An astute politician and Super Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Etose Dickson Imasogie, recently spoke to The RELIANCE in Benin City on the forthcoming presidential election in the country. Details brought to you by Sir Ralph Okhiria.
Happy reading:
Sir, what is your impression over the emergence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the APC presidential flag bearer? Some believe that his emergence is a threat to Atiku Abubakar, who is the flag bearer of PDP. As a PDP leader, what’s your take concerning the issue?
First, I pity the Yorubas. If you watch Tinubu while he was talking when they presented the party flag to him, you would agree with me that the man is far spent. I’m not the one manufacturing that, you saw it yourself. Maybe they are going to re-enact Yar’adua/Jonathan era which is still a short to the south if they really mean to want to make a southerner to be the president. But haven’t said that, does the APC really think Tinubu is an asset with all we are hearing about him? I do not think so.
Such as what sir?
That he’s corrupt. He goes about with bullion van. You saw the way his wife exhibited wealth that they were going to give out in Ghana must go. Over two hundred Ghana must go bags and she was not ashamed. So whether those who voted him in were corrupt or not, there’s insinuation to that already. So, I really do not feel he’s a threat at all, to Atiku.
When you talk about Ghana must go, are you trying to extricate the PDP from it. That the PDP aspirants before and during the primaries didn’t share money?
It has degrees; this question of sharing money. You know I won’t lie about it. Are you expecting me to fly to Abuja, put myself in an hotel, fly back and whoever I’m going to vote for will not say “oh, I will put you in an hotel. If you have already put yourself in one, please take this for your transport.” That is not corruption, that is not buying of votes. Before a good delegate leaves home, he knows who he’s going to vote for. It’s only those who are corrupt that go round aspirants’ places, taking from them. That is what is not good. You also know, in Nigeria we like exaggerating things. When you are given one thousand dollars, someone will just catapult it to ten, fifteen, thirty. I do not see whether if the person is a billionaire, who would throw his money just like that because he wants to be president.
Let’s come to Edo state; what is the state of affairs of the PDP?
We have only one PDP. You interviewed me a while back and I told you that we are not part of this PDP government. We’ve asked them to do anything with their government, we would hold the party. We had no input into his cabinet. But now, they want the structure of the party. Are we fools? Within the next one week, you will see that they are not really PDP people. With the information reaching us, they are already filling forms with Labor Party.
So what is the position of Governor Obaseki in all these because as the governor of the state and leader of the party, one expects that he should be concerned about the unity of members?
I do not want to hear “the leader of PDP”. Leadership is earned. It’s not in the constitution. That is all. I would want you to interview him or tomorrow I can get you a copy of our constitution. Any position in our constitution, the duties must be defined. He’s not there at all.
So what is the fate of the candidates elected in his camp?
Do they not know that they were just playing to the gallery by having a parallel primaries? Did INEC visit them? Go and read the Electoral Act. INEC must monitor the primaries before they can have anything to do with it.
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