Makarfi’s integrity is our selling point in PDP — Sidi
Do you think the recent Supreme Court judgement on the PDP crisis will lay to rest the crisis in the party?
It is a welcome development for democracy and I congratulate all Nigerians, not only members of PDP because I believe in this judgement. There would be stability in the political environment and the country at large.
Some people believe the PDP is damaged beyond repair, why are you confident that it will recover?
Really, the crisis affected the party, but I believe with the calibre of people handling the affairs of the party now, there would be sanity and the PDP will take its proper position within a short period of time.
Many of its founding fathers have left. Do you think Senator Ahmed Makarfi as the head driver ahead of the 2019 elections will make any impact?
If we go back and view Makarfi’s history and antecedence, he is one of the remaining Iroko trees we have standing firmly in the country. Makarfi once worked with one of the most highly recognised financial institutions in the country; he is a former Commissioner of Finance, a former governor, for eight years, and on his emergence as governor, he Alhaji Abubakar Sidi served as the Presidential Coordinator of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Federal Capital Territory during the 2015 general elections. In this interview, he speaks on the recent verdict of the Supreme Court on the chairmanship of the party and on other national issues. Excerpts: that he stole money. So he is a credible, trusted, honest and sincere person. We believe with him as the head driver of the party, PDP will take a new positive dimension. met Kaduna State in crises and he sat down and used his experience to bring the tensions to a hold.
He was chairman, Senate Committee on Finance for eight years and there was no finger pointed at him
Don’t you think 2019 is too close for the PDP to prepare for victory at the centre, considering many issues in many states?
With the calibre of people running the party, I believe in 2019, PDP will regain its position as the ruling party. I can vividly recall what made us lose the elections in 2015. As the FCT presidential campaign coordinator, I knew what it took and I must say we won FCT hands down; there was no two ways about it. President Goodluck Jonathan didn’t want the blood of anybody to be wasted; he conceded defeat even before the collation of results from three states; and those states brought almost three million votes. The gap was only two million votes. So we believe people knew why Buhari was voted for based on the promises that the APC made. I stand to be challenged provided it is constructive; none of the promises made by the APC has been fulfilled by the present administration. The cost of living has doubled in all fields of human life. So why should people vote for APC again?
What advice would you give to PDP leaders so that they can be trusted once again?
The leadership has already taken the right steps from the day of the judgement. I believe that to make mistake is human but to forgive is divine. Makarfi and his team have announced publicly that they have forgiven everyone who offended them and the party, and reconciliation is in the process. I believe that the kingdom of PDP is opened to everyone. I would also advise that Nigerians should come together and give PDP another chance so that we can achieve development.