Member, Board of Trustees (BOT) of All Progressives Congress (APC) and National Secretary of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Buba Galadima, speaks with Assistant Editor (North), CHUKS EHIRIM, on some factors that may come to play in the party’s zoning of political offices, especially in the National Assembly.
APC’s position on sharing of offices, especially the Senate President and House of Representatives Speaker
I don’t have a very stringent view on the issue about where the Senate President goes. But my thinking is that there are two (prominent) positions in the National Assembly: the House of Representatives Speaker and the Senate President. Incidentally, the president is from the North, a Muslim, (while) the vice president is from the South, a Christian.
For us to consolidate the new-found alliance and unity in the country, my thinking is that if the Senate presidency, in the wisdom of the party, is zoned to the North, it should go to Northern Christian, so that we consolidate this unity in this part of the country. And if the speakership is zoned to the South, my view is that since the vice president is a Christian from the South, it should be a Muslim. But if it is in reverse position and speakership comes to the North, it must go to the Northern Christian. If the Senate presidency goes to the South, it should go to the Southern Muslim.
With this, we will have a smooth take-off, and all these issues of religion that PDP has capitalised on would have been nailed completely. You see, the issue is not the winning of the election; the issue is about sharing of the booty. We must be just and we must use our brains in order to carry every Nigerian along. If we don’t do that, the next election is just around the corner.
Between Senator George Akume, a Christian from Benue, and Senator Bukola Saraki, a Muslim from Kwara State
I want to accept the fact that both of them contributed to the development of the party. I also want to believe that even Saraki, as a member of the Senate, conceded the Senate Minority leadership to Akume in 2011. So he (Akume) is their leader. And by extension, if you are promoting anybody, you promote the leader, unless, of course, he has gotten a lot of deficiencies that are so apparent. And the issue is that you also look at history and unity.
Akume happens to come from the second largest ethnic group in Northern Nigeria. When you look at Saraki, he has to be one of two things. If he is a Yoruba man, and there is a Yoruba vice president. If he is a Fulani man, there is a Fulani president. So that automatically knocks his interest out. We have to unify the peoples of this country. We must give everybody a sense of belonging.
If it is contribution, then I should have been the president or the vice president. It is not how much kobo somebody contributed. Mind you that Akume seized government from an incumbent governor. That is not a simple feat.
Southern Muslims in the Senate
There are several of them. You are the one talking about contribution. The South West plus Edo brought in 25 per cent from seven states. It is unfortunate that my friends from Igbo land put all their eggs in one basket; if not, we wouldn’t have been making this argument.
Moves by some South East senators-elect to defect to the APC
Why? They can’t eat their cake and have it. Then we are promoting dissension. We don’t need to. They cannot be barred from holding any position, but definitely not the Senate presidency. Obviously, it is not possible.
Entire South East being out of Buhari’s government
It is not by design. It is by choice. It is by their choice. Maybe they have eaten enough in the PDP government that they don’t need to. After all, they sacrificed the presidency on a platter of gold, for the next 60 years. It is by choice.
Fears of the country ending up in a one-party state, going by the gale of defections
I don’t see it that way because even within a governing party, there are dissensions. But can you be sure that most of my party men share my view on this? It may not be.
The same thing almost happened in the PDP
Well, that is what I am telling you; that even within the governing party, there could be differences of opinion. There are people who would stand for principle and speak on the basis of principles, rather than on personal interest.
Advice to the party leadership with regard to these defections
I have already told you about defections. You said if somebody defects secretly, can’t you make him Senate president? And I told you “no”. Not that strategic position. It is by choice that some of us are in this opposition.
The other people to remain in opposition
Yes. It will serve them better, to become resilient and persevering as we were. One day, it will come their way.
Rumours of massive looting in the ministries, parastatals and agencies
I don’t think they are looting anymore. They are trying to make up their books. Go and find out. In all abandoned sites across Nigeria, people have mobilised. They are already working because they don’t want to be caught pants down. Let me tell you, as small as Abuja Environmental Agencies, they had not been working for the past one year; but you suddenly see them now on the streets, collecting garbage.
