people to be misled. This government provides every Nigerian the opportunity to contribute to national development for the betterment of Nigeria, irrespective of political differences and sentiments. Ours is all about call to service.