There’s no way PDP won’t win in Ondo – Commissioner

Ondo State Commissioner for Information, Kayode Akinmade, says there is no crisis in Ondo Peoples Democratic Party in this interview with OLUWOLE JOSIAH

Is it not a matter of serious concern that, at this crucial time, the PDP and pro-Jonathan groups are campaigning against the use of card readers by the Independent National Electoral Commission in the coming elections?

It worries every Nigerian that the success rate of the card reader is put at 50-60 per cent. The election that will determine the future and destiny of this country should not be treated with levity. If we want to use the card reader, it should be error-free. What the PDP is saying is that we are not against the use of card readers, but the card reader must not be used to disenfranchise Nigerians. We have heard the stories of the performance of the card readers in the various states. Some states recorded 33 per cent, even in the North. Why should we disenfranchise Nigerians through the use of card readers? It is not today that INEC thought of using card readers. It should have been tested. It should have been tested during previous isolated elections. We had elections in Ekiti State, it was not tested; we had in Osun, it was not tested; we had in Ondo, it was not tested. We had in Edo and Imo states, it was not tested! What we are saying is that if you want to do something that is innovative, that is technologically-driven, it must be error-free. We have had people whose photographs showed on their Permanent Voter Cards and with their thumb prints, but the card readers failed to recognise the cards. How would you want the persons to feel? Are you saying such persons don’t have the right to choose their leaders? A situation where a lot of Nigerians will be disenfranchised as a result of the use of faulty card readers is unacceptable.

The All Progressives Congress has alleged that the PDP is buying voters and voter cards. What is your reaction to that?

We know APC in their true form. They are propaganda experts, but what is constant is truth. The INEC has told us that if anybody clones or buys the PVCs, it will not work at the polling units, and that such persons will be arrested at the polling units. So, they are just crying wolf. They are in a state of panic because on March 28, they will meet their Waterloo.

What is your comment on the assertion that Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s popularity has diminished and he cannot win elections in the state anymore?

I don’t share that view and that could only have come from the pit of hell. It does not represent the position of the average Ondo State person. It has never been like this before. It is not about sloganeering or propaganda. You have been in Ondo State for some months now and you see that peace is evident everywhere. There is no harassment. You can see development everywhere. When people who had earlier in years past visited the state return, they say they can see a new Ondo State. Go to Owo, Ore and other parts of the state: you can feel the touch of government. That type of government cannot be losing sleep as a result of elections.

What people are saying is beer parlour talk. This government is connected to the grassroots. It has been able to meet their daily needs. Go to the Mother and Child hospitals scattered around the state: you can see what is happening there. Those who are getting free maternal care are praying for this administration. Here in Ondo State, from conception to delivery, everything is free. You can see the transformation in our mega schools and all the primary and secondary schools have received a face-lift. In agriculture and health, there have been remarkable improvements. To an average Ondo person, Mimiko is a blessing to the state. If Mimiko is losing ground, Yoruba leaders would not be rallying around him and supporting him. They are supporting him because he is a pride to them and the nation in general. You see the likes of Baba Reuben Fasoranti, Baba Ayo Adebanjo, and the likes of Baba Olu Falae are rallying around him and keying into the implementation of the Confab report request. So, the insinuation that Mimiko can no longer win election in Ondo State can only come from a beer parlour gossip.

Would you agree that the APC benefited from the crisis that rocked the PDP in the state?

Which crisis? There is no party that is immune to crisis. Mind you, some people contested with Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in the primaries. Do you think those people are happy? Few days ago in Ondo State, supporters of Atiku Abubakar in the South-West came out to endorse Jonathan. There is no party that is devoid of crisis. But there is a mechanism for a political party to resolve crisis, especially in the PDP, and we have used that to resolve the crisis. Mind you, in Ondo State, there is a fusion of old Labour Party and the old PDP. The elections in the state since 2011 had been won by the old Labour Party. We have not lost any election. And now, that we have a mega party which now include the party that normally comes second and you are still talking about crisis. There can’t be any crisis. There will be overwhelming victory for the PDP in Ondo State. You can’t feel APC campaign in the state. It is only the PDP that is moving to the nooks and crannies of the state. You can see it and you can feel it. As of today, APC has no electoral value in Ondo State. I can tell you that APC cannot win a Councillor seat in Ondo State. They don’t exist here, that is the truth.

How would you react to the fact that notable members of the PDP, such as Femi Agagu, left the party for APC because they were tagged inactive?

Femi Agagu, since he left government in 2007, had not been an active member of the PDP. You will recall that his sojourn in politics was as a result of the fact that he was his elder brother’s Chief of Staff. In terms of political dexterity and strength, I can say to a very large extent that he is not a force to reckon with. His defection has no effect because he had not been politically active in the party. At least as you can see now, even months after their defection, PDP has been waxing stronger by the day in the state. Most of the people that went with him are spent forces. The impression they wanted to give was that they went with members of the cabinet. I want to tell you that no serving cabinet member went with them. Those who felt aggrieved in the past that Mr. Governor should have reappointed them, even when their communities wanted some other persons, went with him. Politics should go beyond individuals. We must take community interest into consideration. It should not be me and me alone. Mimiko ensured inclusive politics so that other people will have the opportunity to serve their people. So I can tell you without mincing words that their defection has no impact. We have to let you know that in their panic and desperation to mislead the public, they lied that some cabinet members went with them. It is unfortunate for a party that claims it has character. Some who were said to have defected along with them called to say they did not leave the PDP. For them to have come out with such falsehood shows that the party lacks character.

Please react to the notion that the crisis in the Ondo PDP has not been fully resolved

Anybody that still has the impression that there is crisis in the Ondo State PDP probably belongs to a different age. As we all know, politics is about galvanising opinions towards winning political power, in order to be able to use the instrumentality of government to better the lot of our people. It is also about interest. Everybody wants to be positioned, so crisis is not alien to politics. We must put in place a machinery to ensure that we resolve our crisis amicably. In Ondo State, I can tell you without mincing words that there is no crisis in the PDP. Every pocket of crisis that has arisen in the past has been resolved in the interest of our party. We believe that our party should win and win massively, not only in Ondo State but also in the entire country. We don’t want to go into this election divided and we thank God that reason prevailed. All our leaders are now working together. You will recall that even the former governorship candidate in the last election, Olusola Oke, recently came out to inform the whole world that he is willing to work with the governor of the state and also to work for the success of the PDP in the state and he has taken steps in that direction. He is joining other leaders in organising rallies and town hall meetings to ensure that, truly, our party wins the coming elections. So, as far as Ondo State is concerned, there is no crisis in the PDP.

Don’t you think the aggrieved persons in the state are only putting their grievances in abeyance, to restart hostilities after the presidential election? Some old PDP leaders have indicated that there are some scores to settle after the presidential election.

Maybe you are reading unnecessary meanings to statements. The fact is that all are working together for the party. Of what value will it be that we only win the presidential election and work against the party in subsequent elections? Whoever does that is not a true party person. You are the one reading wrong meanings to the statements made by some of the members. Every leader of the party has decided to come together to work for the success of the party. The fusion of the old Labour Party and old PDP has put us in a position to achieve overwhelming victory for the PDP in this month’s general elections. The old Labour Party won, as you can see in the outgoing House of Assembly, 25 out of the 26 seats. It won eight out of the nine House of Representatives seats, and won the three seats in the Senate in the 2011 elections. With a party that had such capacity now in the PDP, you know that we will coast to victory. The old PDP had its stronghold areas. The old LP had areas of its stronghold. What will make the victory sweet is if the two major parties, which came together in the state, work together in their strongholds and deliver to PDP, and that is what our leaders are determined to do. Everybody is working to ensure not only Jonathan’s victory, but that of people who will make his government work. At the National Assembly, we want all our senators to be there as PDP. We want our members to be at the House of Representatives so that the President will not face serious challenges in trying to execute his project for the people of the country.

What is your take on this N80m presidential campaign funds allegation against Governor Mimiko, which some have claimed is creating a crisis of confidence among members of the party?

There is nothing like lack of confidence; I think that word should be expunged. N80m for a governor who runs an entire state? The governor of a state is not a loafer. There are appropriate ways of channelling resources to a party in a state. So, I believe that it is misinformation on the part of those people. Those who are making such allegations were perhaps not informed. I know by now they have been fully informed. I don’t know how to describe an allegation that a governor misappropriated N80m; it looks pedestrian. They were misinformed. The party has a structure in the state that works on logistics which will not come to Mr. Governor’s table.

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