‘Why Wada deserves second term’

Critics have carpeted Governor Wada for allegedly performing poorly in office, what is your take on that?

As a PDP member, I will work for the victory of the party. With regards to the performance of the governor, if the truth is to be told outside politics, I am sure the greatest critics would applaud the performance of the governor bearing in mind the resources available to him. Don’t forget that the governor inherited some liabilities from the previous government and government as a continuous entity, he had to oblige to some of these inherited liabilities.

The governor has done very well within the available resources. He has been able to pay salaries un-like some states which are owing several months of salary arrears, he is not owing more than one month salary. Whereas in some states you will discover that workers are being owed nine months, six months salaries. I think he should be commended. He has managed the resources available to him well and he should be praised. You know that the state’s resources have been dwindling and not much is available for developmental projects.

But even despite the lean purse of the state, some projects are still being done. My observation is that the media has under reported the activities of the governor.

If you look round the state, there are roads being constructed, building constructions going on and other things which worth reporting. We have brought this to his notice and I’m sure things are being done to showcase some of these things. He is a silent achiever, but in politics, there is nothing like silent achiever, you need to blow your trumpet for people to know. The era of allowing people to blow your trumpet is over.

By and large, the governor has done well within the available resources. He has been prudent in the management of resources and has been current in the payments of salaries. May be one thing you don’t know is that the governor is paying pension and gratuities dated back to 1999 which was left by previous administrations. I think he has paid up to 2005 and he hopes to pay more.

These are liabilities of other people who didn’t think the civil servants matter, people who didn’t think about human resources development. But this governor is taking everything in totality; while he is trying to carry out development projects he is also ensuring that civil servants and retirees get their benefits. I think there is nothing as good as that.

We will encourage the governor to ensure that retirees and pensioners get their benefits now, not when they die.
What are the selling points of the PDP to win the election state and what is the party doing to reconcile aggrieved aspirants after the primary?

I think that process is on, Wada is already taking foremost steps to reconcile all parties involved and at the local government level, we are trying to reconcile all members of the party as well. But one important thing is that as democrat, nothing stops you from expressing your wish and desire. But having done that and it passes through due credible process, you must come to terms with the results. So we are hoping that Echocho and his supporters will support the PDP candidate. And I think that is what politics is all about, you don’t move about like prostitutes if you lose here, you move to another party and if lose there, you come back, that is not what politics is all about.

As democrats, we must be part and parcel of the democratic process and adhere to tenets of democracy. Yes, nobody wants to lose but losing is still part of the game. Now Wada has won, all PDP supporters should queue behind him. The issue of going to other parties means that you did not bring yourself to terms with the democratic process. In democracy, you must be ready to win and also be ready to lose.

What did you support Governor Wada, especially during the primary?

I supported the governor on principles and based on his good performance in the past. Considering the options available to the PDP, he (Wada) remains the best option.

There was a stiff oppositions to Wada’s aspiration, why the sudden u-turn support for governor him which led to the postponement of the exercise at a point, what really happened?

I would not say there was any move against Wada, after all, we had only two main aspirants. If the situation was totally bad, you would have had an avalanche of aspirants as it happened in APC (All Progressives Congress). We had only two and the other aspirant who is popularly known as Echocho, may be he had the zeal to carry the media along with him, so there was a lot of media hype about his aspiration.

My understanding of why the national leadership of the PDP postponed the primary was to see if a consensus could be reached among the aspirants to avoid going into the primaries. The intention was to see if the aspirants could step down for just one of them. Eventually, it was not so, the aspirants agreed that they will all stand for the election and that was what happened.

The postponement was to buy time for negotiation which did not happen. But as for opposition, yes the governor had opposition but at the end, wisdom prevailed and I think the right thing was done and we were all happy about it.

Why was the negotiation delayed till the last minute?

That question should be directed to the National Working Committee of the party. I agree with you that PDP had enough time but it did not do what it was to do, the eadership was only doing it at the eleventh hour. But sometimes, it is better late than never and I think that was what happened. It is good they exploited all avenues for negotiation.

How true are reports that you bankrolled Wada’s campaign?

That is not true, I am not a moneybag, so I don’t have money to bankroll the governor’s campaign. I only have goodwill, the zeal and principle that the right thing should be done. I stand for justice and it is not the question of having money to bankroll his campaign. But If I had the money, obviously I will support in kind and also physically, I will put my energy in his campaign and whatever I can do for the success of the PDP.

We are credible, we are not carrying any fraud case. Our candidate is transparent, he is not a guest of the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crime Commission) (EFCC), ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices and related crimes Commission) or the Code of Conduct Bureau. And if you look at the two candidates, you will know who is back to rescue or back to loot. We believe that our own candidate is very honest, transparent and prudent. We have had a taste of the APC candidate. That is not the case with Wada. So, we are bringing to bear on the people of Kogi, honesty, transparency, prudence, humility and above all the fear of God.

All these qualities I have mentioned, you cannot find in the candidacy of APC. Again, we don’t want Kogi to be up for sale to somebody outside the state. We are in the state to work for Kogi. We cannot entrust our destiny to somebody outside the state or at the end of the day, you will find out that Kogi starts paying some tolls to some political godfathers that we don’t know.

Whatever it is, as the saying goes, the devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know. We know Wada, we know his capability. We know what he can do but we don’t know what somebody who is outside the state can do. Is he going to sell off our state, sell off our resources? Somebody from outside? No, and I’m sure Kogites will not allow that.

How ready is the PDP to shift power to other zones in the state?

I think it is a matter for the parties. If both parties agreed and they are working towards that, then it is a good omen. One of the reasons why I’m supporting Wada to do a second term is that I believe he is the right person that could ensure power shift. Echocho is a good person, he is capable and competent but I am not sure he can guarantee power shift in the next four years because he would want to do his eight years. So Wada is better placed to ensure power shift than any other person. The candidate of the APC I am sure is just paying lip service on power shift because we have heard about his plans to perpetuate somebody in office by the time he leaves, but when the time comes, we will say it loud and clear.