HON. FRED AGBEDI is the leader of the House of Representatives caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In this interview with General Editor, Politics, TAIWO ADISA, he declares that the national convention held in Ibadan Oyo State, has reset the party and would help it play a decisive role in the 2027 polls. Excerpts:
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) eventually held the Ibadan convention despite all the legal odds. And now that the convention has held, there are still undercurrents. Where do you go from here?
The convention has come and gone. We are happy. The party has risen once again. Yes, life is full of challenges here and there. But we think, as leaders, members, supporters, followers of our party, that the 15th and 16th Convention was one of the good things that have happened to this party.
Following the results and the new leadership that has emerged, we now find ourselves in a better and stronger position to tackle the aftermath issues. This is a political party where you willingly join and you can willingly exit. When you pose challenges to the organisation, to the association, every association has a right to set out rules and based on those rules, you could either be excommunicated or disciplined, as the case may be. That’s where we are.
Yes, there could be some identified issues. Issues as to litigation and all that. And I think that the new exco will be up to the task to pick those issues and deal with them squarely.
The new National Chairman was also sworn in immediately. But that has not been the tradition of PDP. What changed?
No, it’s not that it is not the tradition of the PDP. This is not the first time that we have sworn-in national officers immediately after the convention. We have been doing that. In some cases, we completely allow it when the highest decision-making body, which is the convention, does not dissolve the exco, then we allow them for one or two or three weeks, as the case may be. But since the convention is the highest decision-making body of the party, if the convention takes a motion to terminate the tenure of the executive, there is no other higher authority.
Going back to the situation under which the convention was held, there were two or three cases, and even around those cases, the former president of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, came up with the presumption that there could be a caretaker committee to carry along everybody. Why didn’t the leaders consider that?
Well, my voice was very loud about that. I was vociferous about considering the issue of caretaker. First, going by our Constitution, this convention, which is an elective convention, and the Constitution is clear about it. This Convention was not made not to elect. And so, in that circumstance, you will be circumventing the law if you don’t comply with the letters of it, which is that this convention has to be an elective one. And so, you are going to elect. That was one. Two, from some of us, our perspectives, reconciliation is with willing parties. You don’t do reconciliation when the other party says, my motive is that this association must not exist. So, positions have already been taken. So, it is not about one is angry because of this and another person is angry because of that. No, that is not the point. The point is that the underpinning motive is that, forget about this party for 2027. And of course, that is too tall a order for anybody. And so, based on some of those insinuations, proclamations as it were, though personal or otherwise, but these are the narratives. And so, you have nothing to harmonize. Harmonization is, you hurt me this way but it is okay. You take this, you give me this. So, here, we didn’t find ourselves in that situation.
Three, we got to a point where some members, officers of the working committee were suspended for anti-party activities. Where your own leaders of party deliberately orchestrated legal actions and then, also worked towards ensuring that they admit to tie the hands of the party and dangerous signals to any organization that wants to succeed. That was why the party felt you have gone beyond bounds. And that as a party of rules, you have to be served a disciplinary action and that was done. And then, instead of you to first deal with the issues of disciplinary action, you took laws into your hands and then formed an illegal structure. So, you can understand the compounding issues. It means that you are beyond the control of that organization. And if anybody becomes beyond the control of any organization, and if the organization doesn’t rise up at that time, then such organization is gone and gone forever. And, you know, that is why a party, in realization of the implications of what some of them were doing, took the decisions that were taken at the highest decision making point in the organ of the party.
What do you make of INEC not being present?
People keep asking the question on INEC being present or not present or whatever. I don’t see that as an issue. First, it is not a party that will lift INEC to the venue. It is not anybody’s duty to begin to placate that INEC is here or not here. INEC has a role to play. And how they play their role is best known to INEC. But let me say this. The important thing to a party is complying with the processes that will make INEC attend. We have complied with those processes. We have given the statutory information as to when our convention was going to be held, which was signed by the two officers who had the mandate to deal with that. Other than that, I can take you a step forward. I remember as a member of NEC that INEC attended at least between two and three NEC meetings preceding this convention. And I know that INEC in those meetings was also aware of the decisions taken and the information we have. I can also tell you that INEC rolled out a register in those meetings that members of NEC signed as mandates leading to the convention. And so, as far as PDP is concerned, everything about INEC was complied with.
The validation of the convention has to be taken into effect. The National Chairman, Executive members have to be recognised. And they feel that if INEC is not there, it might hamper that kind of process. What’s your opinion on that?
Well, for some of us, we are not alluded to that perception that INEC was not there, knowing that the party fulfilled the process of communicating with INEC. Yes, maybe people will say, oh, there are court orders and all that. Sometimes, yes, I am not a lawyer, but I ask the questions. If you go to court, and then an important organ that you want to stop from participating in a process was not part of that matter, they have no cause to say that we have been validly communicated or not. And then you just run a process to decide that you should not go. I mean, that itself, as far as I am concerned, is not a sustainable decision. A decision that could be sustainable should be a decision that, yes, these people have not complied with this, and have not complied with this. And then they also say, yes, in our situation, no, we haven’t seen this, we haven’t seen that. Then you say, okay, they haven’t even done the right thing, you should not.
But for you to just decide that don’t go. They are going or not going, what is the consequence? We are talking about a party doing a convention, and the consequence of stopping it is stopping democracy. It is stifling democracy. And a whole party and an individual, or a few individuals, where will the consequences be heavier? Where will the burden be heavier? The burden will be heavier on the party than the individual. Yes, on the scale of balance. And so, if you know that the consequences will be heavier on the party, then why would you not consider that level of consequence? Assuming something was wrong, at the end of the day, the individual can be taken care of. Our rule says this elective convention must hold within this period to bring in the new excos. So, can the organization run without an exco? No, certainly not. Can somebody stand up and appoint an exco? No. There must be a legal constituted arm of the party that will bring the exco on board. And the only process that can bring about an exco is the outgoing exco, laying the processes to organizing that convention, and then thereafter a validly nominated exco emerges.
The two courts in Abuja kept saying that your party did not follow the processes — one, 21 days notice, and publication of notice to members. I wonder whether that escaped the purview of the organizers.
I have, in my earlier response, said that the party complied with the information to INEC. And that the document to that effect was properly endorsed by the officers who had that mandate to do so. And so we are clear about that.
There were some state chapters, including Kebbi and Jigawa that boycotted the convention and they issued statements. How do you handle that?
I don’t really know any state chapters boycotted. Again, you have to also interrogate who are the people to attend a national convention. It is not the entire party that attends, or a state chapter that attends convention. It is the delegates. Some of these delegates are statutory delegates. You know, and that is why it’s difficult for you to say, this state attended, this state didn’t attend. It is about the delegates who have the mandate to attend this meeting. And, take for example, an Imo Chairman, who has taken the party to court, who is under suspension, that is supposed to be interrogated by a disciplinary committee, and then recommendations concerned, will not be speaking on behalf of the party chapter. So, these are the issues.
Let me also say that the new Exco is capable of taking on all the issues, that have arisen from pre-convention to post-convention. And I have the confidence that our brand new chairman, Barr. Taminu Turaki will be up and able to deal with these fallouts.
However, if you remember, the chairmanship position was contested. And it was contested by those who bought forms. So, if you were unable to buy a form, and that was what the former chairman, Ambassador I Damagun said. If His Excellency, Alhaji Sule Lamido, did not go to purchase form at the right place and at the right time, there is no way that the party would have, because of one member of the party, re-opened a closed process to bring him in.
On the last note, some people have said that this convention has opened more grounds for the crisis in the party, and that the party may not survive it. Are you hopeful that the party, going forward, has a strong footing ahead of 2027 with this convention?
Again, it is a perception. We came united as a convention. Those who felt that they have some hatchets, man-work to do against the party have been shown the way out. And so, anybody you saw in the convention is willing to support the rising of this party. And I can tell you that from the point where we can make remarkable progress. From the point we are, we will be ready to move on to be a factor in 2027, that is the most important thing.
I can also tell you that it’s PDP that is the warehouse of the opposition. And from this point, we will now deal with snippet of issues that will place us in that fulcrum, to be strong enough to galvanize the opposition as a warehouse, to ensure that we are for Nigeria, and Nigerians have a place to cast their votes in 2027.