2019: PDP Will Be Doomed, If... – Senator Makarfi
Senator Ahmed Makarfi is the chairman of the National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In this interview, he spoke about various crises in the party, alleged anti-posturing by the Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction of the party, w
What is your take on the results of the Edo and Ondo states governorship elections, considering the fact that your party lost out?
Well, Edo, to me, was manipulated and taken away. That is why we are at the tribunal, and we believe that if good work is done by our counsels at the tribunal, we will remain above board. We believe we are going to win because we have a new judiciary. It is far more responsive, fair and just. I believe our mandate will return to us.
When we went to Ondo, there were factors and room for complaints. Some factors were within the control of stakeholders while some were beyond them. Some were external, which we are much aware of. The internal issue relates to state politics and other issues that are really state-based. I really won’t go into details. On external factors, our candidate was finally cleared two days before the election, and to move around the state in two days to cover grounds was a tall order.
Again, INEC’s position that the submitted list of agents was by the party was a problem. The law stated that they were party agents, not candidate’s; hence they were recognised. This prompted a big question. The question was: Which party? We didn’t submit the list of agents. Those who took us to court, the Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff camp, just submitted the list of agents, which INEC accepted. Naturally, you wouldn’t expect them to be effective agents because the person they wanted was not the one standing for the election. I think INEC should have considered the recent court judgement and given the party the leeway to change its agents if it so desired, thereby escaping from sharing some blames for virtually lack of representation at the polling units.
Again, if you look the video clip being circulated by Jimoh Ibrahim, where he boasted and gave reasons why they went to court etc, it is clear that it was intended to destabilise the PDP and prevent the candidate from campaigning. So the Modu Sheriff side has spoken, through their candidate, that the reason they were in the race was to prevent the PDP from winning. Even the blind and the dumb can draw a conclusion that very serious anti-party activities took place. But I am happy that the people are not violent. We are in touch with the people of Ondo State, and I believe that, with all the little misgivings here and there, the tendency is for them to accept what has happened and look forward.
Beyond that, I am concerned. I was disappointed by the result and what happened; but if you ask me whether I am really bothered as we walk towards 2019, I will tell you I am not. When we had a central government in the PDP, which stand-alone election did we lose? But when the general election came, what happened? So a standalone election needs a party with central power to mobilise everything there to come up with a particular result, but when general election comes, you are on your own; there is no gang up per se. If you are on ground, you are on ground, if you are not, I am sorry. So no matter the difficulty, we will continue participating in elections, believing that when it comes to general elections, the story will be different.
There is this directive from you, asking the Ondo State governorship candidate of your party to go to court...
We never directed anybody to go to court. I am the chairman of the National Caretaker Committee and I have never discussed with any of my members the possibility of going to court. We have to hear from the state. After all, you can’t cry more than them. They know the position, so they should assess it, and whatever decision they arrive at, we will stand by their decision. And the discussion I had with them is not in tune with what you have raised. I am not going to direct them to do any particular thing. They should reach a decision and we will stand by them.
But the party’s candidate said he would challenge the outcome of the election at the tribunal. Will you support him? Well, as I said, whatever decision Ondo people take, we will stand by them. But we are not going to make that decision for them. Do you think they have grounds of going to the tribunal? They are the ones with the grounds. They are the ones to assess, ours is to assist them.
To what extent has the internal dispute in the PDP affected the fortunes of the party in both Edo and Ondo?
Well, even in Edo, we were aware of the other candidate from the other side campaigning against the PDP, yet the margin was minimal. In Ondo, I have not heard news of change of results, but there was an open endorsement and campaign for the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the candidate of the Modu Sheriff side. Besides that, even before the election results were announced, Jimoh Ibrahim was congratulating the other person. Watch his video clip. He was even explaining to Nigerians that they engaged us to prevent the PDP from winning. So, what better thing can you do when the person concerned will broadcast, so to say, that “look we engaged in legal issues to prevent PDP from winning!’’ They have succeeded, but then, that is the history that they are not trustworthy politicians. If I were their candidate, I wouldn’t have done that.
Would you have supported Jimoh Ibrahim if he were the candidate of the PDP?
If they required my support, the least I would have done would have been to keep quiet and be on my own.
What is the position or punishment designed by the PDP for people who behaved this way? Well, the party’s constitution is there, in due course, that will be looked into.
Some of your supporters believe the PDP would only redeem its image if the name of the party is changed. What is your take?
There were all kinds of calls for reforms, restructuring and interactions or contacts from different political parties. But we said it’s better to constitute a large committee and let anybody with any idea go there and air it. We are not dictators; we are democrats. We create the structures for all discussions to take place and let’s see what will come out from the discussion, and let’s begin from
When we had a central government in the PDP, which standalone election did we lose? But when the general election came, what happened? So a stand-alone election needs a party with central power to mobilise everything there to come up with a particular result, but when general election comes, you are on your own; there is no gang up per se
there. Not directing or decreeing that this must happen, no. That’s not the spirit of democracy. Informal discourse will crack and everybody will go his or her own way if you don’t take care. But when you create a formal structure for such a discussion, whatever your views or grievances are, there is a place for you to go and put them.
You started the process of reconciling with the Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff faction, at what point did the process crash?
When we started, the issue of Ondo had not reached the level it was. We thought that in the spirit of what we started discussing, the whole world would see us coming back strongly without any serious crack. Personally, I proposed that all of us should work together to sort out the legal issues. If both of us resigned and the issues are still there, what has it solved?
It solves nothing; it even creates a lot more problems because, as I speak with you, earlier this week, there was a new court process instituted by some people, not even Modu Sheriff, challenging both Modu Sheriff, myself and everybody. So, already, serious questions have been raised that the court must settle. If the court does not settle those issues, there will never be peace and stability.
So, to personalise this matter as if it’s only between myself and Sheriff is really not correct. It has gone far beyond that. Maybe long before now you could reduce it to that level, but serious cracks have been created, serious legal issues have been raised and you cannot run away from them, otherwise, the PDP will die.
In our own opinion this side, all those legal issues are not good for the PDP. Both
the Modu Sheriff side and us have to sort out these legal issues, and after sorting them out, give general accommodation to everybody. We are even going to form a new leadership; let it be so. But the current leadership should sort out these legal issues jointly. People have been disappointed several times, things have been shifted on countless times by the other side, but based on experiences, there are issues for us to sort out before we go into any other thing to show commitment and seriousness. What are the key issues now?
The key issues are before the appellate court, not even the lower courts. I was even thinking that we would not get to this level up to December/January. The generality of people thought that this matter would linger for a long time to be resolved. That is why we were given an additional one year. It is basically three months now and we are at the level that we are.
So you can see that maybe by the time we are just four months, or six months, we would have resolved most of the issues. People must not forget that the Caretaker
Committee was given an additional one year because they knew that it would take some time. But here we are, just three months into that time. Before Christmas, fundamental issues in this matter would have been clearly spelt out.
The Sheriff side is expecting a ruling in Port Harcourt...
Everybody is expecting a ruling. Is it only one party that is in court? The two of us are there. We are both expecting a ruling. There are two appeals in Port Harcourt and Abuja. Both made pronouncements on leadership. The High Court in Port Harcourt made a pronouncement positive to the Caretaker Committee, which Sheriff appealed. Justice Abang made a pronouncement negative to us, which we appealed.
The Port Harcourt court has adjourned for judgement, and tomorrow, (last Thursday), the Abuja division will hear the case, and I think that after hearing it, they too would adjourn for judgement. And hopefully, by next week, both judgements should come out. If they say that Sheriff is the legitimate chairman of the PDP, it is for the other members I represent to decide whether we should go to the Supreme Court or to take a different decision. If God says we are, it is for Sheriff to decide on what next to do.
Some of his people have started moving to other parties, anyway. But even if any of us go to the Supreme Court, it has an absolute maturity and sensitivity. They can listen to matters in a day and deal with them because they affect the stability of this country and the development of democracy. And if you kill the opposition, you would create dictatorship, and dictatorship knows no bounds.
Even if I am a good man and I have no opposition, the tendency is that I may become a dictator. You will be safe today, but tomorrow you won’t be safe. We have to fight for the enthronement of a lasting democracy. In this struggle, there are moles who look for returns; they can do anything in return for one favour or another, and that is what we are dealing with. Do you still believe in the PDP?
I believe in the PDP, I believe in democracy. Look, I am used to the politics of opposition; it’s the people that do not know. Opposition is not a new thing to me. Being in opposition does not mean that if the government of the APC or President Buhari does well I should not feel it. I should oppose based on rational, constructive criticism, not
for people to know me. But again, I cannot be enslaved because of any particular reason. I am convinced by certain things and I stand by such things.
Recently, many members of your party in the North defected to the APC; don’t you think the action would affect your performance in the future?
Well, in the North, are you not talking about Gombe in particular? Since he left as minister, I have never known Sen. Idris Umar, who defected to the APC, to have participated in anything concerning the PDP. But he is not the only one. Mention them. There is also a sitting senator that left in Ondo.
There are those we know are one leg here and one leg there. We are not surprised. I am also not surprised at any movement now. It is the movement in 2018 that will bother me. Look, go back to the PDP when it was in power. During the first and second years there were people coming. But when did the movement that brought the party down occur? We should not forget history. There are those who want to join or associate with the central government. They are like the chameleon; they keep on changing colours. The political movement from one party to another that should bother anyone is the movement in the last 12 months before an election. That should bother anybody, and it is yet to come. What do you think is the future of the PDP?
It is very bright. We know that it’s not going to be an easy task. We are passing through the worst period you can ever think of, but we will recover. Are you contemplating changing the name ‘PDP’?
It is not for me to contemplate that. I told you that there are all kinds of talks; that is why we constituted that committee for people to talk and make recommendations. I don’t want to pre-empt whatever recommendation they may come up with. I have no personal opinion; even if I have, I cannot impose it. Mine is to implement what the majority want.
Are you still interested in going on with the reconciliation effort with the Sen. Sheriff faction?
It is not me. I have to go back to the organs of the party. I got their mandate before I engaged in it.
There are reports in the media that you are threatening Sheriff with imprisonment. Why?
Well, I am surprised because I have never threatened anybody. It is a statement from people without recourse to me. I won’t bother to give anybody credibility over political issues. Let somebody take the person to court. More serious issues than this flimsy political issue in less than a week may even be settled.
What are the factors that give you confidence that the PDP will return to power in 2019? If I tell you that, it will be like disclosing the secret of the PDP and I won’t do that.
Everybody is expecting a ruling. Is it only one party that is in court? The two of us are there. We are both expecting a ruling. There are two appeals in Port Harcourt and Abuja. Both made pronouncements on leadership. The High Court in Port Harcourt made a pronouncement positive to the Caretaker Committee, which Sheriff appealed. Justice Abang made a pronouncement negative to us, which we appealed
There are those who want to join or associate with the central government. They are like the chameleon; they keep on changing colours. The political movement from one party to another that should bother anyone is the movement in the last 12 months before an election. That should bother anybody, and it is yet to come