PDP 11,000 defectors not real venue can’t take that capacity
In this chat with the editor, All Progressives Congress, image maker affirms it efforts to deliver on 2019 campaign promises.
Can you introduce yourself?
I’m Amb. Moses Kyari Bolda
What’s Gombe politics like? As small as Gombe is with it 11 Local Government Areas, has a dynamic kind of politics especially with the composition of the state with multiple languages, multiple topography. Basically, the politics of Gombe State has always been determined by the quantum of development that has been brought to bear for the people of the state. From 1998 till date I can say we have been very fortunate with the governors we have had. They have done their best in ensuring that the state is developed. So, at the moment the people of the state are just to having governors who are affected their physical and structural development.
So what happened recently?
But again there have been attempts by certain individual to institute themselves as godfathers of Gombe politics. This same individual when he was governor in 2003 said he doesn’t believe in principles of godfatherism in politics but today like Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state wants to perpetuate himself as godfather of politics of the state. From history Gombe doesn’t believe in godfatherism, people have determined who emerges as governor. In the second tenure of Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo even though there was a gale of wind of the APC at that time, he stood his ground and won the election in spite of the fact that most PDP states were won by the APC. After his second tenure the people felt the man Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya has something to offer. So, because of that they overwhelmingly voted for the APC for post of Governor, members of the state assembly, federal lawmakers. The party won convincingly in the assembly out of 24 seat, APC won but only five. After sometime because of the nature of the person that wanted to be the godfather of the state politics, he started having problems with the governor of the state.
What were the reasons?
It was not because the governor was not performing but the supposed godfather felt he will decide who got what and who goes where but his excellency respectfully told him that I was the one elected and the bulk stops on my table therefore can you allow me do my thing after he was given the grace to appoint some members of the state executive council where his daughter (now resigned), son-in-law, and political associates were overwhelmingly in the majority. He (Goje) felt that was not enough for most politicians you can not allow associates of somebody else to remain dominate in your government. The reasons are that you will be derailed, could constituent themselves into fifth columists and turn against you. Like I mentioned, the politics here is not premised on godfatherism but what you have to offer the people as governor.
How well has the governor fared about stomach infrastructure, the latest lexicon for Empowerment?
I understand that there are alot of argument of this, so it was in the previous administrations. For instance during Dankwambo’s tenure some were complaining that the former governor has put them in his laptop, are they going to eat road . Also, during Goje’s tenure if you go to Mai Shayi to buy Shayi (tea seller to buy tea) they will ask you if you want Goje’s Shayi without milk or Hashidu’s Shayi with milk. So the agitation has been there at the beginning of each government, because every government that comes tries to consolidate and deliver on Democratic dividends based on the promises made to the people. So at that time the human development is on the low side, while capital development is on the high side. Now it is changing from human development over capital development but you can’t do one excluding the other but the ratio has to change. Recently, the government has appointed 3,077 facilitators, 20 per ward and will be paid between N20,000 to N40,000. All political appointment in government is part of human development.
There are those with the perception that all these doesn’t translate to alleviating poverty in the state?
Following the economic situation and the financial crisis occasioned by Covid-19, you know that most economies are suffering even at the federal level what you have from allocation has been dwindling at a point in December staff could not access their salaries because of this dire economic situation but for us in Gombe State no month has come that Civil servants were not paid. The governor was elected on the basis of the promises he made based on the document as manifesto part of which did not say he will dole out money and he has consistently said he won’t do it but again people are empowered by giving them political offices, giving them contracts. The At-risk children programme was instituted to bring about succour, the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) collaboration with the federal and state government to bring back out of school children into the school system. These initiatives are geared towards building human capacity potentials of the state because we are a state of three million people everyone expects even those that didn’t vote for the governor that money be doled to them. If you juxtapose the administration of Dankwambo and the current governor, you will realise that in order to satisfy some needs of citizens of the state money was misappropriated, monies meant for project were given out and projects were not executed. A good example is school of Nursing Dukku, the financial benefits were paid to about 97 percent but the level of completion is about 45 percent. There is another practical example a politician from Bajoga Local Government who was given the contract to supply engineering equipment for the Engineering department in the Polytechnic but the work was not carried out in the previous administration money paid was about 90 percent. However, when this government came knowing the importance of the equipment to the accreditation of the department reviewed the contract and now we have the department fully accredited.
Going by some people’s disposition and the focus of government vis a vis 2023, where does this leave the governor?
God forbid, if we lose the election on the basis of the fact that we worked like we promised but because we didn’t dole out money then it is okay with us. But again, the people making this noise are negligible number across the strata of things. But the question is have you travelled to the rural areas, someone who resides in Nyuwar that before now has to pass through six Local Governments to get to Talase but now in just 45 minutes will get to his local government that kind of person will not agree with you on the issue of money to rate this government high. This and many more part of the impactful projects of this government.
There are insinuations that executors of projects in the state are cronies of the governor? Like Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-rufai once said when he was minister of FCT, he said if you like when you are given minister you should give your enemies contract but me I will give my friends. But again, what is wrong in giving contract to friends if they are qualified. Someone who has contributed to the emergence of the government to an extent I feel the government has a responsibility to also reciprocate.
Recently, some party officials of the party resigned their appointments before the reconciliation committee, what’s next?
The agent provocateur, senator Goje was the one who wrote the party reconciliation committee led by senator Abdullahi Adamu, that there is a problem between him and his excellency and on the basis of that petition the committee came to Gombe met with all the major stakeholders excluding the former governor Senator Danjuma Goje and it was made clear through the chairman that the leader of the party in the state is the governor, so it is incumbent for every member to submit to him. However, the supposed godfather felt he was bigger than the governor, as a result some of his known associates decided to resign in solidarity with Goje. Based on the powers vested on the party by the constitution, they were immediately replaced and the party has been moving smoothly. The vacancies have been filled in the future if there are suitable offices they can be compensated. I want to make it categorically clear that there was no such thing as possible repeat of Congresses in Gombe as attested to by spokesman of the party chairman and governor of Yobe State. We will know the true test of the reconciliation when we get to the convention in Abuja, it is expected that we will be seeing him, we see him as an integral and useful member of the party, every member is important talk more of senator Goje.
Are you not surprised at the defection of about 11,000 persons said to join the People’s Democratic Party? There is no how 11,000 persons would have defected in Funakaye, the Pantami township stadium in Gombe can comfortably accommodate only 20,000 people where did they get the space in Bajoga to have 11,000 this is the first thing people should be particular about. There was this rally the PDP had in it office and they claimed the defectors were about 20,000, the whole of the office can’t take 3,000 people comfortably. So, it is a lie, and because it is a lie every other thing you are doing there is a lie as well. I saw the Bajoga clip the people there couldn’t have been 3,000 people. So if they did can we please have their card and go through our register to ascertain their membership. PDP is just perfecting propaganda, as a responsible party we can’t go to the level because PDP is desperate.
Why does political parties increase figures arbitrarily? The PDP are desperate to hoodwink the people of Gombe State that the APC is not popular. Alot have also defected into the APC but we have not held rallies to announce defection because we know we have the numbers, so we are not bothered but at the appropriate time, recall we are guided by laws and the laws of the country has not allowed anybody to start politicking now. PDP is desperate and certain politicians in their party particularly MJ Barde has been going round the state meeting with people and delegate and canvassing for vote but by the electoral act INEC guidelines it is not yet time for such and if today the laws of the land are invoked they will say APC is arresting PDP members because we are afraid. As a responsible government we will enforce the law, it either MJ Barde stops it or the security people will take action and indeed all other such politicians having rallies. What they are doing is an illegality but because the governor is a gentleman they have been allowed that freedom, but now that they are abusing the privileges the law will come in.
Recently, Yaya Bauchi Tongo, a Reps member just defected, what consequences will this have on your party? To onlookers it came as surprise but to us in APC it never came as a surprise for the past one and half years Tongo has not been participating in APC activities, he has been hobnobbing with the opposition PDP. It is just about 2023, Tongo wants to contest the Senate and the possibility for him to do that in the APC, he thinks is very slim. It is slim because we have not seen the type of quality representation we expect from a member of the house of representatives. I want to put it to him how many bills has he sponsored, what have been his contributions to debate in the house. I as a citizen of Gombe can tell you I have not seen him contribute to any debate on the floor of the house.
Do you forsee a recall process, based on the move? Ordinarily, based on the laws of the land he should have lost the seat because as that the time he was defecting there was no crisis in the APC. Since, he feels he is popular he should have dropped the mandate he got from the party and recontest from his new party and let’s see him win the seat again. He won that seat on the appeal and popularity of the APC, not because he is a material. Now that he has left we are going to see how popular he is.
Who masterminded the Funakaye crisis at the PDP defection ground? There was a time in Nigeria, when anything that happens was attributed to NADECO including when someone’s wife is not pregnant, rain didn’t fall it was NADECO. If they were visited with misfortune, it will allude it to the APC but I can tell you Alh. Inuwa Yahaya is a gentleman, he doesn’t believe in violence, he doesn’t encourage violence because he doesn’t believe in the politics of violence as well. It will be out of place to say it was people of APC that disrupted their meeting. Don’t forget the rally was approved, invariably government has granted them the opportunity to go ahead and they were given security cover. I saw the clip on social media if it was APC people that attacked them how come, those recording the video were not attacked. Maybe there were disaffection between the PDP in Bajoga, such can result into that such can lead into intra-party squabble, it couldn’t have been inter-party. All these are possibilities, Yaya Tongo is not a threat, certainly 11,000 people didn’t defect, at most is 3,000 people. Thank God for the party register that we have those they said had defected should bring their card, let’s know if they are card carrying members of the APC.
Message of hope from APC?
The APC government of Alh. Inuwa Yahaya, you have an individual that has a burning desire to transform the lives of the people of Gombe State both urban and rural based on the mandate given to him at the 2019 general elections. It was the election that had highest victory margin the emergence of the state. So, he (governor) will never abdicate that responsibility for which he was elected because there was a document. He has been following this manifesto methodically, I can assure you that after his eight years of government things will not be the same in terms of infrastructure. Come 2023 APC will win the governorship, State and National Assembly elections in Gombe State. What PDP is doing is just trying to cry where there is no wolf.
