APC convention: I am the candidate to beat —Adamu

Former governor of Nasarawa State and senator representing Nasarawa West, Abdullahi Adamu is an aspirant for the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In an interview with TAIWO AMODU, he says his experience as former party administrator, two-term governor and serving senator puts him in good stead to relate well with all the power blocs in the ruling party, especially ahead of the convention of the APC fixed for March 26.

We have seen your posters, billboards conveying the information to the entire world that you want to be national chairman of the  All Progressives Congress. (APC) Why do you want to lead APC?

Well, if it is the will of God, that will be expressed through the entire membership of the party, I sure want to have an opportunity to lead the party. All along when the vacancies worked out and before the actual convention and programme was out, I was just bidding what my tradition dictates, what my religion dictates, and when I say my religion, I mean the Quran, the Hadith of the Prophets (S.A.W) dictates. What did it dictates? When the community or the people are looking out for a leader to help a situation, anybody who jumps the gun, or beats the chest to say he or she should be the person, my religion says no. There was so much aggrandisement. I had that in my  my mind and said to myself, “you wait!” Don’t get taken by the billboards, so much adverts that you see, stick to your beliefs, stick to the traditions. Around October, I was privileged to have been picked to lead a committee for real reconciliation among our party members.

I felt it will not be fair to the party that gave me that assignment that while pursuing the mandate of the committee, that I headed, that I should at the same time spare efforts and thoughts on the issue of the national chairmanship of the party. So, for these two reasons, I became like a late starter, permit me to say that, but I don’t have any regrets for that. When the chips got down, when we were submitting our  interim report, the issue of caretaker committee had been taken care of and by this time, there had been a lot of pressure already on me (left, right and center) that why am I not contesting. We believe in you, why are you not contesting?  And among the people who were agitating for my declaration were parts of the leadership of the party.

You mean the present leadership

The old and the new, of course, are still part of the leadership and they are saying why don’t you come out and show interest. About a week and ten days ago, I decided to throw in my hat and join the contest and by the grace of God when it became clear, when my posters, billboards began to be seen, there was a lot of things that tilted towards my candidature and I thank God Almighty, the President on his return from Belgium had a meeting with governors and the highest stakeholders in the party and it was very clear at the meeting that they treated the issue of the chairmanship of the party. I was to understand because I was not at the meeting, that the chairmanship should go to the North-Central.That is where we are and I believe very strongly that if I am given a chance, I will do the best I can. I am a team player and I am privileged in life to have headed parties, to be part of the formation of the party; part of the leadership of the party. I have administered a party as secretary, I have administered party as chairman in various times in my life and I more than appreciate the position of the APC at this point in time. People don’t seem to easily appreciate efforts that for the caretaker committee, the party would have been in distress by now. The formation of the caretaker committee and the work they did saved the party and also brought in more support and the wider spread of the party from the states that were even PDP -controlled. I am full of praise for the committee and as you can see, people can begin to realise hard work the caretaker committee has been doing since its formation. The thing with human beings, particularly Nigerians, is when they have a mission, when they have something they want and until that thing is in their hands, they don’t get satisfied. Leading people, leading a political party is not an easy thing. I know a lot of people who have done this before. A lot of people who know what it is to face an election would appreciate the work that the committee has done and if it is the will of God, we are going there with our eyes wide open and our mind very clear as to the challenges we face.

You said you know that the position of the national chairman has been zoned to the North-Central. The speculation is that you are the anointed candidate of Mr. President. What is your reaction to this? Other aspirants have started raising their voices.

Well, people can reduce everything to their emotions and sentiment. I was not there, I read it in the papers. It is not for me to say yes or no, particularly when the reportage I have read or heard would have appeared to have favoured my chairmanship.

I was there at the APC Secretariat the day you came to submit the interim report, as the chairman of the reconciliation team and there was something you said that particular day;  that even the day you came to submit the report, people were still coming to submit petitions!  Are you not scared to take such an office considering the enormity of the crises in the state chapters?

 Instead of being scared, I am strengthened with the privilege that I not only to know the problems, but the depth of such problems and I have listened to party leaders in various states, I have listened to party members in the states that I visited and I want to believe that I have a fair understanding of this party at a point in time of its history and I believe very strongly that I am qualified to lead the party.

If I may ask, you have heard from stakeholders, the power blocs, the reasons for  the crises in the State chapters.  What would you identify as the fundamental  problem within the party?

Most of it, I attribute to egocentrism. Here and there, they may some areas where something may have been done in  default of the constitution of the party, in  default of the guidelines and for instance, for the congresses that we had before the end of last year. These are the three critical areas. Some of the problems emanated from the time of the merger, the formation of the APC. The first convention left a bit of areas of concerns here and there. Every party has problems or challenges.  At a particular point in time, some parties appeared to have more problems than the other parties and the APC is not an exception. So, these are the kind of variables that one can talk about that the party requires attention to address properly.

Some of the stakeholders in the party have identified the governors of being fundamentally responsible for the crises in the state chapters of the party. They accused the governors of attempting to hijack the party structures and turn the party secretariat to an extension of the Government House. You are  a former governor, you are coming onboard as the chairman of the APC, the ordinary  party faithful are very cynical and are now saying it will be business as usual since you are a former governor. How do you convince them that the narrative will change?

I, Abdullahi Adamu, has no cure for cynicism! There are people when the desire to have a particular thing, opportunity, office and fail to achieve that desire, sometimes, they are true victims of some machinations and often times, they don’t see themselves and align themselves to what they have done to fail or succeed. They only want to see their failure as the making of somebody,  somewhere, or a group of people. If you trace my history in political affairs or my days as a student unionist up till date, I have never lost an election or gone to court and to date, I have always told my followers where I have always lead, never you come to me crying about you are robbed of victory by the opposition party, police or army. Don’t do that with me. Tell me what you want to deliver; I will make available to you what will make you deliver by the grace of God. If you come back  and you couldn’t  deliver, I will tell you, ‘go back, that is not my bargain with you. Go and deliver.’ And somehow, God has made it possible for us and I believe it will not be anything different with the APC.

If I am privileged to lead, the history the party has had since the merger in 2013, 2015 elections, we have not failed and I believe that we will only be there to strengthen the APC, having identified what  the weak links are. We will strengthen them and we will make sure we continue the trail of victories in the elections.

As a matter of fact, we will come with our spirit and make sure that the people are properly mandated, gingered for victory and we will make sure that where there is lack of attitude or the attitude of the electorate towards the party, we will take measures to amend and push the party’s fortune forward. If we have the opportunity, that is the way we are going to work and that’s how it will be. God forbids, even if it happens I don’t have it, I am a team player, anybody that gets it, I will work with him and work towards attaining those goals.

You have spoken so confidently about being able to manage the APC which some people see as a fractured party…

(cuts in) No matter how complicated the fractures are, there are orthopaedics and I believe I am one and we will make sure that the fracture is straightened, we will so align the bones that the patients will pick up.

I want us to look at the trajectory of the previous Chairmen, with the exception of Bisi Akande, how John Odigie-Oyegun lost, how Oshiomhole lost and the governors installed one of them  as national chairman. Is it a power tussle between governors or a power tussle between the tendencies of the so-called legacy parties ?

At the human level, you can assign, or attribute  any reason for those happenings to have happened but in as much as I work within the web of the intrigues in political parties, the APC is not an exception. I believe more importantly in destiny. You mentioned Baba Akande, he was my contemporary when I was governor of Nasarawa State, he was the governor of Osun State. Chief John Oyegun, he was the governor before me; he became chairman, then, he was succeeded by Oshiomhole, my former comrade.

Each one of them came under different circumstances the party was in at the time they became chairmen and each of them became, if you may permit me, the victims of circumstances that prevailed during their leadership. I believe that even if the party has problems, and I believe the party has problems, my own time will be different. The problems I face may be different. I feel, without being immodest, I am  prepared for the challenges the party has. I feel I understand the problems that the  party confronts at this time of its existence, I feel God has given me the opportunities in the past to lead political party, like I said before, as a secretary and subsequently as chairman. I was privileged to be among the people that formed a party, NPN. I had opportunity with the PDP. I contested election as Governor twice and I won twice. I was privileged to be secretary of the Board of Trustees of the ruling PDP then when it was at its peak of influence and power. So,  I believe that this opportunity I had have prepared me for leadership of a party that I believe in. This will just be my CV if you permit. If I am given the opportunity to lead, I am not boasting, first  and foremost, it is a matter of choice of the party. If given the opportunity by the leadership of the party as the proper person that is fit to lead the party at this point in time and I also believe that if they give me the chance, they must have adjudged me as qualified and having had sufficient experience to face the challenges of the party today, they must have adjudged me to have the  kind  of credentials  that will take the party to the next level in 2023.

Even when some people already see you as the anointed candidate, you have also said you will be prepared for election. What would you be doing differently as national chairman of the APC?

In as much as I have no problem telling you psychologically, if I have the opportunity to lead the party, I am prepared for election. While I can make that public, I will not go beyond that; I will not give you the strategy I will adopt to win an election.

When are you going to have the report of the reconciliation committee because what you said the other time was that what you gave was an interim report. When are you going to give comprehensive report?

 We have submitted our interim report, first, you may go to the party and see where it is submitted and from the party you can ask whether there is still need for us to continue. But over and above that, reconciliation among humans particularly a political party where everybody is a volunteer, reconciliation is a working progress and the APC situation is not different.

Some of the other contenders for national Chairman, have they been reaching out to you or they are already feeling aggrieved?

Well, we are humans. My belief is that in everything I do, it is not over until it is over. I am not dropping my guns because there is a report I am hearing, until we get to the convention and until the will of God and support of those who have seen that I am a fitter, proper person for this office, until their decision is endorsed, I am just another party member.

Now, based on the kind of evidences you are giving the world, that I will probably have the opportunity to lead. By the time the convention decides and zeroes down on the consensus principle and agreed on what to do, the governors and Mr. President who is the leader of this great party, until that happens, I am still looking for the opportunity to serve. Once they say yes, it is well and good. I will thank my God double again and put on the table my work plan to reposition the party and to see how we prepare the party for the forthcoming elections. That is the preparation. Whether they reach out to me or not, it is not the issue now. If they don’t reach out to me if  I get it and get it in finality, I will reach out to them because as I was told, in my early lessons in philosophy, if the mountain will not go to Muhammed, Muhammed will go to the mountain. One of the two will happen. It is a matter of time.