One of the 37 Peoples Democratic
Party defectors and Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on
Finance, Dr. Abdulmumin Jibrin, speaks on the forthcoming primaries of
the party, among other issues. JOHN AMEH reports.
Is the APC not worried by the
various pro-Goodluck Jonathan groups holding rallies in support of the
President’s second term ambition?
Well, I don’t think we need to encourage
any illegal act. What the APC always stands for is the rule of law and
the party is saying that we should play by the rules. I think the PDP
should listen to the voice of wisdom and stop doing all sort of things
that are illegal; things that violate the electoral law. All the places
the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria held rallies, immediately the
event is over, APC sweeps away the entire venue. APC is rooted in the
grass roots. When a few PDP supporters are hired and shown on the
television, etc, the APC is not bothered. We are also planning, we are
doing our homework and we are confident that we have the majority of
Nigerians on our side.
What are the chances of the APC in 2015?
The APC has huge chances. The party was
initially weak but when the five PDP governors and, of course,
the 37
House of Representatives members moved to the party in one fell swoop,
it made the APC to be on shoulder-to-shoulder level with the PDP. And
historically, when an opposition and the ruling parties go
should-to-shoulder prior to an election, the opposition will clearly win
the impending election. The APC has more support base; youths and
elders are with the APC. Nigerians are not happy with the PDP; they want
change, they don’t like the PDP. What people keep saying is that a few
people have left the APC but the reality of the matter is that even
though we keep encouraging the APC to close ranks and resolve every
crisis there are more crises in the PDP. For your information, the
peace-like situation you are seeing in the PDP is graveyard peace.
A former Vice President, Atiku
Abubakar, has just declared his intention to vie for the presidency on
the platform of the APC. How do you rate his chances?
He is a member of the APC and has the
right to contest. This will tell you that my concern about Maj.-Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) is genuine. I am not talking about Atiku but
Buhari. I would not have raised an eyebrow on Buhari’s ambition but for
his promise in 2011. I am concerned about his image, his integrity. This
issue is being discussed in many circles and in virtually every
household across the country. Unfortunately, nobody has come out to say
it in the public. Buhari’s name is synonymous with integrity.
But Buhari is generally seen as a better candidate to win the election for the APC.
I like Buhari and I respect him so much.
If you go to Kano today, you will see all my billboards and posters with
Buhari’s picture. We grew up from primary to secondary school knowing
that Buhari is a symbol of integrity. Everyone knows that Buhari has
some kind of messianic image. But, the truth of the matter is that we
want this integrity of Buhari to be protected. In 2011, Gen. Buhari came
out and announced to the country that he will not contest any future
presidential election again. So, why is everybody keeping quiet? Nobody
is raising this issue. It is shocking and disheartening for some us who
are still young. Some people are complaining behind the scenes.
Everybody is worried, disturbed because we wanted his image to be
protected. If he had said in 2011 that he is not going to contest in any
future presidential election, the issue of supporters of Buhari trying
to bring him back to participate in the primaries should not arise.
Otherwise, you won’t be able to differentiate between Buhari and
President Goodluck Jonathan. When the five governors were leaving the
PDP, one of their reasons was that Jonathan said he will not contest in
2015, but that he was changing from that now. Buhari said in 2011 that
he will not contest again, but now some groups and individuals are
promoting his candidacy and are trying to get him to get contest.
My message to our father, Gen. Buhari,
whom we all love is that, everyday he wakes up in the morning, he should
play that tape of 2011.
To be honest, he has a lot of younger
brothers that he can equally support. We have Sam Nda-Isaiah, Lagos
State Governor, Babatunde Fashola; Rivers State Governor, Rotimi
Amaechi; Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole; Speaker of House of
Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; and Kano State Governor, Rabiu
Kwankwaso, as potential candidates. We have a lot of younger people he
can support. They are competent Nigerians that can take up that
responsibility.
What do you say to the concerns raised by some that the oncoming presidential primaries may cause an implosion within the APC?
It baffles me why some people keep
repeating the fact that the APC lost some individuals to other political
parties. Of course, they were distinguished individuals in their own
right but the reality of the matter is that if we want to honestly look
at the whole thing, their departure has not affected the APC. Consider
the APC as a country fighting a war and two, three, five of its soldiers
were taken and shot but it captured five countries, would you say it
has the lost war? I don’t think anybody will say that. The APC captured
Kano, Sokoto, Rivers, Kwara and Adamawa states even though there is a
bit of crisis in Adamawa now. These are states and not individuals. So,
why are we investing so much energy talking about individuals that have
left the party? The APC has not lost any ground.
Why did you join 36 of your colleagues to defect to the APC from the PDP in December 2012.
We took a decision that we felt was, and
is still, in the interest of the country. We were selfless and I think
the journey has been good. We feel more at home in the APC. The problems
and challenges we left in the PDP are still there even though the new
national chairman has tried to close some gaps.
I think the only challenge that we were
confronted with and which we are trying to manage is that of proper
integration. When we wanted to leave the PDP, the leaders of the
opposition party then followed us from house to house, room to room, to
court us to join their fold. Occasionally, you see things that might be
unpleasant. But to be honest, I want to state very clearly that we
shouldn’t be taken for granted. For instance, if you look at the
population of our APC delegation from Kano, I don’t think it will pay
anybody to take us for granted. Let me tell you, the PDP is very smart;
it hasn’t stopped trying to go after the governors and members that left
the party and get them back to its fold. That tells you how smart the
leaders of the party are. On a daily basis, they are still making
overtures to the five governors and members of the House of
Representatives that defected to the APC.
It will be very dangerous for anybody in
the APC to take us for granted. We hope that they will continue to
manage things the way they are and continue to show mutual respect to
everybody.
But many House of Representatives members have been defecting to the PDP from the APC.
What I am saying is that for those of us,
who were formerly of the PDP, we have peace in the APC. You asked how I
feel and I told you that I have peace of mind. I also know that a lot
of my colleagues whom we joined the party together are enjoying peace of
mind. For someone who left the party for the PDP, I think you should go
and ask him the reason for doing that. I am not sure he will tell you
that he did that because he was not at peace with himself. I don’t want
to be a judge over anyone so, it is better you go and ask such person.
Source: The Punch
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