Guardian

Chief Vincent Amadi, a traditional ruler from Isiokpo Kingdom, Rivers State, who was recently elected Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), South-South Forum of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP in Lagos, told journalists that there was no fight between President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi but a misunderstanding based on political interest, reports Seye Olumide.

WHAT are the leaders the South-South doing to address the feud between President Jonathan and Governor Amaechi?

I don’t think there is any crisis between the two. What, perhaps, is happening between them is political misunderstanding and not personal. A party that is as big as PDP would always have this nature of crisis but one thing is sure; whatever misunderstanding that exists would be resolved amicably.

Jonathan, I must say, is a Rivers’ man. He marries from Rivers State and by virtue of that, he is our son. We should also realise that Bayelsa was carved out of Rivers State.

Amaechi, on other hand, is an Ikwerre man from Rivers and he knows what it means to respect an elder.

The leaders in both states would look into the matter and reconcile them before 2015.

Isn’t the President’s ambition for a second term in office part of the factors heating up the polity ahead of 2015?

I do not see why Jonathan should not contest for a second term, as long as the Constitution permits him. I don’t see any ambiguity there. This is the opportunity for the people of South-South, where the black gold is dug.

I don’t know why Nigerians are making much ado about nothing. The entire South-South people are behind Jonathan to contest.

Politics is a game of calculation and if he does his homework well to win PDP primaries and subsequently gain the confidence of Nigerians; there is no big deal.

Why should people complain about a South-South man where the wealth of the nation comes from?

But the North is claiming Jonathan had an agreement with them to run for a single term…

They should present to us the agreement. If there is such an agreement, we want to see it if it is in line with the Nigerian Constitution. I believe that the Constitution supersedes that of the PDP and whatever agreement anybody is talking about.

But it could be a gentleman agreement…

Then, they don’t have a case. Like the late legendary musician, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, would say, “I no be gentleman at all.”

Section 1 of the 1999 Constitution states that any law that is against the Constitution is a nullity to the extent of that law. Even if it is written, anything that is contrary to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is illegal.

A section of the country cannot continue to determine, dictate and behave as if people from other sections are inferior or do not have the right to rule.

These are critical issues Nigerians need to sit and address.

Would you agree with the United States’ recent investigation that corruption is more pronounced under the Jonathan administration?

The issue of corruption has been with us before Jonathan came to power. It is not only in Jonathan’s tenure that corruption indices have jumped up. We have heard of oil windfall money amounting to several billions of naira missing and nobody said anything about that.

If people want to criticise Jonathan’s government, let them do it objectively, devoid of malice and mischief.

I think Jonathan’s government has exposed corruption more than any regime in Nigeria. The question is how to tackle it.

What I regard as the greatest impediment to the fight against corruption is the Judiciary. The Judiciary has helped so many people who are supposed to be languishing in jail to be walking free.

How would you assess the performance of Amaechi’s government in Rivers?

There may be different opinions but what I know is that Amaechi has done a lot to improve the state. This is not a matter of praise-singing the governor; I have not seen any government that has done what Amaechi did even right from the military era; that is obvious and nobody can contest it.

He has foresight to the extent that he looked at how congested Port Harcourt was and started demolishing all the shanties in order to build roads.

He did not stop at there; he initiated the building of Greater Port Harcourt where there will be easy flow of people and traffic contrary to what is happening in places like Diobu and other parts of Port Harcourt.

Now, if you go from Igwuruta to Omagwa, where we have Port Harcourt International Airport, a lot is happening there.

What informed the formation of the PDP South-South Forum in Lagos?

The PDP South-South Forum is an organ to let the people know that the people of the South-South exist in large number here in Lagos and an avenue to let our governors and the people at the federal level know that we are waxing stronger here.

Do you consider the formation of the APC a threat to PDP’s ambition to take over Lagos from the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)?

In a strong political arrangement, there must be opposition, but PDP is not afraid of any merger by the opposition parties in Nigeria.

The problem in Nigeria is that rival parties do not see any good thing about what the ruling party is doing. There is never a constructive criticism but destructive based on the quest to take over power by whatever means possible.

There is always the tendency to focus on the negative aspect of governance and that is why we have so many difficulties in Nigeria. Unfortunately, the rival parties to PDP have deliberately closed their eyes to some of the good things that the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration has achieved.

It is unfair for the opposition parties to say that the country has not witnessed any development since the PDP took over government at the national level in 1999. Nigerians have refused to be constructive in their criticisms.

Does PDP in Lagos have the capacity to oust the ruling ACN in 2015?

I am optimistic that PDP will oust ACN in 2015. The signs are there that the Babatunde Fashola-led government failed to meet the aspirations of the people and they are looking for a better alternative.

It was true that during the 2011 elections, many of us in Lagos voted for Jonathan and went back to sleep and that was partly why the PDP lost in the governorship election.

But that cannot happen 2015. The coming governorship election in Lagos is a battle PDP must fight and win.