Nobody will be stopped from joining APC — Eta
Ntufam Hilliard Eta is the Deputy National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the South-South. In this interview in Calabar, he spoke on alleged division in the ruling party in his state, Cross River; insinuations that the party is
Are you not worried that APC leaders from Cross River have factionalised the local chapter?
I do not have any faction in the Cross River APC and the minister for Niger Delta, Pastor Usani Usani, does not. It is wrong to say that the minister and I do not see eye to eye; the minister and I are political associates. We have never been enemies but that is not to say that we cannot disagree on policies. Even if I was to be situated with my twin brother, we can always disagree on policy issues. I hold very strong views on many issues; minister Usani also happens to be a man who holds very strong views on many issues. Therefore, it cannot be imagined that these kinds of people cannot have disagreements bordering on policy issues. Disagreement does not mean factionalisation. To me, politics is propelled by self-interests and one of the pillars of democracy and politics is the capacity for crisis management and resolution. So what gives anyone the impression that APC in Cross River is in factions? The word factionalisation has been bandied around for too long without anyone caring to ask the actual meaning of the word. Sir John Ochala is the chairman of the party in the state, whom everyone well accepts. I would think that the ever quarrelsome and cantankerous PDP are behind the speculation that there is faction in our party.
Why has the state chairman of the party remained in acting capacity for two years now?
It is because we are yet to conduct congress to fill vacancies in the party. Cross River is not a peculiar state at all, we also have acting chairman in Adamawa State because the chairman, Mrs Binta, contested senatorial election and won and the one who actually took over from her died; may his soul rest in peace. Let us articulate this properly before we are seen as the megaphone of the dying PDP.
Are you not worried with the influx of defectors from PDP to the APC?
Our arms are always wide open to welcome every defector to APC, especially in Cross River State. The constitution of Nigeria guarantees freedom of association; no one can take this away from Governor Ayade who is reported to be interested in crossing over to APC. But I will never tolerate his infantile disposition in our party if and when he comes in. I cannot stop Gov Ayade from coming to the party any time he wants to. We cannot stop anyone interested to come to APC because after all, this would be the first time in the state for people of Cross River to join the progressives. Whether anyone likes it or not, APC represents progress.
The APC is said to be harbouring corrupt people; don’t you think this would be an issue in the future?
I find it very amusing that people have already condemned a man before hearing from him. The minister of Transportation and former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has been bandied to be corrupt but why has his successor, Nyesom Wike failed to put up a formal charge against him? Wike has access to all official documents that transpired during his predecessor’s tenure. I have not seen or heard, may be you can remind me, when Gov Wike sued Amaechi over alleged corruption. It should not be only the EFCC, ICPC or the federal police that have the powers to drag anyone before the courts over allegation of corruption. The state government can also prosecute anybody. Why has Wike not sued Amaechi instead of crying all over pages of newspapers?
To those who criticise us for welcoming defectors, I also ask is there anywhere in the constitution that debars us from doing so? In the APC, we have preponderance of the progressives, we also have people that have come for their private and personal interests. But as the ideological firmament of Nigeria begins the process of congealment, the situation at this time is quite fluid. A time shall come when the proper congealment will begin to take place; this will be when the people who ought to be in APC but are in PDP and other parties will steadily find their way back home. A time will come that people will return to the parties that best suit their ideologies.