Former Secretary to the Plateau State Government and current chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Rufus Bature, in this interview by ISAAC SHOBAYO, speaks on the planned defection of some notable members of the APC to the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) in the state, zoning, succession plan, among other issues.
Some aggrieved founding members of the APC in Plateau State have written to the national secretariat to notify it of their withdrawal from the party. What is the party doing to stop their defection to the opposition party?
I have always said that a home is better than a house. When you are at home, there is a sense of belonging. There is the feeling that everything belongs to you. There is free movement. Nobody is sharing anything with you. But when you leave your home for a rented apartment, there is the tendency to feel isolated. You find it difficult to adjust your life. The constitution of Nigeria guarantees freedom of movement and freedom of speech. We have talked to those who feel disgruntled. We are still talking to them and trying to reconcile with them. We are trying to appease those who felt hurt one way and the other and make them understand that you cannot build a house and then try to destroy it. If there are cracks in the house, the best thing to do is to mend the cracks and move on because it is not about you; it is about us as a people. When people become egocentric and believe that ‘it is me alone’ without looking back at those they are leaving behind, it is very bad for the system. I believe the internal problem should be solved internally and then we move forward. Definitely, in the course of governance, toes are marched on, wishes are denied, but if it is only you that has been heard, if you are not going to make peace, don’t destroy the party. That is my take. But we are talking with them and we shall soon go round the 17 local government areas of the state to interact with our people at various levels so that those who have genuine complaints can vent their complaints and we see how we can address their grievances.
There are about 20 APC governorship aspirants in the state. What is the party doing to harmonise these aspirations to avoid hiccups in the primary?
The APC constitution provides three ways for choosing a candidate, namely, consensus, direct and indirect primaries. To me, the more the merrier; it gives the party a wide range of choices. We can pick the best of the candidates. It is not too much. Even if it is hundred people aspiring to be governor, they can still be managed because we intend to create a level playing field for each and every one that is contesting for any position on the platform of the APC in the state.
Plateau State often has a succession problem. No governor or party, since the inception of this democratic dispensation, has been able to be instrumental in the emergence of his successor. Can the incumbent governor and your party break the jinx?
The field was not level. We intend to create a level playing field so that everybody can exercise his franchise. I agree that in the past, they were not able to get successors because of certain manipulations along the lines. In [Joshua] Dariye’s time, the PDP manipulated the judiciary. Dariye, as governor then, was in and out of office. You will remember that the week that the Supreme Court was to give its judgment on Dariye, the Federal Government gave a public holiday. They told Nigerians to go on holiday and, unfortunately, the election was held. When the judgment was delivered on Friday, the election took place on Saturday and the governor was released on Tuesday. So, he couldn’t have participated in the election to determine who would take over from him. In the case of [Jonah] Jang, it was a case of what he wanted was not what the people wanted and therefore it could not have been possible for him. The people of Plateau State rejected his choice and that was how we came on board. We have learnt those lessons and we don’t want to make those costly mistakes. We want to change the narrative and make sure that we achieve a back-to-back government of the APC. We are working hard towards that.
But there are insinuations that a certain aspirant is being favoured by the powers that be to become the governorship candidate of the APC in the state. What is your reaction to this?
As far as the party is concerned, no one has been anointed, take my word for it. Anyone that is qualified will be allowed to contest. All these are baseless insinuations.
Is the party ready to provide a level playing field for all the aspirants?
The choice of the candidate will depend on what the majority of the people want. Even if it is a consensus, it has to be by the majority. They must agree if it is direct primary. Those who are members of the APC will have to queue and vote. If it is indirect, the delegates, as defined by the constitution, are the ones that would vote.
The refrain in some quarters, especially in the opposition circle, is that the APC-led administration in Plateau State has not lived up to people’s expectations. Some people are also accusing the government of impunity, citing the example of Langtang North Local Government where a court nullified the election of the APC candidate and the candidate is still in office…
So far so good, despite what some people are saying. At the end of the day, if there is going to be a compendium of activities or things that Governor [Simon] Lalong has done, the people, including his critics, should be able to give him a pass mark. He has done quite a lot, including completion of projects he inherited from his predecessors. No government had done this before in the history of Plateau State.
This government believes in the rule of law and due process. There is no instance where the present administration runs afoul of this. These accusations are simply the thought and position of the opposition. As a government that has respect for the rule of law, the government has not shown any interference; we do what the court tells us to do. So, the question of impunity does not even arise; we cannot be lawbreakers.
Most of the strong contenders for the position of the National Chairman of the APC are from the North Central and the zone at the same time is clamouring for the presidency. If the zone gets the chairmanship, what happens to the presidential aspiration?
We believe in zoning. We respect zoning in the APC and also believe in inclusiveness in governance and therefore if the chairman position comes to the North Central, it is still possible for the zone to have the president. But as a party, we believe that other zones should have the privilege of producing the president. But nothing stops somebody from the North Central if Nigerians agree that we should produce the president.
What is your opinion on zoning?
I strongly believe in zoning. If we refuse to embrace zoning, some people, in the next hundred years, will not be allowed to serve at the federal level.
There is a general impression that Plateau State remains a stronghold of the PDP. Is your party ready to square up to the main opposition party in 2023?
We are fully prepared but how can anyone say PDP is strong on the Plateau? What are the parameters? If truly Plateau was a PDP’s stronghold, after the first term of Governor Lalong, they would have taken over. If they claim the party is firmly rooted in the state, the people of Plateau wouldn’t have voted for Lalong in 2019. Before 2015, the APC was crawling in Plateau State but now we are walking tall. Before now people were stereotyping the APC, calling it a sectional party. They were also saying that the party belonged to Muslims and Fulani. All manner of sentiment was whipped up against the party. Unfortunately, the PDP doesn’t discuss issues apart from sentiment – about religion or tribe. Presently, the APC is rooted in the state with its presence in every nook and cranny of the state. People of Plateau State have embraced the APC and they have seen the dividends.
There are several ongoing projects in the state coupled with the moves by the state government to build a flyover at the British-American Junction. Can this government complete all these projects before its exit in 2023?
Funds are available for the completion of these projects. Concerning the legacy projects, there has been stagnation because of the lingering legal issues surrounding the project. But the government is working for the former contractor to understand it so that the people of Plateau State can have dividends of democracy. And that is why I said we were working to ensure that it is APC government back-to-back. One unprecedented thing that Governor Lalong did, which is worthy of commendation and emulation by other governors in Nigeria, is the completion of uncompleted projects of his predecessors. People should give him kudos for this. But all things being equal, these projects will be completed before 2023.
And the flyover?
I am not an engineer but I believe that they can be completed before 2023. It is the common wealth of Plateau that would be used. So, they are not completed, whoever it is that is coming should be able to complete it. That is why I always give the example of Lagos State. That blueprint was made by former Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu and that blueprint is being followed up to this time and that is why the IGR of Lagos State is almost the highest in the country. There is continuity and I am urging Nigerians to vote in a manner that governance would be stable. I am urging the people of Plateau State to continue to give the APC a chance so that it can build on what was started. I believe that if we do that, the state would have steady growth.
and then