APC can’t manage its looming implosion —Dayo Adeyeye, PDP National Publicity Secretary

Prince Dayo Adeyeye is the national publicity secretary of the caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In this interview by DAPO FALADE, he buttresses his earlier assertion that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is set to destabilise the former ruling party and explained why the party may lose out in the local council polls, scheduled to take place in Osun State next January, among other issues.

 

Nigerians are looking forward to a viable and formidable opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead the 2019 elections. With the pervading divisive tendencies among some individuals in PDP, do you think the party can meet up with the yearnings of the people?

The divisive tendency you are mentioning is a figment of the imagination and the opinion of you guys in the media. We are already providing a credible and formidable opposition to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and, I believe that when we are through with our convention and there emerged a new leadership which has the mandate of the people to run the affairs of the party for the next four years, we would go all out to be the most formidable opposition to APC.

But even at the moment, we are not giving APC the opportunity to go scot-free with its lack of administrative acumen and misgovernance. The party is undergoing a serious internal hemorrhage and it is being torn apart, even from within. The implosion in the party will soon manifest. We have seen that one of their biggest fishes in their ocean, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has already left the party and we have opened our door in PDP for him to come in. I can assure you that, soon, many others would follow him into our party by January and February, next year. So, we have nothing to fear in PDP. It is now the turn of APC to see whether they can manage the fatalistic implosion that will soon tear the party apart.

 

Last week, you accused APC of planning to further cause disunity in the PDP ahead its national convention, scheduled for next week. Don’t you see this as an admission of the failure on the part of PDP leadership to puts its house in order?

It is a fact that the leadership of the APC is out to cause disunity in our party and that the party is hell-bent on fomenting trouble in PDP. I made it known to the public, last week, plans by the party to destroy PDP by planning a parallel convention, using some members of our party. I also pointed out last week that APC is planning to carry out its plans at this point in time because of its own internal crisis. It is not hidden that APC is in serious crisis and that is why it could not conduct its own congress. The leadership of the party is now looking for ways to cause destabilisation in PDP as a way to maintain its hold on the country.

There is no leadership crisis whatsoever in our party and that is why the ruling party is looking for avenues to create one. As I said last week, those unscrupulous PDP members who are behind the planned parallel convention cannot be said to be true members of the party, but are being used by APC. They planned to hold the convention same day that we are having our authentic national convention. It is part of a desperate effort by APC, having failed woefully since its assumed office in 2015, to destabilise PDP ahead of the 2019 general election.

The question you should ask me is, ‘why the plan by APC to have a parallel convention?’ I can authoritatively tell you that the game plan is obvious. We are not completely oblivious of the plans by APC to sabotage our convention. Apart from the infighting in APC, one of the reasons why the party postponed its own national convention to next year is to enable it to monitor closely our convention with a view to destabilising our party ahead of the 2019 elections. It is one of those ideas of APC to create divisions among members of our party, but it will be most unfortunate for members of our party to allow themselves to be used against the party, especially in the light of our recent painful experience.

Part of the APC agenda to sabotage our convention and destabilise our party is the arrest of leaders of our party on trump-up charges of corruption. We said it some weeks ago that there was a list of about 50 top leaders of our party made by the ruling party for arrest and incarceration. They claimed that we are crying wolf where there is none, but all can clearly see the unrelenting arrest, intimidation and harassment of top PDP leaders.

The general perception, during the legal battle over the national chairmanship of the party was that Senator Ali Modu Sheriff was the main headache of the party…(cuts in)

That was your own perception. There was no legal battle and there was no leadership crisis within PDP. For all intents and purposes, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff has left PDP and the role he played while he was in our party is there for all to see.

 

I mean, there was a time Sheriff was in court over the claim on the chairmanship seat. But now that the man is no longer in the party, there seems to be no end in sight to the crisis. What could be responsible for this?

I am insisting that there is no internal wrangling whatsoever in PDP. What you are referring to as crisis is just a figment of the imagination of some people and particularly an attempt at propaganda spear-headed by the ruling APC.

 

You said there is no crisis in PDP but there will be a local government election in Osun State in January next year, while the party is yet to conduct its primaries in the state. Don’t you see the development as a sign of crisis and how prepared is PDP for the election?

I have said it several times that the attitude of the party leadership in the state is very disappointing to me, personally. We have made several efforts to settle the leadership crisis in the state and to put in place a formal structure of the party in the state from ward level to state level. But I am very disappointed by their attitude there because we have been able to find solutions and put in place solid structures in virtually all parts of the country, remaining only Osun State, as we speak. But we are still hopeful that before the national convention of our party, we will be able to have a breakthrough in the state and we will be able to put in place the formal structures from the ward to the state levels so that they will be able to conduct the primary for those who are contesting the local government election. As we speak, there is no formal party structure in Osun State. That is the situation in Osun: the state has been very difficult for us and there is nothing we can do because we need the agreement of everybody to establish the formal party structures in that state.

 

With the current situation, what do you think are the chances of the party in the local council poll in the state?

I don’t know. If we cannot put the structure in place, of course, the chances cannot be so bright. But if we are able to put in place the structures, I can say we can win the local government election in the state. This is because we were able to win the last senatorial rerun election in the state, won by Senator Ademola Adeleke, against all odds. With the result of that election in our favour, we believe that we can repeat that miracle and repeat the feat and then swing the votes in our favour in the local government election in the state. However, we have very little faith in the ability of the Osun State government to organise a fair and credible local government election.

 

What is happening to PDP in your state, Ekiti?

The only problem that we have in Ekiti State has to do with the acts of impunity being perpetrated by Governor Ayo Fayose, all in a bid to impose his candidate as the party’s candidate for the 2018 governorship election in the state. However, the PDP leadership has made him to realise the futility of all his acts of impunity and we have made him to know that they cannot stand. Of course, we are going to have the party primary in Ekiti State next year and it will be organised by the state chapter of the party in which a credible and acceptable candidate will be produced, through a free and fair process.

Apart from that, there is not much problem in Ekiti PDP. Of course, you know that there are some people who are still in court in the state, challenging the state executive of the party. But we believe that the problem can be resolved. So, apart from the reckless acts of the governor, I don’t think there is much to say about PDP in Ekiti State. We don’t have any problem in the state.

 

Should the governor stick to his gun and insist on his candidate being the PDP flag-bearer, don’t you see this as affecting the party, ahead the 2018 governorship election in the state?

Of course, if, by any error of omission or commission, the governor is allowed to have his way, there will be negative consequences on the party. But I want to believe that everything will be resolved and, at the end of the day, the right candidate will emerge: the right and credible candidate who can win election; the credible candidate who will be the choice of the party and the people of the state. We will not allow for a candidate who will just be the choice of any individual.

 

You and Governor Fayose were once known to be very close allies. At what point did you become political enemies, so to say?

I am not the enemy of anybody; I am not an enemy of Fayose or any other person. I just insist that things should be done properly. That is all. I believe in legality and constitutionality.  We are not enemies. We are members of the same political party and there may still be the need for us to collaborate in future. However, what I will never allow is any act of impunity.