Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, talks to Special Correspondent, JOE EZUMA on his speculated interest in the Rivers State governorship election next year, among other issues.
Rivers 2015 governorship and declaration of interest
Well, as you said, there have been calls for me to run for the election, based on the consideration that I am the appropriate person that the cap fits. You also must make wide consultation. You don’t say because people have called on you to run and then you jump in. You have to know how the situation is – you discuss with people, you discuss with family and you discuss with friends. And, at the end of the day, you weigh them and see whether the options tilt in your favour. If that happens, then you can come up for an election. So, it is not just about people calling on you to run. People have been calling on President Goodluck Jonathan and a lot of other people to run. But as a good politician, you have to look at what is going on; you have to know whether you are really grounded before coming up.
Of course, for me, take away the issue of being afraid. It is not in my dictionary to be afraid of anything. At the appropriate time, you will hear from me. I know that, till now, I am a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. So, if I want to heed to the call of the people, it automatically means I have to leave the Federal Executive Council (FEC). For now, I am consulting, but I must thank those who have made several calls because they found something in me that can make me work very effectively and efficiently.
Speculations on resignation from the FEC
Why is it that everybody is interested in this man, that he resigned or that he has done this or that? That tells you that is the man everybody should watch; that tells you that is the man the other parties are afraid of. I have not resigned; I am still working.
Some people said they have told me not to run. When is the primary election? Who has collected form? Have they brought all the political programmes before anybody will say run or don’t run? But let me say one thing; assuming I want to run, why would someone tell me not to run? What kind of politics is that? Why should somebody be afraid and say don’t run? Why does such a person not want to face me?
Assuming that I want to run, won’t I resign? Don’t worry; there are so many people in the FEC who want to run. At the appropriate time, they will also resign. So, I am not worried.
Being asked by Rivers PDP to shelve ambition
Who are those that would ask? Why would the national leadership of the party say so? There must be a parameter. How many people at the national level have told people not to run for election? Mention one person that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national leadership has told not to run for election. Part of the beauty of democracy is that the national leadership would want everybody to come on board and test their popularity. That is one thing people must understand. I read a lot of things where some people say, “It is our turn to produce the governor or whatever”. Assuming that what you are saying is correct, does that stop another person from coming out? What it means is that you should face the person at the elections. That is the important thing. Can most of those who say the governorship seat is zoned to them win in their local government area? I can tell you that if I declare today that I want to run, none of all those that are shouting that it is their turn would win me in their various wards. So, if you cannot win me in your ward, which person’s vote are you going to use to win me in the election?
Source of confidence
This is my game. I had been a local government chairman. There is nobody I don’t know in the various wards across the state. You know I headed the campaign committee of Governor Rotimi Amaechi in 2011. Is there any ward or local government area that I cannot call the politician? In each of the wards, I am not even talking about the local government, I know who matters; I know those that will decide what will happen. It is not for you to just post something on the internet.
Why should anybody be depending on endorsement? You don’t want to go to your various wards and local governments to build the party and for the people to have confidence in you, and then make you to win elections. When you have been endorsed, who will make you to win the general election? As I sit here, from my Ward 1 to Ward 17, I know the entire ward chairmen. I know all the party chairmen in the 23 local government areas. I know the state executive committee members.
It is not by going to all the newspapers, to take adverts to say “it is our turn”. The issue is, how far have you gone to make PDP to be strong for that turn to be realised? At the appropriate time, we will see.
No amount of blackmail, intimidation, if I decide to do something, can stop me from doing it. I know where all this is coming from. You are aware that when the All Progressives Congress (APC) said that if PDP brings me, it will be better for them. Instead of them to thank God that for buttering their bread, now it is a problem.
When Amaechi left, which of them wanted to run elections in PDP until we came to ensure that the party remains strong? Amaechi wrote us and gave us quit notice in the PDP state secretariat, but we refused to quit because it is our property. We have had not less than 45 cases in court. How many of them brought a dime to sustain the battle? We have had members of the House of Assembly who are not participating in government’s legislative businesses. They are not earning salaries. How many of them have asked: what is happening to you (lawmakers)? How many of them have gone to their wards to say: how do we mobilise our people?
All their people and relations have defected to APC; what influence do they have on them? I am from Obio/Akpor Local Government Area. The two members of the state legislature cannot go to APC; the National Assembly person cannot go to APC. That shows you are on the ground and that you have influence in your area.
Lack of internal democracy in Rivers PDP and overbearing influence
What is called internal democracy? First of all, I am not the party chairman. The party chairman is there and the office is there. They have his phone numbers. Do you need to meet me?
In your ward, you cannot go to your chairman and ask: What is happening? How do we call for a meeting? How do we help in one way or another? Do you need to meet me?
Alleged hijack of party structure
Hijacked from who? Somebody must be having it and I went to hijack it. Where were they when somebody was hijacking it? Let me tell you; they were here when this young man (Rivers PDP chairman, Felix Obuah) went to court to challenge that he was robbed of victory. How many of them went to challenge it? Assuming Amaechi is in PDP, how many of them can even bring up their heads and say they want to run for elections? This young man (Obuah) went to court that he was robbed. Why did they not file an action to say they were interested parties? So where is the hijacking coming from? I have heard people say I went to court to get judgment. It is funny. The simple truth is that I never went to any court. Some people went to the Court of Appeal, challenging the decision of the Federal Capital territory (FCT) High Court, led by Justice Bello. In doing that, they also said Obuah is not the chairman, but the chairman of a faction of the party, knowing the implications of that.
What those people were trying to say was that they had the membership register. So all they would do, in order to bring crisis to PDP, was to say: Look, we have held our own congress and primaries and the other faction had held its own. And what do you think would happen in that case? There would be litigation. We should not be here and allow what happened in Anambra to happen. Therefore, we must determine what will happen.
The truth of the matter is that if you want to be a politician, you don’t just go to the house and begin to check how many barrels of oil well your father has produced. You don’t say, I am in Abuja working with Mr. President to check the electricity tariff. It is not enough to say, oh, I am related to one governor in the Niger Delta or I am related to those who are close to Mr. President. You must be related to the grassroots; if not, no amount of sentiments will save you.