Mr. Daniel Nwafor is the embattled State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Imo State.
Following the recent pronouncement by the National Working Committee of the party led by Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, the factional Imo APC chairman has maintained that he is still the Chairman of the party in the state unless a higher court of competent jurisdiction proves otherwise.
In this exclusive interview with COLLINS OSUJI, Nwafor, while reacting to the visit of Oshiomhole to the state for the official campaign flag-off of the state governorship candidate, Sen. Hope Uzodinma on Friday, said that Oshiomhole should render an unreserved apology to Governor Rochas Okorocha for his verbal attacks against his person.
He also lambasted the National Chairman for doing the party great disservice by not utilizing an opportunity he had during his visit to the state to market the party cum boast the party chances going into 2019 general election. Excerpts:
May we know you Sir?
My name is Mr. Daniel Nwafor, the dully, validly, constituted and elected chairman of Imo State All Progressives Congress (APC).
Sir, what is your take to the recent pronouncement by your National Chairman, Comrade Oshiomhole regarding the dissolution of your led executives of the party in the state?
My take is that I have often said that the actions of Mr. Adams Oshiomhole if not checked will pose great danger politically for our party. You know because of the person of President Muhammadu Buhari who stands so tall on integrity and that is what has given the mass appeal across the nation for our party. We have tried to be very careful in not joining serious issues with Mr. Adams Oshiomhole in order not to further dissipate the strength of the party going into 2019 general election. So I think that it is high time Mr. President called him to order. I have also said that the actions of Mr. Adams Oshiomhole seem to us in Imo APC he is out to destroy this party. Several people have wondered if he is actually working for this party or is he paid to ensure that this party fails. Is he working for another political party? Some people have said he is working for PDP and all that. We have heard a lot of things. I am confused but I would think that a National Chairman of a ruling party should be an all encompassing leader; a leader whose main focus is on how to carry the party along, to guide the party to victory. Coming to disobey the judgment of a competent court; a Federal High Court in Abuja which has said clearly that the APC Executives of Imo State are validly constituted and should not be tampered, interfered, dissolved, removed by the cronies of the National Working Committee or the National Executive Committee. For Mr. Adams Oshiomhole to go ahead to disobey valid court orders, does not put the party in good light. This is a party that pride itself as the party of the people, a party that stands on rule of law; a party that stands on constitutionalism and all the good virtues of democratic ideas. So we wonder who is pushing Mr. Adams Oshiomhole to destroy Imo APC. This is the only state that has validly elected House of Reps members, House of Assembly members, a governor, pre this time, from 2015 till this time, this is the only state in Nigeria that elected these officials and one would have thought that the party should consolidate on the gains made in Imo and use Imo as a stepping stone to capture other states in the South East but no, the man (Mr. Adams Oshiomhole) because of his personal sentiments and aggrandizement has continued to fan the embers of violence and we have resisted it because his actions in disobeying the court order, I mean his pronouncement has been causing among the 305 wards of our party. In the last 3 or 4 days, I have continuously be holding meetings with the party faithful, trying to calm them down. They are all aware that they are validly elected. Without sounding immodest, Imo people are enlightened; Imo people are intelligent; Imo people are educated and members of our party understand when a court says you are validly elected, no one should tamper with you. So they don’t understand why Mr. Adams Oshiomhole should go ahead to do what he is doing.
Sir, on Friday, your National Chairman was in the state and on record made some statements against your governor and the leader of your party in the state. Moreso, neither you nor any of your executives were present. Do you think such will go down well with your party?
Well for yesterday, also in total disregard to the same court ruling he showed himself, very poorly though that he was a bad campaign manager for Senator Hope Uzodinma. I have also said that Oshiomhole’s activities with Senator Hope Uzodinma are also issues to be looked at. Because a National Chairman who came down to the state and he didn’t recognize the party’s structure in the state; he didn’t recognize a sitting governor of his party in the state and you don’t border to encourage the governorship candidate to make himself available to the party structure and also work hand in hand with the governor of the state, I do not think he intends good for even Senator Hope Uzodinma. Because this party is the party in government in Imo and Imo people are APC. So anyone who wants to win elections in Imo State must take good cognizance of the fact that we have an APC sitting governor and you cannot come for a campaign in Imo and you don’t border to give the governor some prior information, proper information and getting him to be involved in what is happening. So the party structure was not aware of the activities of yesterday (the official campaign flag-off of Senator Hope Uzodinma) and so we couldn’t have been there.
There seem to be an obvious romance between your party and the Action Alliance (AA) in the state in recent time. We have seen on many occasions even some government appointees who supposedly should be members of your party, APC, attending official party event of AA in the state. Does that worry you in any way?
Well I would be worried if my party officials or executives wine and dine officially with any other political party, it will be a course of worry to me but you said functionaries of government, I can’t hold brief for them. But I have always said that any party man; anybody who is in APC should stand for APC. The constitution also and the Electoral Act does not abhor political parties coming together to form alliances. We are yet to have a formal alliance with a lot of political parties in this state. At the last count, I have more than 18 political parties who want to form an alliance with APC to support President Muhammadu Buhari.
So it is not an issue of one party. I am having talks with several political parties. A lot of political parties are willing to come out to show support to the good works of President Muhammadu Buhari. So it is not abhorred in politics. Parties can come together for the purposes of winning elections where their interest will be protected. So we are talking to a lot of political parties and a lot of them have seen the good works of His Excellency, Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha in this state which also is a mirror image of what President Muhammadu Buhari is doing at the federal and they are encouraged. They want to identify with progress; they want to identify with success.
As a party leader, what do you expect the governor to do regarding the several verbal attacks from Mr. Oshiomhole against his person and government in the state?
We as a party, we on behalf of Mr. Adams Oshiomhole apologized to the governor of the state (Okorocha) for the unwarranted attacks and abuses from the National Chairman. Like the Bible would say, we ask God to forgive him for he does not know what he is doing. Because a National Chairman should come to a state and tell the people of Imo what our party, APC will continue to do differently from other parties. He should showcase the achievements of President Buhari and tell the people why they should continue to support President Buhari. But he came here to throw banters. We in Imo APC were embarrassed by the actions of Mr. Adams Oshiomhole. And we apologize to the governor for that. Of course, the governor is a statesman. He lives above board. He understands that sometimes in politics, these things happen. I think it was a mistake to have elected Mr. Adams Oshiomhole at the national convention. We regret it but we have to stick with it. It is our baggage now; we will carry it and try to manage it. But it is regrettable and it is embarrassing.
Are you saying that the party should hold Mr. Oshiomhole to apologize to Governor Okorocha?
That is the right thing to do. I think in saner climes, by now, the party should have apologized to the Chairman of APC Governors Forum. He didn’t become the APC Governors Forum by mistake. All the governors on the platform of our party are as important as Governor Okorocha. So no one governor should be insulted because when you insult one governor, you are also insulting other governors on the platform of this party. This is the first time we are seeing National Chairman of a party not to talk of a ruling party antagonizing a governor or governors in his own party. That is why we continue to say that it is a surprise. We think that Mr. Adams Oshiomhole is on a mission to destabilize this party and we also reiterate our call to President Buhari to check; investigate the activities of Mr. Adams Oshiomhole so that this party will not lose elections in Imo, in the South East and even across the country because this his activities are reverberating all sections of this country.
The party members across the country, most of them are not happy with the utterances and actions of Mr. Adams Oshiomhole.
From what you said, going by the insults and embarrassments on the person of Governor Okorocha, do you think the governor will be justified if he chooses to leave the party?
Okorocha cannot leave this party. Okorocha is a co-founder of this party.
Okorocha left APGA to co-found this party with Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Oyeguns, President Muhammadu Buhari and all the other founding fathers. He cannot leave this party. He cannot leave a house he joined to build just because one National Chairman has thrown caution to the wind to insult him. That is not why he is in the party. He is in the party because of the integrity of the President and because of the good works the party is doing to alleviate the sufferings of the people of Nigeria. There is no talk of leaving the party. No one can force him out of the party. Mind you he is the founder of this party in Imo and in the South East.
It was because of Governor Okorocha that a lot of people who have now even decamped from their various elective position to join this party. It was because of the good works of APC. So he cannot leave the party and I am sure he is resolute in his commitment to make sure that President Buhari and all our other candidates win election. Don’t forget that he is a senatorial candidate. So he is also busy trying to further bring development to the people of Orlu Zone who he is aspiring to get their mandate to continue to represent them. So, the talk of leaving the party, if it is coming Mr. Adams Oshiomhole and his cohorts, I think it is childish.
What if these activities and actions of Mr. Oshiomhole continues, do you see them preventing the chances of President Buhari in 2019?
Definitely, they are affecting him but because of the love we have for Mr. President, we are trying to ignore the antics of Mr. Adams Oshiomhole and move ahead to support the president. Because if we want to dwell on the sentiments that have been expressed by Mr. Adams Oshiomhole and the way he has been handling the party, definitely it will be a very very tall order for the president to win. But we have said no. we must rise up and overlook and disappoint Mr. Adams Oshiomhole and the president will win. We are doing all we can and like I told him in a letter we wrote him, that we are busy with winning election but he is causing a lot of distraction to the party. I think he should find time to begin to work for the party and not to be displaying a charlatan like attitude on public stages.
Any word for Imo APC members?
Imolites who are members of our party are encouraged to continue to support the party and to continue to look at the good works of the government of APC in Imo State; to continue to look at the good works of President Muhammadu Buhari led federal government and continue to be in this party. They should ignore and on their behalf as the state Chairman of this party, I apologize for the unguided utterances Mr. Adams Oshiomhole and the disappointing outing he had yesterday as the National Chairman.
-NIGERIAN HORN-
