APC has prepared grounds for PDP takeover – Prof. Adedoja
Prof. Taoheed Adedoja is ex-minister of Sports and Youth Development, ex-Dean of Faculty of Education, Bayero University, Kano (BUK); a two-time governorship candidate in Oyo State and contender for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairmanship. In this
Hyears? ow does it feel to be out of power for two and half years by a party that held sway for 16
What PDP is experiencing now had been experienced by the present ruling party for 16 years. Loss of power provides an opportunity for stocktaking of what really went wrong. The loss of power by PDP in the 2015 elections, divine as it was, is to make the party stronger to bounce back in 2019. The Nigerian public has now accepted PDP as the only party that will bail them out of the current economic woes in the country. There is no question about it; it is a learning process for the party to rebuild itself to rule better come 2019.
Why are you in the race for the PDP chairmanship?
At this time, PDP needs a virile, energetic, experienced person with fresh ideas to lead it as chairman. He or she must understand the political terrain of the country. I am therefore in the race to build on the thinking of PDP to provide the needed leadership for the consolation of the party. I am in the race to generate the needed new ideas for the consolidation of the gains and vision of the party and to build on the foresight of the founding fathers and mothers of the party.
The chairmanship of the party has been zoned to the South. I am therefore presenting myself as one of the qualified and visionary persons in the South-west to steer the ship of the party to year 2019 and beyond.
What will you do differently if given the mandate?
I will be conscious of the new platform of the party which abhors impunity. The party’s constitution and manifesto shall be our guiding documents to reposition the party. Modern technology will be maximally deployed for the repositioning agenda of the party.
The PDP has proposed to reduce the power of its national chairman, especially on financial control. If this amendment is ratified at the next elective national convention, the next chairman of the party will not be a signatory to the party’s accounts. What do you make of this?
Having the national chairman of the party to be signatory to the party’s account has been procedurally wrong. The proposed amendment assigning signatory to other officers is in the right direction, fulfilling the accountability, transparency and the due process requirement in financial regulations. The national chairman as the approving authority is sufficient a check and balance procedure. I support the proposed amendment. The chairman has so much to do than being chased about to sign party checks. Let other officials do their jobs.
Why is the agitation for a South West PDP chairmanship raging?
The agitation of the South West for the national chairmanship of the party has historical relevance. Since the formation of the party in 1999, that is 18 years ago, virtually all geopolitical zones of the country - North West, North Central, North East, South East, and South, South - have produced a national chairman either on permanent, acting or interim capacities except the South West. Therefore, for political balancing, fairness, equity and justice, the position should naturally go to the South West if the party has zoned the position to the entire South.
I go by party decision and that is why I am contesting as a candidate from the South West, one of the geopolitical zones in the South and I strongly believe that political exigencies and realities on ground will eventually play out.
The next PDP chairman will have a herculean task of leading the party to the 2019 general elections. How prepared are you?
I am well prepared. There will be team work among members of the National Working Committee. Constant consultations among all organs of the party will be the guiding light to success, so that the PDP umbrella will come out to be right shade for protection of members and adherence to the rules of the party as national chairman. The party will ensure that its flag bearers for the presidential and governorship elections have the capacity to win the 2019 elections. The process for the emergence of candidates for all elections will be free fair and transparent.
Some party leaders have spoken so well about impunity and imposition in the party. How do you intend to do away with these factors?
The greatest test for PDP is the forthcoming elective national convention which will hold in December this year. The national convention will be a test case, an experimental field; political laboratory for testing the ‘no impunity, no imposition of candidates, party discipline’ new vision of PDP. All aspirants for the position of national chairman should subject themselves to votes by delegates to the convention.
I do not subscribe to the idea of the national chairman of the party being picked by leaders of the party in the South West or South for that matter through any kangaroo gathering, only for endorsement by the national convention. No, that will be undemocratic and will set the clock of the party’s backward. That process can be subjected to manipulation, unfairness, political gangsterism, corruption etc. Let every aspirant convince all members of the party through the delegates why he or she should be selected. The same group that will concoct a candidate will also plan for removal of that person, and any candidate not chosen by any kangaroo process outside the democratic norm will run to the court. This has the potential of derailing the national convention.
Therefore all candidates should subject themselves to a free, fair, credible and transparent national convention that will produce the national chairman of the PDP, and same for the production of the party’s presidential flag bearer.
What are your chances considering that other prominent politicians from your zone are also in the race?
Look, other aspirants, by the party’s constitution are eminently qualified to aspire to the position of national chairman of the party. The national chairman of the party should be able to reach out to and be accepted by all members across all geo-political zones of the country. You know that I am a native of Ibadan in Oyo State. By my biographic antecedents, I have lived 45 percent of my life in Northern Nigeria, so I understand the common language, the culture and perceptions of the people in Northern Nigeria. I have lived 35 per cent of my life in SouthWest Nigeria, and well-grounded in the common language, tradition and aspirations of the Yoruba. Also, my schooling in Delta and Edo states in the South South has afforded me with the rare opportunities of due recognition to the culture and tradition of the people of the South South.
The several national and international engagements I had undertaken in Enugu and Imo states in the South East geo-political zone have afforded me the opportunities to appreciate the aspirations and needs of people in Eastern Nigeria. I therefore see myself as the bridge builder the party needs at this critical period of rebuilding, reconciliation, consolidation and a fresh image for the party.
There are still legal threats after the Supreme Court judgment, especially in the South-west chapter of the party. What do you make of this?
I quite agree that there are issues, but remember that PDP is a very large party. Therefore, there will definitely be discordant tunes. This is not unexpected of a very large organization. It will make the party stronger at the end.
Some members of the party are of the opinion that for true internal democracy to be entrenched in the PDP, governors must stop financing the party to avoid imposition of candidates and impunity. How will your leadership tackle this, if elected chairman?
Every member of the party should contribute to the development and sustenance of the party through financial and moral contributions, to allow governors face their financial challenges in their states. It is the responsibility of any member of any organisation to contribute financially to the running of that organisation.
I tell you, governors are the soul of the party. They are indispensable for the survival of the party. In fact, we must commend our PDP governors for their financial contributions to the party and for their individual achievements in their states. The last non-elective national convention was the result of financial contributions by all stakeholders’ including governors. So the sustainability of the party is the responsibility of all members.