PDP resurgence in Oyo sending warning signals to APC —Agboola

Former Deputy Senate Whip, Senator Hosea Agboola, speaks with MOSES ALAO on the peace moves in the Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the chances of the party in the 2019 election, the recent attempt to review the constitution, among other issues.

How far have you gone in the effort by some leaders of the PDP in the state to bring back former members?

We are working on it and hopefully, we will get a good result. Former governors of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja and Adebayo Alao-Akala and others, as you are aware, have said that they are open to returning to the PDP. We are expecting them. You saw that when the chairman of the PDP National Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, came to Ibadan, he also reached out to them. That is to tell you that PDP means business in Oyo State this time and it should send enough signals to the opposition.

But there have been deep mistrust and misunderstanding among you in the past, how are you sure these differences won’t scuttle the new alliance?

Politics is like that; there will always be differences but how we handle them is what matters. I am sure that we will be able to achieve peace and work together this time round. You also know that most of the differences are caused by ambition. So, if we can all agree to work together and we scale the hurdle of picking a governorship candidate, I am sure that there won’t be problem. We are all members of one political family; we have worked together in the past.

Ever since the effort to bring back the duo of Ladoja and Alao-Akala started, there have different claims surrounding their return, with the latter even saying he remained a member of the APC. Do you really think they will return to PDP?

I cannot answer that question. I can only relay what I told that they said they are coming back to the party. If you want to prove further that they will really come, then you have to go and confirm with them.

There is the claim that each bloc in the party already has a governorship aspirant it is supporting, even before the reorganisation of the party, which may make it impossible for you to unite. For instance, you have been said to be backing Seyi Makinde, while others are saying Senator Ayoade Adeseun also has an ambition. There are also others in Ladoja and Alao-Akala camps who will be nursing similar ambition, how do intend to bring all these interests together?

Bringing all interests in the party together is not a big issue. The issue of who becomes the governor in 2019 has not even arisen and when it does, the leaders, elders and all the members of the party will decide. You know the PDP places premium on internal democracy and that has become even better. So, whether Senator Adeseun, Seyi Makinde or anyone else wants to contest, there is no problem; all of us will come together to decide.

It was learnt that the National Chairmanship of the PDP has been zoned to the South-West, who do you see emerging as the party’s national chairman?

Anyone can emerge; everything depends on who the party settles for. And I can tell you that when the time comes, all the leaders will sit down to pick someone.

You earlier talked about developments in the PDP sending signals to the opposition; do you think the people of Oyo State would leave the APC to vote for you party despite what your party allegedly did to the state and the country?

What did we do?

Accusations of corruption and mismanagement of the state and the country are being levelled against your party.

I am happy that you said accusations. They remain at the realm of accusations and I can tell you that there are accusations against the APC too. About whether Oyo State people would vote for the PDP; it depends on how we can market our product. If we market our candidates and party and they are acceptable to the people, they will for use and the same goes for the APC. What I believe is that who will become the next governor of Oyo State depends on the marketability of the product.

But does your party even have a good product?

Yes. We have a lot of good products. We have a record of achievements that cannot be contested; we have a good credential of respecting the rule of law and the constitution. All Nigerians know which party deceived them with tons of promises and ended up doing nothing. We know how people fared when the PDP was in power and we know how they are crying now. You just need to assess the two parties and how Nigerians are faring and you can come up with an answer to your question. If Nigerians and especially the people of Oyo State can vote for the people, life will become better than it is now. They have seen what we could do and they can testify that they never had it this bad.

But there are allegations of widespread corruption against the PDP

When I was in Modern School, I read Chinua Achebe’s No Longer At Ease, where he wrote that corruption is everywhere and that it is like an Augean Stable. I do not subscribe to mere allegations and I also want to say that we can only attempt to reduce corruption, it cannot be eradicated. If people are saying the PDP is corrupt; if they have evidence, they should show it to everyone. It is not enough to say someone is corrupt or that the PDP is corrupt, they must be taken to court and convicted before you can say that. So, let the allegations continue; when the APC leaves office, it will be their turn to be alleged of corruption. In fact, if you take President Muhammadu Buhari out of the mix now, how many APC leaders and members can talk about being against corruption? The reason the anti-corruption war has not succeeded is because it is personalised; it is only Buhari that is talking about anti-corruption and that cannot be right. What we should have is an institution-based war against corruption; a bottom-up kind of approach. Today, if you remove Buhari from the APC, what is the difference between them and the PDP that they are trying hard to demonise? Former PDP members go to APC and suddenly become saints. Then, you can see that they are just trying to demonise the PDP. But Nigerians are wiser now and that propaganda cannot work any longer.

You are saying all the exposure and revelations of corruption during the past administration are mere allegations?

They are mere allegations until they are proven. But let me also ask you, how many PDP members have been convicted so far based on the revelations? In any case, who is making the revelation and what did the APC do about revelations and allegations against former PDP members who are now their members? Nigerians have seen through the charade of shaming the past administration to cover up the inadequacies in their acts and they will bring the APC to book in 2019; I can assure you of that.

Do you really think your party can unseat the APC at the national level?

Why not? Let us wait and see.

Recently, the National Assembly voted on proposed amendments to the 1999 constitution and one of the key issues was that of local government autonomy, which many governors have openly kicked against. With the amendments having to garner the support of two-thirds of the 36 States Houses of Assembly, which are somewhat tied to the governors’ apron strings, do you think the amendment on local government autonomy can succeed?

The local government is under the state governments and the Houses of Assembly have also found themselves in a difficult situation of being subservient to the governors, unless the governors want to let go, I do not know what will become of that amendment.

As a senator who was involved in past effort to review the constitution and a former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, do you think the local government should continue to be under the state governments? Take Oyo State for instance, the government has not conducted local government election in six years.

The governor must have his reason for not conducting local government election. But it is not ideal. The people of the state would remember how the PDP ran the state and allowed governance to thrive at the grassroots, thereby making government accessible to everyone.

What do you think is the solution to that lack of grassroots governance?

The PDP should be allowed to come back and rule the state. We will run the state better and allow grassroots governance to thrive. Nigerians should allow the PDP to take over at the local, national and state levels.

Recently, former President Olusegun Obasanjo described the idea constituency project as corruption. What is your take?

Let me educate you; constituency projects are to be executed by the various agencies at the federal level on behalf of the National Assembly members. Assuming my people want a road to be tarred and we have agreed that it is an important project, what I will do as a National Assembly member is to ensure it gets to the attention of the Ministry of Works and into the budget and the Ministry will see to it that is done. How is that corruption?

Is it not that they give lawmakers money to go and do the project?

How? Are they writing cheques in lawmakers’ names? Go to the Federal Ministry of Finance to ask whether they release constituency projects’ money to lawmakers. The money is in care of the ministries depending on the kind of project. If it a road, the Ministry of Works will handle it. If it is construction of dam, the Ministry of Water Resources will take over and if it is about procuring transformers, it will be handled by the Ministry of Power. Constituency projects are executed by the federal agencies.