PDP will bounce back in Anambra, says chairman

Chief Ndubuisi Nwobu is the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State. He spoke to reporters in Awka, the state capital, on preparations for next year’s general elections at the state and federal levels. NWANOSIKE ONU was there.

THE PDP has not been able to regain power in Anambra State because of internal wrangling resulting from imposition of candidates. What your assessment of the primary?

From the outset, when we started preparations for our party primary, we set out to ensure that internal democracy is brought to bear in all our activities. We made it clear to all our aspirants that their chances of becoming a candidate will depend on the delegates and the party followership within their respective constituencies. We started to demonstrate this resolve by ensuring that the election of delegates was done in a manner that was satisfactory to every member. During the primary, we made sure that we informed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which is the body constitutionally-empowered to supervise the conduct of the exercise. We informed INEC about the time and venue of the primary, the Returning Officers, and, all the Committees that came from the national headquarters of our party to conduct the primary. We also made sure that there were INEC officials in all the venues of our primaries to monitor the process. So, I’m confident that for the first time, there was no parallel primaries in Anambra State during the exercise. All the primary for each of the constituencies, either the  House of Assembly, the House of Representatives or the Senate, were held in one designated venue in each constituency. At the end of the day, the outcome of all the primaries has been adjudged as very transparent by even the aspirants themselves. Those who lost in the primary have even pledged to support those who won.

How would you rate the chances of the PDP in Anambra State in 2019, given that APGA enjoys incumbency and the APC is the party in control at the centre?

Anambrarians and Nigerians at large have come to appreciate the PDP this time around. What happened during the APGA and APC primaries was a sham; it was a charade! It was a day-light robbery where people came to the centres where the primaries were supposed to take place and those who emerged as delegates were jettisoned for some other names. At the end of the day, even where an election was said to have been conducted, the outcome would be unmotivated both the delegates and other party members. You can find out from the INEC, if any of its officials monitored the primary of any of those political parties in Anambra State. Even the security agencies will certainly confirm to you that the primaries of both the APGA and APC in Anambra State were a sham; that there was no internal democracy in what transpired in those two political parties during their primaries.  I’m sure that both INEC and the security agencies will testify to the fact that transparency and that internal democracy prevailed during the PDP primary; we got it right. As it was also clearly seen, the APC national convention was a sham.

What is your reaction to the choice of former Governor Peter Obi as the running mate to your presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar?

In fact, that action is the most reasonable decision by our presidential candidate, former Vice-president Atiku Abubakar, and the PDP national hierarchy. The Southeast has been very supportive of the PDP family. You reward people for their efforts; you don’t reward them for their inability to do what is right. So, the choice of Mr. Peter Obi by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, as his running mate for 2019 general elections, is a reward to the people Anambra State and, indeed, the entire Southeast for their support to the PDP. We all know that the arrow head of the PDP formation was the late former Vice President Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme. He hailed from Anambra State. So, by this gesture of the PDP presidential candidate in picking someone from Anambra State as its presidential running mate, the PDP has deemed it fit to say “ Thank you, Dr. Alex Ekwueme “. It shows that the PDP has really realised the major role he played in the party’s formation and that his contributions helped in making it the largest political party in Africa. Besides, Mr. Peter Obi has excellent antecedents. He is a focused person and a great manager of wealth. We all saw what he did when he was governor of Anambra State for eight years. Also, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is someone who is greatly endowed with what it takes to give good governance to Nigeria, so as to bring the country out of the current socio- economic and political quagmire the APC government has thrown it into, given the experiences he had gained when he was Vice President. Again, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is great wealth creator. And Mr. Peter Obi has a deep insight into the economy of this country. So, I view Atiku-Obi presidency as the best thing that can happen to the people of this country at time it is in a mess.

What will give PDP an edge in Anambra State over other political parties at the election?

We allowed internal democracy to prevail during our primary. Other political parties, especially the APGA and the APC, did the opposite. They allowed godfathers to hijack their primaries and imposed candidates on their parties. Again, the PDP had been in the affairs of this country until the APC took over after the 2015 general elections and our people have now tasted the two parties and they have seen the difference. They have seen that the APC is a party that promises but denies its promises. But the PDP keeps its promises. That the PDP was able to keep this country together showed that leadership in this country can be done in a detribalised manner. The PDP had shown that no matter whose ox is gored, whether a person is in your party or not, if he or she goes against the laws of this country he or she will be brought to face the law. The PDP had shown that the economy of this country is sustainable. All these have been lost since the APC took over the running of affairs of this country in 2015. We have been telling Anambrarians in particular and Nigerians in general to give the PDP a chance once more and, you will find that, all the current hydra-headed problems facing the country in all spheres of life will become a thing of the past.

Given the overwhelming victory of APGA in the last governorship election, what gives you the hope that PDP will win in Anambra next year’s general elections?

The outcome of the last governorship election is not a good indices for predicting the possible outcome of the coming general election in the state. Politics is local. What made APGA and its candidate, Governor Willie Obiano, achieve that 21-over-21 victory in that governorship election have come and gone. I can bet you that the same thing will not apply in the forthcoming general elections. I can assure you that Anambrarians are going to look at the various candidates who are contesting elections for the state House of Assembly, the House of Representatives and the Senate and vote for the candidates and the party that can attract democracy dividends to them. They know that anybody who gets to the National Assembly on the platform of the APC will not have much say at that forum. When you are unable to speak, how can you be able to bring democracy dividends to your people? Anambrarians appreciate the fact that where they have a better opportunity now is in the PDP. So, they are going to cast their votes for only the PDP candidates for the state House of Assembly, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Again, let me remind you that one of the major factors that influenced that governorship election was the quest by the people of Anambra South senatorial district to produce the governor as soon as possible. And because they had this fear that since our party’s candidate, Mr. Oseloka Obaze, might want to go for a second term, since he will be serving his first term if voted for and that he may want to go for a second term, after completing first term, they decided to support the APGA candidate, because they knew that he may go for another tenure. So, the people of Anambra South saw supporting the APGA candidate as the fastest way for them to produce governor, based on rotational considerations.