Former Governor of
Kwara State and Senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial
District, Dr. Bukola Saraki, in this interview, speaks on the recent
defections in the state but says they pose no threat to APC. Excerpts:
What's your position on the suspension of the CBN Governor?
I was reading in the papers that the Senate has taken a position on
the issue. First of all I want to say that the Senate has not at any time
debated the issue and I think the position as stated by Senator
Abaribe must be his personal opinion. I am sure by the time the
Senate comes back, we would look at the issue.
With my own knowledge of the CBN Act and the relevant section
which I have gone through, there is no part of that Act that supports
the action taken by the President whether you call it suspension or
removal or removal/suspension. It is tantamount to removal at the
end of the day and the Act does not say that.
And I think this kind of thing to me is not about Sanusi, it is even
more about the new governor who is coming in. Can that governor
really say that his tenure is five years? There can be a new President
tomorrow down the line; he would say, "In 2014, this is what
happened".
The PDP people are taking the 2015 election very serious and Kwara
seems to be a target. On Sunday PDP stakeholders stormed Ilorin for
a rally, do you see it as a threat?
I thought there are rules guiding party rallies at this time. Well, good
luck to them. Look, as I said maybe it is a form of reaction to the
success of our registration that is giving them jitters. As you all know
we have finished our registration and the figure that we have had is
over 380, 000 which is not even the final figure. Like I said to you
those of you who have been here in 2011 election know how Governor
Abdulfatah Ahmed won election with about 250 something thousand.
If today, we are registering card-carrying members of 380 something
thousand, you can see that if I was in the other side too, I would be
feeling jittery and I would be organising rally that really does not
mean anything. Let them go and register their members instead of
rally; let them go and do registration and let's see how many people
they have. They too know at the end of the day that they do not have
the support, a party that does not have any form of cohesion. I think
all these are just actions being taken to try and boost their party's
image.
But the people of Kwara have spoken last week when we did the APC
registration. And I want to seize this opportunity to thank the people
of Kwara for registering for APC in the short period of time we took
the decision to move to the party in less than four or three months.
That we can gather this kind of mobilization in three months shows
the acceptability, it shows people believe in us and we believe in them.
I think the PDP should better put their resources in other states,
Kwara is not an area they would be able to do much.
People look at it as if you are the target of the Presidency, why do
you think this is so?
One has decided to make a personal sacrifice in standing for what I
believe in. I've said many a times that some of the things I believe in
are not personal. I gave example the other day that even when
President Yar'Adua of blessed memory was there and people know
how I was close to him, when he was doing something that was wrong
on the issue of the agric loan, I stood up and said this must stop. If I
believe something was not right, it is not an attack, I believe it is to
help everybody. But unfortunately there are those that believe once
you say things that are not good, they misconstrued it to say it is
personal. So I think it is some people that give that kind of
impression. All I know is that I'll continue to stand and believe in what
I believe is right and what I believe is good for my people. It is the
sacrifices you make when you are in this kind of position. That's why
today again, I am talking about the issue of CBN Governor. It has
nothing to do with President, it has nothing to do with Sanusi. The
President must leave one day and Sanusi too must leave but the
persons coming next and those coming after... There was a reason
why we passed those laws, to ensure the independence of CBN. So
some of these issues that are crucial to the development of our
country, I would stick to them. I know that yes it makes one a subject
of attack. But if that is the sacrifice one has to make so be it for a
better Kwara and for a better Nigeria.
There are those you worked together in 2011 that are now remaining
in PDP and just recently some APC chieftains dumped the party for
the PDP, don't you think the PDP is gaining a formidable opposition
now?
Well, I don't know how you define formidable and I will tell you why. If
you look at the last election, PDP came first with 251, 000 votes
followed by ACN (Action Congress of Nigeria). Now if you agree that
at least majority of ACN is now in APC, majority of PDP is now in
APC, when you now combine these together, you can't tell me that the
other side has become formidable, I don't know where you got your
calculation. I am sure you are referring to people like Dele Belgore.
We made all our efforts; even me personally I drove myself to his
house to show that, look, come on board and let's work together in
the interest of the state, we are both of similar gene. But everybody
must take his political decision. He has taken his own political
decision to go to PDP. And I said to him, "I know PDP more than you
do".
People would meet beyond politics, I wish him all the best but you
know, I know in that environment where you have about five or six
different people with different agenda, even coming together is going
to be a challenge. Those are the experiences you learn in politics. But
as I said I think the word, "formidable" is what has happened with the
emergence of APC and that is why you are seeing it in the number.
And talking about people who used to be with us, politics sometimes
is local. I am sure who you are talking about is one of our former
commissioners or members of House of Assembly that have decided
to remain in PDP. Again politics is local, you see one of the things we
have found out is that a lot of the complaints we have seen in most
of the local governments and wards is that people are complaining
that people have been in government for a long time and were being
circulated. Even when I was the governor, I could remember people
were complaining that these people have been in government for eight
years. That under Baba Waziri (late Dr. Olusola Saraki), they were
there, under me they were there and what we did last time with the
cabinet reshuffle was that a lot of young people who have never seen
political appointments but who are grassroots mobilizers have now
been empowered to hold positions whether at council level, SA level
and it has changed the dynamics.
Now some people who see themselves as they must be there feel
threatened by that but we believe that the party is now opening up
and like I keep on saying more people are participating in politics and
we must accommodate them. So I don't hold any regret if what we are
doing is to bring more people on board and try to open it so that
more people feel a sense of belonging.
In the process, definitely one or two people will feel aggrieved. But I
want to advise some of them that look, at the end of the day, they are
best in the party they have been all along and we don't have any
doubt on our minds that we are as strong and even stronger based on
the permutation.
Are you not reaching out to them all along to bring them back?
We are doing that. Some of them at the beginning didn't understand
it, some thought that this is just a personal matter in Kwara, but as
you can see the country as a whole is moving towards a change. So,
that is going on. There are those we are still engaging and talking to.
There are some for example who have never been with us in the past,
they have said they are going to stay in APC and work with us. There
are those who stayed in PDP with some expectations, by the time
those expectations are not coming in, you know what that means.
That's why we have set up reconciliation committee that they should
come back quickly because if it is about winning election, this is the
machine that wins election and so they should come back as soon as
possible. So we set up a reconciliation committee to invite them and
talk to some of them.
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