We’re working to improve our 16-0 record against APC —Ekiti PDP chairman

Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Gboyega Oguntuwase, tells how prepared his party is for the 2018 governorship election in the state. SAM NWAOKO brings the excerpts:

Your executive recently clocked one year in office and there was an elaborate thanksgiving service to mark the event. Why did you do this despite the apparent division in your party?
We thank God Almighty who has created and has been sustaining this executive. We also thank God who has been controlling the executive. The major reason we gave unprecedented thanksgiving unto God is because we know that a man does not receive a thing except it be given by God. So, we thank God for giving us the positions in the executive that we occupy. Principally, we came in to inherit a dynamic, versatile and vibrant governor and a government that is popular among the people of Ekiti State. We came in to inherit a government that has been passing the numerous tests that have been placed before it. There is no major friction between the party and the government because the government is implementing the policies of the party. When you look at the local government areas in the state, there are real works going on. Look at Ado and Ikere local government areas, the two cities have been linked by a dualised road. Ado, the state capital, has a flyover and an ultra-modern market while the Ewi’s Palace has also been modernised and made even better than most palaces in the South West of the country. So, except for an ungrateful chairman, it is common knowledge that Governor Ayodele Fayose has made it very easy for us in the state, in terms of complying with the party’s policies and programmes. And he is also laying a good foundation for our winning the next election in Ekiti State with the same 16 – 0, that is, a victory in all the 16 local government areas in the state, except that now, the figure would be higher this time. Also, the party inherited an elders’ council that is peopled by committed men and women of integrity; while the past chairmen, especially people like Chief Bola Olu-Ojo and Chief Idowu Faleye, have been working tirelessly with us to guide the party and make it remain a formidable organisation. We have not witnessed any rebellion in any of the 16 local government areas. Yes, a few elements have taken our party to court and were trying to create a division, but they have failed. The local government chairmen, the councilors, senators and House of Representatives members are all with us and we are grateful to God for these.

You said your council has a vibrant elders’ committee which explains the lack of rebellion in any of the council areas in the state. How would you marry this with the fact that your party has a faction which is not loyal to you and considering its impact on your party?
Even our Lord, Jesus Christ said, “God, I will return all that You have handed to me except children of perdition.” If Christ Himself, the Son of God, cannot return all back to God, then it means there is no man born of a woman that can say he will not have problems in any human organisation. However, what you need to look at is if the problem could dislodge your organisation or disband it. What we realised is that the Buruji Kashamu factor, which I actually wouldn’t want to talk so much about, is not affecting us. Here is a man from Ogun State who has no major influence in Ekiti State but, because of his money, some people are following him to further the activities of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff in the state. By Sheriff, I mean those laying claim to PDP at the federal level. Those who know PDP and how it operates will realise that Sheriff is not carrying along the people that matter in the party namely, the national leaders, governors, members of the National Assembly, the state chairmen and other critical people. Rather, if we are to have an election tomorrow, under Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi, PDP will win. And we are praying that the Supreme Court will give us victory in the matter before it.

With all these factors you’ve mentioned, how prepared would you now say your party is for the 2018 election in the state?
Before we talk about the future, let’s take a look at the past. When you look at the All Progressives Congress (APC) regime of former Governor Kayode Fayemi, you will see that they embarked on massive maladministration and economic depravity in Ekiti State. Ekiti has never known indebtedness to the level that we witnessed under Fayemi, so much so that the state is paying back over One Billion Naira every month to creditors. APC is also not popular at all because of their activities. They killed a PDP member in Moba Local Government Area; they killed two persons in Erijiyan, including the mother of the incumbent Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly. In Emure, they killed two people; in Ekiti East, they killed one person. Because of these murders committed by APC, no Ekiti person wants them to return to power again. But when you compare with Peter Ayodele Fayose, when he was leaving office the first time, he left over N10 billion in the coffers of the state. Now he has not borrowed a kobo and as soon as possible, he has been paying salaries. The governor has even promised that before he leaves office, he would have paid all outstanding salaries. All these hopes that the governor has given, as well as his successes in infrastructure, in education and all other sectors, make people believe that Peter Ayodele Fayose is working and it makes him and his party popular and put him in a winning track. The performance of the governor will propel PDP to win the next election in the state.

What is PDP doing as a party other than relying on the Fayose factor as the election approaches?
PDP in the state has been restless, moving round the local government areas. We hold general meetings at the two-constituency level and, at the meetings, the state party chairman will address the people on the need to remain steadfast. We operate an open door policy; when there are complaints, we listen to them and reconcile issues. Anyone that has left the party and has genuine reason for leaving, we invite, allow him or her to air his or her views and we allow reason to prevail.

What then would you say are the challenges you are racing to overcome as election gets nearer by the day?
As far as we are concerned, we are going to reduce the areas of conflict before the primaries. We are going to reduce areas of attrition; we are going to let the people take charge. We are telling them that the soul of the party must not be bastardised because of an election. All of us must be united and we must let reason govern all the actions that we are taking. For the party, we’ve seen that party building requires activities all the time and there’s no group that would be penalized for wanting to build. So, we will also work hard to harmonise the activities of the various groups in the party.

Governor Fayose said he will seek an interpretation of the Supreme Court judgment which declared his impeachment as null and void, with a prospect of contesting to complete his truncated tenure. Don’t you see this as a kind of spanner in the works for your party?
We are watching. There’s actually no need for apprehension as events would create the steps that we will take. For this, we foresee no problems at all and it shouldn’t be a subject for debate.

INEC is continuing with its continuous voter registration exercise. Are you impressed with the reports you’re receiving, as PDP chairman in Ekiti, from your people on the field?
Across the 16 local government areas, people have been saying that if you have more than two or three machines, it would be better. It would make the registration of people less stressful than what we have now where only one machine is available for the entire local government. It would be much easier for even the INEC. For instance, in council areas where you have about 23 communities, like Ikole Local Government, it is not easy. Look at Ekiti West where the towns are a bit far from each other, it is cumbersome. Look at Ekiti South West, these are not one-town local governments. Even where you have one-town local governments, the density of population is high. So, we are saying it could have been much easier if we had more numbers of the data-capturing machines strategically placed to aide smooth registration of eligible voters.

What should your members do in all these, even as election day draws near?
We urge them to remain steadfast in their loyalty to the party and keep praying for the success of the Ayo Fayose-led government. We are sure that, with Governor Fayose as the leader of the party, we shall succeed. He is the rallying point and we are going to align ourselves with him and make sure that PDP returns to power in 2018. When you have a sitting governor that is popular and is executing the party’s policies and programmes, you don’t waste such people. You only encourage them to make winning future elections much easier. I’m also saying to the people of the state to keep on sustaining their support for Peter Ayodele Fayose because he will not sabotage you or compromise you and your feeling.