Olorogun Eddy Eniola Olafeso was a National Vice Chairman South-West of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a leader of the party from Ondo State. In this interview with Yinka Oladoyinbo of Nigerian Tribune, he speaks about the November 16 governorship election in the state and other issues. Excerpts:
The Ondo State governorship election has come and gone, what factors were responsible for the performance of your party?
What went wrong was an institutional robbery and abuse of the electoral process occasioned and supervised by the Federal Government, using all the institutions that are supposed to participate in the process to scuttle it. What we have discovered out of the election is the total failure of INEC, but our hope is in the tribunal and in the people. Then criminalizing the process with vote buying that has never been known to this country, the kind of money they brought into Ondo State was a child’s play compared to what happened in Edo State, so everything that should go wrong went wrong and it is a disgrace that despite all these several attempts by INEC to convince Nigerians that things are progressing, things are really regressing. I heard Mammood Yakubu talking in Ghana about Nigerian example, may it never happen to Ghana what is happening in Nigeria. The Peoples Democratic Party would go all the way to make sure that the stolen mandate is restored, despite all the odds, the judiciary is still the hope of the common man and we believe that the judiciary in all the stages will be consulted to be the arbiter in situation like this, but the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State was the darkest moment in our history.
What lessons have you learnt from the defeat in the election?
The lesson we have learnt is that you cannot trust any of the federal institutions, because the Federal Government under APC has corrupted the whole process in quantum. Things are not what they used to be, the lesson we can learn is to be vigilant and we continue to pursue our case in the court, we know that you cannot trade fairness, equity and justice with APC, so if we have learnt any lesson, it is to be united for that across the country to prepare ourselves for the future, it is going to be a democratic battle royal so that we don’t allow these people in the office longer.
The belief in some quarters is that the internal wrangling in the PDP with many critical stakeholders leaving the party led to its failure at the poll
Critical members closed to the former governor, who quietly took a stand against the PDP, the reality of it is that, how great are they really? If there is any election that the party worked together, it is this one, we are glad that about three months to the election, they had already left, so we know those of us that are left behind and we rallied ourselves. I served as the chairman of the governorship election and I am aware that both the party and the committee in charge of the election worked together, what happened is not about disunity in our party, but a wholesome purchase of the conscience of the ordinary man on the street that truly needed the change that we have preached. We started our campaign on July 3rd till November 14 and the people were receptive to our message, our seven-point agenda resonated with them, but then they have actually weaponised poverty to the point that it is clear to everybody that that is their intention, that was why they have been making life difficult for everyone in the country, you cannot buy food, you cannot buy fuel, you can’t travel, you cannot even buy medication in case you are sick, the schools are not what they used to be, infrastructure is bad, so it is not disunity in our party, it was an election that was already written and besides, we thank God that despite all their shenanigans, despite all the criminal activities perpetrated, we scored over 117, 000 votes, that is about the population of Seychelles, the second largest economy in Africa, for us, for those who bought into our agenda, we are forever grateful and they voted not because they were attracted by money, but they believe in the betterment of Ondo state.
How are you galvanising members and leaders of the party so that you can be strong for future elections?
In this game you don’t force people to stay with you, we are happy with people that are with us and that is why we gave the figure of what INEC said we scored in the election, it is a good way to start, we are not leaving anybody behind, we will provide leadership, fairness and equity and we will allow everybody’s participation. In the coming congresses ahead to ensure that we select quality leaders for the party, I am very optimistic about the future than ever before for the outstanding performance we demonstrated in the last governorship election, I am no longer afraid about what will happen to our party in the future. We will continue to work very hard
The PDP is enmeshed in crises at the national level and it has been affecting your party as an opposition…
We are facing disunity and we are not speaking with one voice, as a leader of the party I will just admonish all that we should remove self from this and speak to the constitution of the party that outlined the rule that will guide us in all decisions we are taking. Despite this, I am very confident that the party is working together, we have started with two major national committees, the reconciliation and the disciplinary committees, our party will come out of this stronger, in the last two months it has created some level of inertia, lethargy and that is what we must avoid in the future, I am so convinced that sooner than later our people will realize that it is necessary for us to be united to build a virile and strong opposition to this ruling government of the APC
As a former national officer of the party, what is your take on the issue of Damagum stepping aside which has been causing crises in the party
Beyond that we have other issues. There is no party in the whole world without challenges, but the resolution of the issues would be decided by the greater stakeholders of the party, the BOT, the NWC, the NEC of the party and we are rallying as quickly as possible to hold our meetings and the joint decision that will be taken that will determine the future. Individuals like me can only work together with others to ensure that we arrive at a better conclusion that will lead to equity, fairness and justice in every decision we are taking. For me, individuals must know that the party is greater than anyone of us and that from time to time we must make sacrifice, I have made sacrifices in the past, I ran for the office for the second term for my position as the zonal chairman in Osogbo, the total number of votes that was compiled to declare the person that competed with me as winner were 13 votes, I didn’t go to court, I congratulated the winner and walked away from there, I have been in this party for over 20 years, I have never for one day left the party, I never abandoned the party, it is an embarrassment when a leader of a party abandoned his party to go from one place to another, I am sure they have been walking in shame, and disgrace will visit them sooner than later. For us that have committed ourselves, the party must realize that it is important that people are encouraged to do their best for the party, I know that our challenges are not impregnable, we will ensure that equity is the watchword through which we can face the future
Do you think the strength of the PDP today is enough to win election or only merger or coalition can help to dislodge the APC?
Everything must be on the table, coalition, merger, amalgamation just name it, I must be honest, there is no way the PDP, the way we stand today can confront the APC and win in any future election, we must first resolve our internal issues, secondly, look for like-minds and come together so that all us can rise against this state of anomie and rise against all the very harsh policies of the APC government, so that we can guarantee a better future for our people.
What is your impression about the government at the federal level in the country
The present Federal Government is anti-people, and insensitive. They don’t care about the welfare of the people. Unfortunately, they have the cooperation with the National Assembly that should have defended the Nigerian people. So their greed and their inability to think about the welfare of the people have created a very difficult time for the people, cost of living has skyrocketed, people can no longer afford to eat, you cannot even afford to travel, many people won’t be able to travel for Christmas holiday to their villages for the festive season, they have actually ruined everything. I don’t see anything they have done better, there is nothing good to say about them so far maybe in the future, I am not a rabid opposition, if there is anything they have done better I would have said it, we still have the issues of insecurity, poor infrastructure, almost two years in office, yet there is no hope in the horizon, there is no light at the back of their own tunnel, for me, they have not done very well, President Ahmed Tinubu must listen to the people, of Nigeria, and if you want to rule Nigeria, you should be equitable to all that are integral part of the country, it is not a Yoruba nation, he is the president for all, so in distributing the resources and positions of government you must make sure you are fair, things are not going well in our country.
Nigerian Tribune