PDP needs national chairman with a clean record – Gabam
Alhaji Shehu Gabam is a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), who served as chief of staff in the Isa Yuguda administration in Bauchi State. In this exclusive interview with Daily Trust on Sunday, the Director General of the Prof. Tunde Adeniran Campaign Organistaion, speaks on why the PDP must elect a national chairman with a clean record during the December 9 national convention in Abuja, among other issues.
FThe right chairman for PDP irst, what is fundamental to PDP is character. Given our experience, our mistakes in the past, our summary way of taking decisions, without thinking through, without background check, we concluded that this time around we would do a thorough background check for anybody who wants to be a national chairman of the PDP.
With our experience with Ali Modu Sheriff, we cannot make the mistake to have a national chairman that we know clearly, after a short period of time when campaigns are about to start, the party in government will fictitiously go after him or her. So we need someone that they cannot manufacture corruption or any other charges against to dampen the spirit of the party faithful.
Therefore, mindful of the contestants from the South-West, we have not found anybody that is close to Professor Adeniran, in terms of decency, responsibility, consistency, loyalty to the party and integrity. From 1998 till date, despite the intimidation, the shortcomings of the party and others, he has never thought of leaving the party.
More so, he is a professor of Political Science, PDP has not produced someone who is a career politician as its national chairman. We need a chairman that can go on the world stage and would be highly respected.
He is a former ambassador of Nigeria to Germany, where he performed excellently well. He has represented this country at the United Nations, he has been a lecturer at one of the prestigious universities in America. In all of these, there is no single allegation against Prof. Adeniran. Prof. Adeniran’s age I don’t think he is older than the President and the Commanderin-Chief. I am sure he is also not the oldest among the contestants. What the party needs is someone with humility, principle and policy. Someone who understands the issues. Someone who listens to you and someone who can invite both the young and the old to the discussion table. We don’t need youthful exuberances. We don’t want a state where somebody would get drunk as a result of power while we are trying to build a system that would lead us to election in 2019. Reconciliation Prof Adeniran is a man who listens to superior arguments. He will create room for reconciliation, for consensus, for understanding and for unity of purpose. He made this clear during his declaration. Reaching out to delegates We have been reaching out to the delegates long before now. We have been communicating with them and also discussing with the strategic delegates, those that know the delegates and those that can advise the delegates.
This is paradigm shift; we are shifting away from imposition, shifting away from rascality, shifting away from lawlessness, shifting away from abuse of due process. We are restoring the law, order, decency, normalcy, fairness for the party and members of the party. We are restoring internal democracy. We are restoring credibility, we are restoring quality in the PDP. Defectors First and foremost the PDP is their family home. When you have a lot of children and some of them decided to protest against their parents for whatever reasons they perceived the parents have done to them, the natural thing is that after a while they will come back to their home because they don’t have any home better than their home. They have gone to other parents they have seen how the situation is and they have found out that they are not being accommodated, trusted. So it is right for them to come back and I can tell you that all of them are itching to come back.
We as parents have told them, that there is no personal grudges. But if we disagree again let us resolve it internally and don’t take it outside The PDP made mistakes but we have learnt from them. We should not us forget that Nigeria was a pariah state before the PDP took over in 1999. We created massive infrastructural development across the country.We created enabling environment for business to thrive and for Nigerians to excel. Before the PDP took over in 1999, some states couldn’t boast of more than four tarred roads but within a short time, we tarred the roads and also linked them. because these are the disadvantages of externalizing a family affair.
Allegation on Atiku, Kashamu sponsoring the campaign
Is it not interesting that after the allegation of Buruji sponsoring the campaign did not fly, they changed tactics and started mentioning Atiku. It wasn’t Prof. Adeniran that brought Buruji into the party in 2009; it was a state affair. It was the party in Ogun State that brought him in.
Atiku is not even in the party (PDP) and I can say it without fear that neither Prof. Adeniran nor the campaign organization has met with Atiku. It is alarming that these same people that are raising this allegation are the ones holding nocturnal meetings with these people to beg for their endorsement.
Relationship with Babangida and Obasanjo
Being a former president of Nigeria, Babangida has produced a lot of people in this country. People should learn how to separate friendship and interest. Politics is strictly about interests. Nobody can stop relationships. Adeniran and IBB have been in a relationship before the PDP was registered.
There is no party leader we have not visited to seek for prayers and advice. We didn’t make it a media event with pictures looking for endorsements. There is a relationship of respect and dignity and that is it. Whether anybody likes it or not, IBB played a very crucial role in the emergence of the PDP in 1999. The PDP itself has said that the military wing played a crucial role.
Those behind the rumours are saying it is because Obasanjo is a threat to them. They are doing everything possible so that Obasanjo would not play any role in the politics of Nigeria. But they forgot that destiny brought him into power. Some of those making these allegations were also beneficiaries of Obasanjo, they served in Obasanjo’s cabinet, but today, it is not pleasing them, what is pleasing them is that Adeniran is being tagged as Obasanjo’s boy. Assessing APC’s performance It is not just me, it’s in the public glare. I don’t want to go into talking about the personality of the president. Anybody who is the president of Nigeria, irrespective of his party affiliation, is the duty of Nigerians to respect him or her because he is elected to be in that office, but in terms of policy they have not done well. The poverty level is extremely high. People are languishing in poverty. Nigerians cannot provide three daily meal. If you go to the villages, it is a pathetic situation. People are complaining across the states. The APC needs to review their policies to have human face and meet the needs of the people.
The system should not have been run singlehandedly by the president for almost six months; there is no economy that would not go into recession when you allow a government to be run by a single individual who only liaise with some permanent secretaries and directors.
We handed over a sound economy and we told them, ‘produce our handing over note for all to see’. If we are telling lies, produce it. There is nothing classified about it and if you claimed it is a classified document, then declassify it; you have the power to declassify it, so that Nigerians would know where we are coming from.
It is for the national interest so that we would balance this argument for or against once and for all instead of the needless propaganda employed by the government.
As a party, we have said it severally that we are not going to do anything that is detrimental to this government that is in power. We are conscious of the fact that we might be there tomorrow. Campaign of calumny The APC is involved in a campaign of calumny against the PDP, deploying propaganda to rubbish us but we do not want to have the balance of terror in the name of campaigning because we were humbled by our experience in office for 16 years. Secondly, the interest of the country is what is paramount. Nigeria must remain peacefully united and an atmosphere for economic and political prosperity enshrined. For that reason, we conceded power, without going to court. Ordinarily, we wouldn’t have done that, because there was a difference of 2million votes which we know where it emanated from but in the interest of the country, we agreed to back them up.
Zoning of presidency to the North
No, you won’t say nobody has shown interest, because I was amused when Fayose said nobody from the north has shown interest. I know of at least three or four. Sule Lamido has shown interest, so also Ibrahim Shekarau and I know others that are consulting. They will come out very soon. It is the responsibility of the North to show forth somebody who will be respected. We are looking for someone who is versatile, exposed, amiable and reachable from the North.
Message Nigerians
The delegates should know in clear terms that we have all been victims of intimidation, imposition, rascality and disobedience to the rule of law. This time around we must surely have a leader that takes law to be respected with fairness and justice to the PDP and the Nigerian people.
And to the Nigerian people, I want to remind them of three things: it is the progressive element of the PDP that formed the PDP. They forced out the military regime and decided to form a movement that would restore democracy in Nigeria. They are the heroes of democracy; they fought for democracy, they went to prison and most of them, are not alive today to enjoy what they have built. The PDP is a Pan-Nigeria and Pan-Africa movement, it wasn’t designed for any individual, it was designed for Nigerians irrespective of tribe or religion. This is the commitment of the founding fathers
The PDP made mistakes but we have learnt from them. We should not us forget that Nigeria was a pariah state before the PDP took over in 1999. We created massive infrastructural development across the country.We created enabling environment for business to thrive and for Nigerians to excel. Before the PDP took over in 1999, some states couldn’t boast of more than four tarred roads but within a short time, we tarred the roads and also linked them. to delegates and