Former Deputy National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, speaks on the genesis of the current leadership crisis rocking the main opposition party, and efforts being made to rescue it ahead of the 2027 elections, the proposal before the House of Representatives to create additional 31 states in the country, the need to put in place a truly Federal Constitution, address the nation’s electoral system, among others, in this interview with BOLA BADMUS. Excerpts:
SIR, the main opposition party in the country, PDP is embroiled in crisis currently, please, let us just have a glimpse of what exactly the situation is right now.
You see, we’ve just finished a parley on the issue of secretary and if we want to be honest with ourselves, to be sincere with ourselves, there is no organization in the world that exists, as long as it is made up of human beings, they would have disagreement, they would have problems, but their ability to handle the problem and proffer acceptable solutions would be a measure of the competence of the managers and owners of that company. But having said that, this crisis didn’t just start recently, it started on that presidential convention day.
How?
You know we have a system established by the founding fathers and the First Republic experienced a terrible shortfall in the management of the country. Like I keep telling people when the British were leaving here, they left two major madness, two terrible evils- tribalism and religious bigotry. Now, did anybody ask God I want to be a Yoruba man, I want to be a Hausa/Fulani man, I want to be an Igbo man, I want to be Ijaw man, or I want to be a Oyinbo man or I want to be black, not at all, we just came.
In the teaching of the Holy Bible and also the Holy Quran, it is love your neighbour as you love yourself, it didn’t say love your tribe neighbours, anybody could be your neighbour, right. These are the teachings. What have religion and tribe got to do with governance? Governance is the responsibility of those elected to manage the resources of the land for the benefit of the people.
And God created everything, everywhere in this nation is so blessed, but when they left, they left these two madness. And then we went to do elections, majority tribes continued to rule and minority tribes were just being mere onlookers unless you join their own party, you can’t benefit, your people can’t benefit. That led us to all kinds of madness, anger and there was instability in the country. Eventually, we ended up with the Civil War, I don’t want to go into all those details. That majority having their way, and minority just being onlookers was the real problem, the wall that created dissension.
Now having done that Baba Alex Ekweme, the Chief Convener of the founding fathers of this party, during the period when we were witnessing regime upon military regime, said let us sit down. He invited people who had been part of the First Republic and Second Republic, let us ex- ray out country, what are these problems? They now came up with a suggested solution. Let us divide this country into six geo-political zones- majority tribes and minority tribes both North and South.
Then they came out with these six top positions, because they reasoned that all can’t be pleasant if some are left with nothing. So would you be a member of an organization that every day you just go ‘sitdonlook’ while others are enjoying, will there be peace? That has been the major crisis. Six top positions, President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Secretary to Government of the Federation and National Chairman of the party. So everybody, whether you are majority tribe or minority tribe, you go home with one of these top positions. That brought that sense of belonging that I am proud to be a Nigerian, that you know that some day you would benefit because you are a human being created in the image of the Almighty God, you didn’t demand I want to be Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo or whatever, Black man or White man, God sent and created you in His own image. Love your neighbour as yourself, don’t do onto others what you yourself would not accept. So we headed out like joke, like joke. If these positions, you know from number one go up, the next one would come down. So all the odd numbers would go to one zone, all the even numbers would come to another zone.
You see, we’ve tried it. He, himself, contested for the presidential candidature, I meant, Baba Ekweme, he lost twice, he didn’t bring down the roof that ‘I was the Chief Convener so it must be given to me.’
And you know most of the managers were selected, they were not elected. The first national and elective convention for managers of the party was in 1999 after the General Election. We were the first elected, I was one of those elected into office. They gave us the blueprint, they gave us the dos and don’ts of the party. They had already planted the Iroko tree, saying that these are the procedures, so we should follow and we would not fail. It became like what I personally termed: Turn by Turn Nigeria Limited. Why would it fail if you take your time? After every eight years, all positions in the North would come to the South, all positions in the South would go to the North, you would be rotating them among yourselves in the zone. So some days the minority man who never thought something might come their way will become president, very brilliant idea. In fact, that was what made me to join PDP. And certainly, it is entrenched in our constitution, Section 7(3c) states emphatically that zoning and rotation of both party offices and elective offices must be entrenched.
Now, come 2022 before the General Election, ah! The people who would do the zoning, the committee they set up did the zoning, and only zones party positions. They now removed the elective positions. And when it came to the time when elections was coming, they now said they haven’t done that, we should allow everybody to contest and I said what were you talking about? Why are you manipulating this thing? That everybody should contest, no we cannot have that, that is not the procedure, don’t disrupt this party.
You see when you have little sore, and you don’t cure it on time, you allow it to spread, it would become a cancer that may be impossible to cure. In response, they now said okay, let’s set up a special committee to look at it, what can we do to assuage the pain? You know, since they had zoned the chairman to the North, automatically we should have zoned the presidency to the South because the man who was leaving as president, General Buhari, is he from Lagos State, or is he from Calabar or is he from Enugu? They manipulated it, they kept begging, please since we are members of the same party, don’t let us disrupt it, let them allow everybody, that it was a mistake.
They set up a committee, I was a member, one per zone, we all went there, they begged us. Initially they said there was no zoning and I said what were you people talking about? We were the first beneficiaries, we handed the doctrine to all, to continue with the procedure.
That would have decimated the party at that time, but they begged to let us reach a compromise, at least that we should allow it now because six months would lapse, and that everybody had been spending money, campaigning, we can’t just throw them out, let us have one house, let there be peace.
We accepted that they should allow all the six geo-political zones to compete, anybody that has interest should be allowed to contest. When we finished at that convention, all the people contesting from the North decided to vote for their person in the North. There would have been mayhem on the floor of the convention but we calmed everybody down. Now, it appeared that that concept established by the founding fathers was being eroded. The elders there calmed everybody down.
After the convention, we saw the synenigan going on and we as elders, we waded in. I can recall that the National Chairman, Iyorcha Ayu, when we gave the report, the communique drafted by Prof. Jerry Gana, who was the original secretary of the G14, the elders that established the party, said to us and to the press and to the whole world that if per adventure the presidency comes from the North, he as National Chairman would resign because you see the concept established by the founding fathers, odd numbers and even numbers cannot be in any zone. If all the odd numbers are in one zone, the even numbers would be in another zone. So the number 1, the presidency and number 6, which is even number for the National Chairman’s position cannot be in the same zone.
So I then waded into it, I went to see Ayu in his house. I said it was you that made a promise, these are the things you have done and said, don’t break the promise, don’t create a monumental crisis, we are heading into a political war, a house divided against itself cannot stand, a divided house will remain a defeated house, I begged you, do the needful, resign as chairman of this party and let it come down South. He refused. I was there in his house for six hours, I was there from 9pm to 3am. I said okay, in case he didn’t agree, I went back home after 3am.
And then, I called our presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. I said Your Excellency, this your young brother is refusing to follow the dictates of this party, what are we from the Southwest going to take home? In the meantime, because the Chairman of the Board of Trustees has resigned. He is from the North, he is from Nasarawa State, we are good friends. I asked him personally, it was a private conversation between me and him because he had gone to the television to say that if the presidential candidate comes from the North, Ayu must resign, telling the truth to power. He said because of that they now asked him to resign because he is from the North. So on the day he was pulling out, I said why are you resigning, why? Is it a matter of sickness, is it a matter of pressure from your family or friends, why? This is the time you should stand firm because of the public image. The Board of Trustees is the custodian of the regulations and laws of the party. We are the custodians of the assets and liabilities of the party, we own them, own the party, anybody. The party is not owned by individuals, please stay on. That discussion was heavy that day, you shouldn’t go, why should you resign at this point in time. I am stating all this for history that people would know the depth, how the crisis started.
So what you are trying to let people know is that it is the National Chairman, Ayu that should resign and not the Chairman, BOT.
No, not the Board of Trustees man. The Board of Trustees, we as members don’t do elections to elect any leader, it’s an agreement. If you start doing elections at the BOT, you are creating friction, you understand. If you are fighting through elections, this and that, they can never have a consensus. They will allow you if they think you have met the criteria of civility, loyalty, dedication, good character, they can you ask to be the chairman or be the secretary.
So I said to our candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar that the National Chairman, Ayu said he was not going to go. I asked Atiku, what do you do? Okay, I said convince him. Now, at the meeting too, they said why are we bothering the BOT Chairman, he has resigned, and he has resigned, let him hand over to the secretary, Wagbara. The young man who stood up there said let him hand over to the secretary and we from the South-East will take that position home to show our people that we have come back home with something. That further angered me.
So what are we going to take home for the South-West to tell our people this is what we have brought home? So we are mumu! You see you are reinventing the same majority/minority concept.
Then when he (Atiku) told me that they would, after the elections, decide what they are going to give to the South-West, I thought I was in a dreamland. After elections! So you would come to campaign in Lagos, I would get to that rostrum and tell the people that after elections, you would know the position you are going to get in the top seats, ah! I found it unacceptable. You know, I said to him, I said okay, we have heard you, since you said after elections, we would vote for you after elections.
That was the beginning and then Wike and his friends got together and all others, and now formed G5 and they now expanded it those of us who didn’t agree with the way Atiku Abubakar emerged and the way they managed the case. And it was becoming like a big fight between the North and South. That’s not the way we can go to war, no. If we had that in the South, we they have accepted it? That was the beginning and then we had a meeting and we were now talking how do we resolve the matter, how can we still manage it? They invited me and some other elders, the G5 called it Integrity Group. We went there, we were talking, to find the best to do it. I was vehement, if you cannot trust us in the South-West whatever it takes, we are not bastards, we would not support your candidature and you saw the result.
Now, two days before that election, we had a meeting in Abuja and Governor Wike said that they had met, the G5 people and resolved that this is not going to work out and now we had two presidential candidates in the South that they would like to support Bola Tunubu, not all of them agree with him. After the speech, he said Baba, you are the chairman, what do you feel? I said what I feel because the press was waiting outside. I beg you my son, if you go out there to make a statement that this group has accepted to support Tunubu, I said I would stand the other side to say I am not part of it because all of us here, none of you knows Bola Tunubu more than I do. The man has been former Governor of Lagos State, nothing personal between us, his proceeding, politics, governance is well known to us who are from Lagos. What should we do? My suggestion. I say look, I would suggest that everybody should go back to their state and let their state debate, agree, disagree and come up with the way forward. Let each leader here go back to his state, his constituency, don’t say we agreed. That was the last meeting before the election. That crisis like I said that was like a little sore at that time, you see what it has turned to. The National Working Committee of the party is now divided into Atiku and Wike camps, now Governor’s Forum too has waded in.
The Governor’s Forum, yes is a powerful organ, but it’s purely advisory, it doesn’t have any specified function like the Board of Trustees in the constitution of party, you understand. They are quite effective but they don’t have stipulated function in the constitution of our party.
The Governor’s Forum has since thrown support for Udeh Okoye as the substantive National Secretary of the party whereas the other person too also has the backing of certain group within the party, how does it look to you?
The truth will be the truth. If anybody is backing him, the Board of Trustees set up a committee to look at the facts presented by Anyawun and the facts presented by Okoye, it was all legal that the Court of Appeal has approved the appointment of one, gave him endorsement that he was right by law. Then Anyanwu also said that there was Court of Appeal that gave him status quo anti bellum, let the committee headed by a SAN look at these facts because these are the same court of same jurisdiction.
They came up with a report, but where is it? There was nothing like that, so it means the statement by Okoye on the judgement in his favour stands. He remains the secretary. But I waded in here and now said, Anyawun, kadankada, wayo wayo, gently, gently. You can go to the Supreme Court to fight, it’s being a privilege to have been the National Secretary of the largest party in Africa. Position is not for ever, it would end some day, there is no way they are going to do it that your name would not be there on the board that you were once the secretary. In fact, all this issue of people jumping to court, there are sections of the party constitution that you cannot as a member of the party go to any court until you have exhausted all the avenues of the resolution within the party, did any of them do that? That in itself is an offense on all sides.
So we are drifting away from the normal. I said okay, if you go to Supreme Court, of course, if the Supreme Court now gives him judgement, we will have no option, but to follow the judgement. But it’s there a need? All these stories we are saying remain a couple of months, why do you want to disrupt the party because their tenure would be winding up this year December or earlier. From September, October or November, we can hold the National Convention.
Is there any hope for the party because people keep on reading series of reports of defections from the party to the ruling APC?
Let them go. To me that is a load of chief publicity, let them defect, it’s not the first time.
They are many now in top positions and among them are National Assembly members.
Let me tell you, the beauty of this party and go and check it. Okay, the National Working Committee, they are divided, they have to mass up or they would be disbanded. Now, go to the zonal level, we have six zones, how many are disrupted after this thing has happened out of six zones? At least, there is stability, zonal congresses are coming up next month. There is stability.
If you go to the states, there are 36 states, how many disruptions do you have out of the 36 states? At least I can tell you that 30 states are stable out of the 36 states if not more. Come to local government level, out of the 774 LGs, the PDP structure is still solid. Now go to the wards, these are the roots that are making the Iroko tree to remain solid no matter the wind that is blowing at the party, it is still solid.
Let me now challenge you, you are looking at the PDP because people are defecting, let them go, let them go. The APC and I have no qualms in restating this, and go and check, is a congregation of strange bedfellows. When was the last time you heard that the APC held its National Convention where there was National Chairman elected, the National Secretary elected, members of the National Working Committee elected, the Publicity Secretary elected? The only man you heard that was handpicked is Ganduje. When was the last time you heard them or you saw them holding any party meeting, national or state, when? So when you are looking at that side of the coin, there is no organization in the world that will not have crisis and the ability to be able to sit down, manage the crisis, come up with suggested solutions is a measure of the competence because it is the people that would decide who is to be in the Villa, not your party membership.
So if you look at it that way that we are being decimated, not so at all. APC really is the party that is completely decimated, that has no root, no stem, it only has one man at the top, Ganduje as chairman. Where are the other members of the National Working Committee, when was the last time they had a meeting, have you thought about that? So when people say PDP, I say which PDP? We are solid like gold, we have crisis, but it will be scratch at the back, we would get back there and we would resolve it. Now those who are bringing their personal ambition into the issue, we would tell them, hold your fire, follow the rules and regulations of this party and if you don’t like the heat, get out of the kitchen.
Do you see external influence coming to play in the crisis the party is having currently?
I am a General by my training, if you see Iroko, with its tap roots, solid on the ground, they would normally come, but you the external forces, have you sorted out your own house? You say our house is shaking, wind is blowing my house, you don’t even have second stem, you have only one tree hanging there, where are the other branches of the tree? You understand what I am saying, people would talk, yes, they are defecting, let them go there and see things for themselves. If you want to see the party that really has the structure, that has the regulations, that has laws in this country, it is PDP.
Yes, we have it. We can disagree, but we must never be disagreeable. We would have crisis and that would be a test of the leaders, the members of the party that we can rise above that and present ourselves as the efficient people that that the public can rely on as we go forward we can be able to keep this nation on the right path.
Wike is still a strong leader of the party and he still remains so, and looking at the way things are going, we still see him not satisfied with the party, and should this continue till 2026, we he not still come up and do everything to scatter the party like he did ahead of 2023 polls?
As an elder, like I told you, all sides committed harakiri, but the responsibility of the elders, the owners of the party, the BOT members, is to set up proper committee to talk to A, to talk to B and see how we can bring them back together. We have taken the steps and we will cross the huddles, so I believe we would cross the huddles.
Those who have the ambitions, we would tell them on all sides to shelt the swords. Go and look at the constitution, the BOT is to maintain and sustain the characterizations of members of the party, their normalization, their loyalty, their commitment. If there are crises, you listen to A, you listen to B, you don’t take sides. Let us be fair and just and equitable, alright. If we do that, I can’t see problems.
We would shut the door and tell ourselves the home truth, we would get there, what am I afraid of? I am happy we started on the right foot.
We’ve started on the right foot, you would see because the truth is the truth whether you bury it or you turn it there, we would tell you the direction. Don’t come with the conceived idea that it must be you, it must be this. No, no, what does the law say? Turn by turn Nigeria Limited!
It was an opportunity that I have to be exposed to politics, that politics created and entrenched by the founding fathers of PDP. They committed themselves, they dedicated themselves. They were loyal to the party vis a vis the country, Nigeria.
Ahead of March 13, 2025 NEC meeting of the party, what do you hope for, what do you expect the party to do to ensure its success?
I am hoping that we would have peace. There are some that have been shouting, talking that the Northerners, they must be this, they must be that, they must be president, I didn’t write the laws. You don’t change the rules of the game half way through. In a football match, would you half way through change the rules? No. Those who are conceptualizing that are day dreaming trying to bring mayhem. I am telling them kadankada, let us follow the rules as laid down by the founding fathers. The party must be strong enough to tell you, take it easy, go and join the party they are running to. They would see the difference between the party you are running to and PDP, so there is nothing to worry about.
Now, the PDP had the opportunity last time in the last election but threw it away, come 2027, a lot of Nigerians see it as another opportunity for the party to take over, will it not be the same story?
We have learnt some lessons. Those who are personalizing the issues, I am telling them, please be careful, be careful. Let us sit down as civilized, committed, dedicated members of the party, who respect the rules, the laws of the party because if you don’t respect the rules, regulations of the party, and you want the public to to trust, to put you in government, would you not be the same man who would go there and disrespect the laws of the country? Morning shows the day. If you can do a little thing within your party to disrespect its rules and regulations, how can you be trusted to come and take the power in Abuja and now be able to respect the rules and regulations of the country? They wouldn’t.
So that’s a starting point. If you think you are bigger than the party, go and start your own, go, leave us alone and set your own rules there. These rules established by the founding fathers got us into the Villa two times and since we started manipulating the system, we have been in the trash and we are not ready to go down to the bottom of the sea, no. Those who are saying this and that, what does the constitution say? Period, if you don’t like the heat, get out of the kitchen.
Ahead of 2027, some politicians are collaborating on how to form a coalition, saying that PDP is no longer in reckoning, what is your reaction to this?
I wish them the best of luck, a rolling stone gathers no moist. If because of their ambition, that’s why they are doing that, I wish them best of luck. The election is not party election, election is the voice of the people. Let Nigerians decide which of these parties is competent enough that they can then trust with the management of the resources of this country for the benefit of the people.
If you are running after your own interest, would they trust you unless they are drunk? So it simple. Let them go, they want to form mega party, ‘jiga’ party, whatever they want to form, character, your character, the public perception of your character, the public perception of your personality, what kind of man, can we trust this man? Would this man be able to deliver, meaning using the resources of the land for their benefit, can he be trusted? You think that would deliver you in the Villa. I would appeal to all and sundry, those who have been with us in this party, ‘kadankada,’ ‘wayo wayo,’ ‘e te jeje o.’
The House of Representatives Committee on Review of the Constitution is proposing additional 31 states in the country which will make the total number come to 67, what do you say to this Sir?
I would say the same thing to them, ‘kadankada,’ ‘wayo wayo,’ ‘e te jeje o.’ Let me say here, when you want to solve a problem, like we have an adage in Yoruba that if trees fell on themselves, the one at the top is what we should first remove. Is it the creation of additional 31 states that we should address now? We say the country is not at peace, and that the constitution we have is like a military organization, why should everybody at the end of every month run to Abuja to share the cake? In America that we copied their constitution, is that what they do, do they see the states heading to Washington to go and collect their monthly allowance? That’s a military organization system.
We are telling them, revisit this non-functional constitution, it’s not working. So you will create additional 31 states and all of them will now be heading to Abuja to get more cash.
In America, the city of New York, the Mayor of New York controls the JFK Airport. The ports in New York is controlled by the Mayor of New York. In all the southern states, including Texas, all those oil companies, owned by private individuals, pay taxes, majority of which goes to the states. So why are we subjecting every resource in this nation under the control of the Federal Government? Whoever is the president, he manages the resources like an Emperor. The closer the government is to the people, the better. If you create more states, what are you doing? More wahala.
Look, I have traversed the length and breadth of this country, there is no part of Nigeria that God has not endowed with agricultural resources, mineral resources, and human resource, none. Some of these minerals are yet to be tapped, some are tapping them quietly and putting the money in their pockets, while the people are looking on the other side. What is the business of the president with my local government? The same thing goes with the security issue.
We have been shouting let us have State Police. The total population of Nigeria Police, can they cope? What is policing? It is ensuring that people in their community can sleep well at night under protection of the government. Like they have County Police in America, that’s the Local Government Police. They still have the State Police, they have the FBI, the Federal Police and then, they still have problems, how much more we? How many National police can be deployed? In your area, when you have community police, if anybody comes round to the area, because you speak the same language, they would understand the culture, the norms of the people in that area. If a strange man comes, and they would be the same people in that community who would be the police, they know the dos and don’ts in their area, they would be effective.
Look at what is happening in the North now, the boys are angry, why? A lot of them are graduates, having been to the university, you have exposed them. Education, education, Baba Awolowo did a marvelous job. Education makes it easy for people to govern, but impossible to deceive, they would challenge you. What we do in my area would not be the same thing in another area. So those who would manage you would be people from your area.
And importantly, the electoral process in this country is in total nonsense, absolutely garbage. Do they care? Those talking about additional 31 states, what do they want to do with all the governors there? Then, you head down to Abuja every 30 days, is that going to be impactful on the people? Let us restructure, let us devolve powers from the Centre back to the various states.
If your states want to join hands in economic cooperation with another, fine. The important thing is to make the country better and be at peace. Let’s put smiles on the faces of the people.
I have said it several times, Mr. President, if you really believe that these people voted for you, put a smile on their faces. What you are doing is putting more pains on everybody, whether your party member or non-party member. Put a smile on their faces.
All these people in the banks, managing directors, making so much money at the end of every Annual General Meeting (AGM), tell them to bear the differential of the cost. What are they doing, where are their factories in the banks? Does that make sense, do they have conscience, are they human beings, and what godam are they going to do with that money when they pass on? Are we thinking, are we serious? There is hunger in this land, what do you think is causing it? There is no food, no future.
The younger generation that has now had education, they have been to the university and are back home, no job, no hope, no future and you say they should be quite, how can there be peace? If you eat and I can’t eat, it is not possible. Let us tell ourselves the truth, that the electoral process in this country should be thrown into the dustbin, it is arrant nonsense, absolute nonsense.
You know they have just convicted some INEC Recs, that INEC man, Mike Igini, who refused to take bribe from anybody should be brought forward and made the INEC chairman. We still have people in this country who are committed. They said it was him who stood steadfast, all those people who took bribe, manipulated results, they have convicted them. This guy, Mike Igini is alive, he is a Nigerian. They should consider him and put him as chairman of INEC. I don’t know him, he is not from my village. Let them bring such personality to head the INEC. If the electoral process is rotten, what would be the product?
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