PDP Has a Character of Dictatorship, Says Asita

Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Local Content, Mr. Honourable Asita, in this interview, speaks on the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party, among others. 

Are you worried about the state of the PDP?

Well every rational person should be worried and deeply concerned about what is happening in the party. There are two factions now. The Baraje faction is claiming that it is the authentic PDP and the Bamanga Tukur faction is also claiming to be the authentic PDP. So, what is clear is that there is crisis in the party and there are two clear factions. So, for us as members of the party, it is very disturbing and worrisome because this means that the strength of the party will be reduced. 

When you have cracks in a building, insect easily creep in. So, this crisis will open doors and windows of the party to poachers and I can imagine that even in the estimation of Nigerians that the integrity of the PDP is becoming gradually compromised. The Baraje faction has consistently accused the Bamangar Tukur-led faction of lawlessness, gross intolerance and impunity. Now, over time, Nigerians have been aware that the Baraje faction cannot be lying because these things are being shown to Nigerians on a daily basis.

Take for instance the suspension of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State from the PDP is clearly unconstitutional and illegal. It is not defensible by law and the party is justifying it. From where did they derive the power to suspend a governor? The constitution is clear on how disciplinary procedures can be meted out to a governor.

Now, let us look at what happened at the convention. Unfortunately I have to use Rivers State as an example because I am from Rivers State. If you look at the situation and the scenario in Rivers State for instance, an Abuja High Court assumed jurisdiction in a matter concerning the PDP in Rivers State and gave judgment in favour of a person who did not contest an election.

By that judgment, what Nigerians now know is that even a Sokoto High Court would have assumed the jurisdiction because the Abuja High Court that assumed jurisdiction is not a Federal High Court. This is lawlessness. It is not in the spirit of justice. It is not constitutional; it is not in consonance and in pursuant to the provisions of the constitution of the PDP. 

What would you say are the things that led to the crises in the PDP?

The challenge we have in PDP is that even when you are aggrieved, you cannot complain. That is exactly what happened in the House of Representatives last two weeks. The Baraje-led faction had gone with the governors to the Senate; they saw the Senate President very quietly and the Senate President listened to them. These people are aggrieved and they were coming to complain and when people are complaining, it means that they want a solution.

They want a resolution of the issues, so they came to complain to the Speaker and the members of the House of Representatives from the Bamangar Tukur faction disrupted the proceedings. Have you seen a situation where people are even prevented from complaining? You have an issue and you want it addressed and they don’t even want you to be heard. I don’t know where we are heading to. Fortunately, we are not in the military regime but even in the military era, people are allowed to, at least, express their grievances.

Now, if you don’t know my grievances, how would you solve it? So this is the situation we find ourselves now and we can see the party drifting into deeper crises. It is the same group that has even met with Mr. President so they are not members of a hidden group. This is the character of the PDP that we are complaining about. It is a party that does not allow people to air their grievances; it is a party that is willing to suffocate its own and we say it cannot continue. The party must be governed by laws. We believe that there is still a ray of hope but our future cannot be left in the hands of lawless people.

Are you worried that this could affect the party’s chances in future elections especially with the emergence of APC?

My worries have never been the merger of other opposition parties. My worry is that we have a brand. We had that brand in the last election with which we won an election. That brand is now being decapitated by its own people. That brand is now being destroyed by its own people. That is my worry. For instance, if there is no internal democracy in the party, we cannot move forward. 

For example, the Deputy National Chairman of the party, Dr. Sam Jaja, was prevented from re-contesting at the August 31 special national convention. What were his disqualifying factors? What were the yardsticks used to disqualify him other than impunity and lawlessness? What I am saying is that those who call themselves the leaders of the party led by Bamangar Tukur are destroying that brand and unless something serious happens, the party will kill itself. It is the fear of the party itself that is more to me than the fear of the opposition party.

What is the National Assembly caucus doing to resolve the crises?

I heard that the Senate President has heard their complaints and he promised to take up the issues. The Speaker of the House of Representatives also listened to them and he has promised to take up the issues and intervene. The issues have been escalated to the level where the president of the country, who is a member of the PDP, is involved in the discussion. That shameful act in the House of Representatives was needless. The president himself and some others in the hierarchy of the PDP are discussing with this other faction.

What happened at the National Assembly was completely needless, it was shameful. Now, I believe that because of the calibre of people involved, this discussion may yield some positive fruit.  However, the Bamanga Tukur-led faction is not helping matters. For instance, while the discussions were going on, it has gone ahead to dissolve another state executive of the party believed not to be loyal to him. If this kind of impunity continues, then there is no hope of a resolution of the crises in the PDP.

You are very close to Governor Amaechi and how true is the speculation that he is one of the sponsors of APC?

I know Governor Rotimi Ameachi. I have known him for a very long time and he is a man of strong character. He is a member of the PDP and he is actually in court with PDP now over his suspension, which he believes is illegal.  I also believe it is illegal and unconstitutional. He has not told me that he is interested in APC. If he is interested, there is freedom of association. Does he need to go to court with PDP? It is madness to assume that he is sponsoring another party when he is in one party.

It doesn’t make clear sense to me. Those are political rumours; people need to say things to discredit such a man of strong character. Everybody knows that Amaechi is a strong member of PDP. He is one of the best governors that you can use to campaign for the PDP. Look at the issues in Nigeria today, we are talking about security issues, we are talking about oil theft and Ameachi has bought two surveillance helicopters for security purposes, but where are the helicopters?

They have prevented him from bringing them in. We believe as a country that it is better to be losing the way we are losing than to bring in those helicopters to be manned by federal security agencies to provide security in the Niger-Delta. We prefer that the situation should continue like that than to bring in those things so that do not give credit to Amaechi. We all know what Amaechi is doing in Rivers State.
We were there when he came in as governor and we know the condition that we were in Rivers State at the time he came in and we know the condition of the Rivers State now. We have seen the transformation in the state. As the chief security officer of the state, he is known to be one of the strongest supporters of the police and other Armed forces working in his state in terms of logistical support and provision of hardware and all of that. But now you can imagine that PDP could sacrifice such a strong pillar.

As a South-south person, do you think the zone has witnessed impressive federal presence?

Now, if I have to talk as a representative from Rivers State, unfortunately, I may not give the president a pass mark.  This is because if we look at federal projects in Rivers State for instance, the performance is very dismal and very poor. Security in Rivers State has been weakened such that we have a situation where there is open confrontation between the police in the state and the governor and other officials of government.

We would want a situation where the police would do their work.  The law is very clear. So, honestly, at this opportunity, I would not want to score the president. He has addressed the nation and asked everybody to score him based on what he has done and you know the opinions of many Nigerians about what he had done. If you ask me and I am coming from the Niger Delta, I have not seen substantial federal government projects in the Niger Delta where the president and I come from. They say it is our turn, so we are waiting for a project in the Niger Delta that will show us that this is our turn before we talk about second or third term.