Charles Aniagwu is the Commissioner for Works, Rural Roads and Public Information in Delta State. In this interview monitored on Arise Television, he speaks on the rumoured defection of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as infrastructure and human capital development in the state, ANAYO EZUGWU writes

Is Governor Sheriff Oborevwori planning to defect or has he already defected clandestinely to the All Progressives Congress (APC)?

I wish you could set up a political laboratory to test the political temperature of those of us in Delta State and you will see that the PDP is heavily pronounced and profound in our bloodstream. So, that explains to you the fact that those who are speculating that Governor Oborevwori wants to move to the APC are only wishing that he comes to swell up their rank. Oborevwori is not only a proud member of the PDP but remains a leader of the PDP, both in Delta and in Nigeria.

He’s also a performing governor, who has also been able to show that he can be regarded as the poster governor of the PDP. So, for those who are wishing that he jumps ship, we want to tell them that Oborevwori is not in the business of jumping.

When the governor declared that he needed to support the president, it was in the spirit of patriotism, not looking for where to jump to. Today, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is the president of Nigeria and I know nobody’s contesting that.

So, if Tinubu does not have an opponent as a president, because he’s no longer a presidential candidate, by 2027 and we’re going into the election, we can begin to talk about those who want to challenge him.

Today, he’s the president, so if our governor says that Deltans, who are also Nigerians, support Tinubu, it is because in doing so, it is in our enlightened self-interest that the success of Tinubu cascades into the success of any governor in Nigeria. In Delta, we are not in the business of fighting constituted authority.

We’re always in the business of supporting those in authority because by so doing, we’re also bringing development to our people. And that development has been the preoccupation of Sheriff Oborevwori.

Perhaps, in the course of this discussion, I will take you into details about what he’s doing in terms of infrastructure development, human capital development, and of course, most importantly, security and welfare of the people, which of course is the main purpose of section 14 (subsection 2), paragraph B of the Nigerian Constitution.

So, the short and the long of it all is that Oborevwori remains in the PDP. He did not even dream, not to talk of the reality of leaving the party. Those who are spreading the rumour, like you said, are very free to wish that he comes to swell up their party.

Some might argue that the PDP is a party that is fast-headed on the way to extinction given the never-ending squabbles. What does the PDP have to offer the governor that he would remain loyal to it?

We are very happy in the PDP that both the media and the Nigerian public continue to discuss the party. What that tells you is that PDP indeed remains a household name in this country. So, it makes some persons lose sight of the fact that politics is more or less a concentric circle of conspiracy, where the different actors conspire to gain power.

Indeed, we have some form of squabbles and contestation as it were in the party. And you cannot rule that out for a party that is believed to have done so well in the 16 years that it has concerning the leadership of this country. For those individuals who think that PDP is going into extinction, I think that is the height of a malaria-induced dream. PDP is going through a process of rejuvenation.

What you see in any political circle is that those who have the strength are often in the mainstream of public discourse. It is true that within the PDP we’re also taking steps to see how we can resolve a number of the issues that are not clearly within the realm of understanding of those who are not in the political circle. It is also true that other political parties, particularly the ones in power at the moment, would wish that the PDP becomes weaker.

But for those of us who are in the PDP, a good example is what Oborevwori is doing concerning project execution and reaching out to the hearts of Deltans. And I am sure Nigerians are also seeing. You can also see what’s happening in Enugu State that is a PDP state. You can see what’s happening in Akwa Ibom State, which is a PDP state. You can see even amid troubles, see what Siminalayi Fubara is doing in Rivers State.

Why am I taking steps to mention these states? It is to tell you that the development that PDP is known for is still very much in the hearts of those who are holding sway.

For the few who are taking action that may not be quite promotional of the party, it is just a matter of time. But just see it within the realm of contestation that is allowed in any political contest, and like I said, concentric circles of conspiracy. They are very free to conspire, but the PDP, for no reason, will go into extension. That will not happen.

Oborevwori is not only a proud member of the PDP but remains a leader of the PDP, both in Delta and in Nigeria. He’s also a performing governor, who has also been able to show that he can be regarded as the poster governor of the PDP

By the grace of God, the leaders of the PDP, and indeed Nigerians, and most importantly, those of you who are in the media, because when you look back to 2015, you will know that there’s a very great difference between what you have now and what it was under the PDP leadership.

So, it is the wish of most Nigerians that the PDP bounces back and by the grace of God, the PDP will bounce back. Not just bounce back for politics, but bounce back for governance, like what Oborevwori is doing in Delta.

Over time, Nigerians will understand that politics is not just a question of those people who are in power satisfying themselves but for those who are in power to be able to make a difference in the lives of those who are governing. Just recently, we had the privilege of, once again, accompanying the governor to inspect several projects.

Even on Sunday, as soon as he closed from church, some of us were thinking of how we could lie down and stretch our bodies after the stress of the previous week but the governor called us out. We went through, for more than six hours, several projects in the capital territory.

Why was he doing that? He wanted to be sure that the money we are spending as a state is indeed reaching out to the hearts of Delta, which is value for money. And we’ll continue along that line. I believe that several other leaders of the PDP will continue by way of peer review and peer understanding to see what Oborevwori is doing, and then also emulate the same to have a better country.

Some people will disagree with you on the claim about PDP still being a strong party because you haven’t won any major election in recent times. You lost the Edo and Ondo governorship elections; what do you have to say about that?

Well, you raised several issues. I’ll take them one by one. On the issue of the party remaining strong as a strong opposition, we must understand the function of the opposition party. The opposition party is not just to say that everything that the ruling party has done is bad. That may have been the principle of some person like a former governor of Kaduna State. In the PDP, we think of Nigeria, not just of our political party.

Just take to history, even before we became the opposition party in 2015 and up to the present, the PDP is very much interested in the good of this country and not the selfish political interest of those who are within the political party.

So, to that extent, we will remain a very viable opposition party that is committed to the good of this country. Now, our governor believes that even if you are in the opposition party, today we don’t have an opposing president. If APC says something and it does not tally, we will say, no, APC, you are wrong. But we have one president. We have multiple political parties.

You must distinguish between the policies of the president and the position of the political parties, even if the manifesto, as it were, is supposed to be driven by the political party. When our governor came out and encouraged Deltans to support President Tinubu, he did so, understanding, patriotically, that the president does not have an opponent to lead as a president. And whether anybody likes it or not, if Tinubu succeeds in his policies, it will affect us as Nigerians, not as different political parties.

Now, coming back to what you talked about Edo State, we did not lose the election in Edo State, and I know you know, but of course, those are some of the challenges of our emerging democracy. Where we needed to be able to have proper electoral reforms, and then have individuals of credibility manning the electoral body, so that at the end of the day, the vote will not only count but must be seen to have counted. In Ondo State, it’s a different ball game, APC has been in charge of that state, so we are not contesting that to a very large extent, even if we believe that we could have done better.

But in the case of Edo State, we believe up to this moment that we won that election fair and square. That election is still subject to adjudication, and we hope that the judiciary will be fair enough to be able to give us back our victory in Edo State. So, we do not need to begin to insult President Tinubu to prove a point. Now, you talked about an aide saying a different thing. Sometimes, aides are very free to progress in error. What is most important is the view and the position of the chief executive.

The aide may not have been able to understand the issues at stake, and it depends on what issues you are talking about. Even when the governor says the President is doing well or that the President needs to be supported, that does not in any way mean that the President cannot also improve in some areas in the thinking of the governor. If the President or the APC can also implement policies as we are doing in Delta, and improve the lives of every other person, the governor is also a Nigerian.

And so, what does that mean? It means the governor himself will also benefit from the good policies of the President. So, for us, we don’t just go about because we belong to another political party, and begin to fight as if we’re in Fuji House of Commotion. We believe, as a government, that once you support the constituted authority, and can deliver, you would have been able to benefit directly and indirectly. So, it’s not just about your political party.

That does not in any way weaken our resolve as a political party to get back power at the centre. We are quite convinced that the PDP has what it takes to perform far better. A very good example is what we did in the 16 years that we were in power, where we were able to move Nigeria. If you recall, in less than two years of the Obasanjo administration, from 1999 to 2001, you saw what happened to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). But let’s not go into that, because that will also take so much of our time in the course of this discussion.

As I said, we need to begin to look at what are those things that make Oborevwori the poster governor, for not just the PDP, but standing out for other 35 governors to begin to emulate. I have also pointed out several governors who are also at least making new rules in terms of infrastructure development but Oborevwori goes beyond infrastructure. Section 14, I said, he has given vent to the provision of section 14, subsection 2, paragraph B of the 1999 constitution, which talks about security and the welfare of the people, being the primary purpose of government.