Abubakar Mu’azu Hassan, was the Gombe State PDP youth leader during the tenure of Danjuma Goje as governor. He was also the director youth and mobilization of the Jonathan campaign in 2011. He insists in this interview that there is no nPDP in Gombe state. Excerpts:
What is the way forward for the PDP with all the problems confronting the party?
The crisis in PDP is something that can be resolved. The problem is because the bigger you are, the more problem you have. All the other major political parties have merged and they have become one and I am assuring you the same problem in the PDP will no doubt confront them.
There is a saying that ‘big money, big problem,’ same thing goes to political parties, big party, big problem. It is left for the people of Nigeria to vote for PDP or the other parties.
How can you say the problem in your party will soon end when in Gombe the new PDP is spreading like a wild fire?
In politics there is no permanent enemy or permanent friend but permanent interest. This problem will be solved, I assure you because there are so many crises that came with the PDP. If you can remember in 2003, all the governors of PDP said they were not going to elect Obasanjo, that they were going to elect Atiku Abubakar but within a short period of time they resolved their differences. They all supported Obasanjo and he won the election. So that is why I said even this problem will be resolved. The 2003 problem was bigger and complicated than this one because all the governors then were not in support of Obasanjo, but fortunately they were able to resolve the problem at the right time before the election. So I am sure this problem in PDP will be resolved at the appropriate time.
I don’t see any new PDP in Gombe State. Honestly as a politician I don’t see it, but you as pressmen you may see them because somebody may just come out and say they are members of the nPDP in the state.
This nPDP in Gombe State sincerely speaking is more on paper than reality. This is Kashere the ward of Danjuma Goje and I have not seen any sign of nPDP here. On your way to Kashere from Gombe did you see any sign of nPDP? As a practical politician this is my little experience in politics. I know the politics of Gombe like the back of my hand and with this little knowledge of political happenings that I have in Gombe I am telling you that this nPDP will not go anywhere. If you tell me APC I can agree with you that they are here but nPDP no. Where is their office in the state? If they have one let them tell us so that we can see the seriousness in them but as it is there is no nPDP in the state.
One of the new PDP chieftains, Shabuki, said there is nPDP in Gombe and Goje is the Leader of the party and Goje stood up on the floor of the Senate pronouncing his membership of the nPDP, what is your take on this?
Goje can be in the nPDP but what I am assuring you is that Mohammed Shabuki has never been a member of PDP. I know he contested under ANPP, he was the coordinator of ANPP in the last election, so if he decamps to PDP it is the nPDP not the mainstream PDP.
But if Goje stood on the floor of the senate as a senator to say he is in the nPDP he is free to do that, but he can only do it at the National Assembly, but I can sincerely tell you that you will never find anybody that will come and tell you that they will follow Goje to the nPDP in Gombe State. Goje was a maximum ruler, because I was a victim of his bad rulership. But under Dankwambo people of Gombe State are enjoying an air of freedom. Tanko Ishaka Gwamna, the treasurer of the nPDP who is from Gombe on realizing that there is no nPDP in his state of origin resigned his appointment as the treasurer of the nPDP. All these goes to tell you that there is no nPDP in Gombe State.
It is said that some PDP members were suspended from the party in your local government of Akko because of their participation in the nPDP. What would you say to that?
No, it’s not true. I don’t think the party hierarchy will be reckless enough to dismiss anybody because of their participation in the nPDP, because all the big shots in the mainstream PDP have not dismissed anybody. So if at all they dismissed anybody because they have participated in the nPDP, it is wrong.
But I assure you these people I know are in PDP and will never leave the party. The mainstream PDP man or woman has PDP in his or her blood that he or she cannot leave the party just like that. As I stand before you now, there was nothing I did not do with Goje, I fought Goje, I opposed him openly even when he was a governor and I have not defected to any party I remained in PDP up till now. All these people that are saying they are in nPDP if you go through their records you will find out that they were either in ANPP before or ACN and now that the nPDP has come up and since they are looking for relevance they will say that they are in the nPDP.
Some northern politicians are of the view that Jonathan should not contest in the 2015 general elections. What is your view on this?
Those saying this are entitled to their opinion. Everybody is entitled to his or her opinion. If they say they don’t want Jonathan to contest they can say that, but I want to tell you categorically that the good thing about Nigeria is that no northerner or southerner will win an election without the support of one another. So if the North says they will want to contest against Jonathan they have to look for a support from the South. Now that Jonathan wants to re-contest in 2015 he must, seek the support of the North.
What about Gombe State?
The incumbent governor is working so I see no reason why I should come out and oppose the present Governor. I don’t participate in his government but with what I have seen on ground I am convinced it is for development. I am going to support Dankwambo in 2015, now that he has given us what we want that is the district head of Pindiga, unless something happens, you know politics.
I am saying this because I am a PDP man to the core, people should not think that I am looking for appointment or contract from Dankwambo, I am not looking for anything from him. What I need is to carry along people through development. As a new politician, he has learnt a lot being a governor. There are so many changes he has brought into the politics of Gombe State that everybody is comfortable with.
What is your advice to the G7 Governors who are the brain behind the formation of the New People Democratic Party (nPDP)?
I don’t think I am in position to advise the G7 Governors because they are my senior politicians they know what they are looking for. But all I know, politics is all about interest. So if they feel they can continue with this they are free to do what they like. They have their own stake in PDP. They are looking for something but they cannot get it somewhere unless in PDP if they can resolve this issue the earlier the better for all of us in the party. We the youth are looking up to them. We hope and pray this crisis in the party will be resolved amicably.
The crisis in PDP is something that can be resolved. The problem is because the bigger you are, the more problem you have. All the other major political parties have merged and they have become one and I am assuring you the same problem in the PDP will no doubt confront them.
There is a saying that ‘big money, big problem,’ same thing goes to political parties, big party, big problem. It is left for the people of Nigeria to vote for PDP or the other parties.
How can you say the problem in your party will soon end when in Gombe the new PDP is spreading like a wild fire?
In politics there is no permanent enemy or permanent friend but permanent interest. This problem will be solved, I assure you because there are so many crises that came with the PDP. If you can remember in 2003, all the governors of PDP said they were not going to elect Obasanjo, that they were going to elect Atiku Abubakar but within a short period of time they resolved their differences. They all supported Obasanjo and he won the election. So that is why I said even this problem will be resolved. The 2003 problem was bigger and complicated than this one because all the governors then were not in support of Obasanjo, but fortunately they were able to resolve the problem at the right time before the election. So I am sure this problem in PDP will be resolved at the appropriate time.
I don’t see any new PDP in Gombe State. Honestly as a politician I don’t see it, but you as pressmen you may see them because somebody may just come out and say they are members of the nPDP in the state.
This nPDP in Gombe State sincerely speaking is more on paper than reality. This is Kashere the ward of Danjuma Goje and I have not seen any sign of nPDP here. On your way to Kashere from Gombe did you see any sign of nPDP? As a practical politician this is my little experience in politics. I know the politics of Gombe like the back of my hand and with this little knowledge of political happenings that I have in Gombe I am telling you that this nPDP will not go anywhere. If you tell me APC I can agree with you that they are here but nPDP no. Where is their office in the state? If they have one let them tell us so that we can see the seriousness in them but as it is there is no nPDP in the state.
One of the new PDP chieftains, Shabuki, said there is nPDP in Gombe and Goje is the Leader of the party and Goje stood up on the floor of the Senate pronouncing his membership of the nPDP, what is your take on this?
Goje can be in the nPDP but what I am assuring you is that Mohammed Shabuki has never been a member of PDP. I know he contested under ANPP, he was the coordinator of ANPP in the last election, so if he decamps to PDP it is the nPDP not the mainstream PDP.
But if Goje stood on the floor of the senate as a senator to say he is in the nPDP he is free to do that, but he can only do it at the National Assembly, but I can sincerely tell you that you will never find anybody that will come and tell you that they will follow Goje to the nPDP in Gombe State. Goje was a maximum ruler, because I was a victim of his bad rulership. But under Dankwambo people of Gombe State are enjoying an air of freedom. Tanko Ishaka Gwamna, the treasurer of the nPDP who is from Gombe on realizing that there is no nPDP in his state of origin resigned his appointment as the treasurer of the nPDP. All these goes to tell you that there is no nPDP in Gombe State.
It is said that some PDP members were suspended from the party in your local government of Akko because of their participation in the nPDP. What would you say to that?
No, it’s not true. I don’t think the party hierarchy will be reckless enough to dismiss anybody because of their participation in the nPDP, because all the big shots in the mainstream PDP have not dismissed anybody. So if at all they dismissed anybody because they have participated in the nPDP, it is wrong.
But I assure you these people I know are in PDP and will never leave the party. The mainstream PDP man or woman has PDP in his or her blood that he or she cannot leave the party just like that. As I stand before you now, there was nothing I did not do with Goje, I fought Goje, I opposed him openly even when he was a governor and I have not defected to any party I remained in PDP up till now. All these people that are saying they are in nPDP if you go through their records you will find out that they were either in ANPP before or ACN and now that the nPDP has come up and since they are looking for relevance they will say that they are in the nPDP.
Some northern politicians are of the view that Jonathan should not contest in the 2015 general elections. What is your view on this?
Those saying this are entitled to their opinion. Everybody is entitled to his or her opinion. If they say they don’t want Jonathan to contest they can say that, but I want to tell you categorically that the good thing about Nigeria is that no northerner or southerner will win an election without the support of one another. So if the North says they will want to contest against Jonathan they have to look for a support from the South. Now that Jonathan wants to re-contest in 2015 he must, seek the support of the North.
What about Gombe State?
The incumbent governor is working so I see no reason why I should come out and oppose the present Governor. I don’t participate in his government but with what I have seen on ground I am convinced it is for development. I am going to support Dankwambo in 2015, now that he has given us what we want that is the district head of Pindiga, unless something happens, you know politics.
I am saying this because I am a PDP man to the core, people should not think that I am looking for appointment or contract from Dankwambo, I am not looking for anything from him. What I need is to carry along people through development. As a new politician, he has learnt a lot being a governor. There are so many changes he has brought into the politics of Gombe State that everybody is comfortable with.
What is your advice to the G7 Governors who are the brain behind the formation of the New People Democratic Party (nPDP)?
I don’t think I am in position to advise the G7 Governors because they are my senior politicians they know what they are looking for. But all I know, politics is all about interest. So if they feel they can continue with this they are free to do what they like. They have their own stake in PDP. They are looking for something but they cannot get it somewhere unless in PDP if they can resolve this issue the earlier the better for all of us in the party. We the youth are looking up to them. We hope and pray this crisis in the party will be resolved amicably.
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