lawyer and politician, Mr. Ladipo Johnson, is the National Publicity Secretary of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, (NNPP). In this interview with OLAOLU OLADIPO, he talked about sundry issues relating to the party and the state of the nation. Excerpts:
Recently, some former members have been laying claims to the leadership of your party in a manner that seems to confirm the continued polarisation within the ranks of the party. What is happening?
Well! Thank you very much. I think what you have said is contraindicated, or what do I say. You have said it yourself that there are former members, do you understand? And then you now say there is factionalisation. There is no factionalisation. These people are not part of us. A faction is a smaller part of a larger part. They are not members of the party. They have been expelled. That expulsion has been upheld and pronounced upon by a Federal High Court, Abuja.
That is the situation of the party. So I keep telling people that the party is not in crisis, but we are under attack from those who are outside of the party. And I believe that because of what we’ve seen from them, it is safe to say that this will continue up until the election and maybe even after, because it seems that they are holding the briefs of one of the parties, one of the opposition parties.
With the current situation, don’t you think that what is going on will have a negative effect on your party?
No, it won’t. The bottom line is that we are not relying on them at all. So, we’ll not have to depend on them in all that we will do going forward. This is because if they were inside the party and they betrayed us, it might have a negative impact on the performance of our party ahead of the forthcoming election.
But we know they are not with us. They are not within the party. So, we are not planning our activities with them in mind. On the other hand, their constant bickering, throwing of stones and talking help to bring the party to the consciousness of Nigerians even more, because every time the issue is being discussed. So, I have told some of them that, they are helping propagate the name of the NNPP. They are helping us do that. That’s how I choose to look at it, in a positive manner. Okay, so you talked about another party, I mean, an external influence, you know, projecting them.
What is their interest and what do you think those who are propelling them stand to gain for instigating this crisis?
From what we have seen, it is safe to say that one way or the other, they are either working with or working for some elements within the All Progressives Congress. The reason I say this is simple. When we had the issue of the gubernatorial elections, all the way to the Supreme Court, they supported the opposition against us, they did press conferences also to support the position of the APC. When we had the issue of the Emirates in Kano, they supported the other side.
When the Kano State Government was about to hold local government elections, they went to court to try to stop it, just like the APC did. And the last one, when we issued a press statement condemning the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, they came out, stated to the world that they are the real NNPP and that they support the President’s move in that regards. So, if at every stage that we have been against the government or the APC on an issue, they are supporting the APC, yet claiming to be members of the NNPP, then it shows you, it points to where they might be working for, who they might be working for or working with. So that is why I say that we believe, from what we have seen, that they might be agents of the other party.
Let me now ask you pointedly, what are the things being done by the party to nip their activities in the bud? You cited a court case that has affirmed your leadership of the party. Are you considering returning to the court for an affirmative and declarative statement?
Well! You will recall that what has led to these questions again is the fact that a week ago or two weeks ago, a Federal High Court in the Federal Capital Territory High Court presided over by the Honorable Justice Hakan, refused or declined to take up jurisdiction in the matter that we instituted; we instituted the matter, to stop them from going around parading themselves, making noise that they are the NNPP, et cetera. She refused. She said the Supreme Court had said time and time again that internal matters of the party should not be looked into by the court, which, yes, in principle is right, but we believe that it is not about an internal issue.
It is about people who are impostor. So, we will decide what to do about it at a later stage. But let it be known that even in that case, before the judgment, the regulator, which is INEC, filed their own papers and stated clearly in their papers that they do not know them, that we are the party. And if you go to INEC, you will see that Dr. Adjuji Ahmed-led National Working Committee, National Executive Committee, are those recognised by INEC. You will see that the logo in INEC in the last two elections and on the INEC platform is the red and white education logo, which is the logo of the party now. So, there is no doubt about where the party lies. They keep trying to misinform Nigerians, but unknown to them, they are spreading the name of the NNPP on our behalf.
Let me ask you pointedly, will the party consider reconciling with them to bring them on board as a notion of…~
(Cuts in) The party might do that. The party might do that and the party might not do that. That is for the generality of members of the party to decide upon. Personally, I do not believe that you should shake hands again with people who have shown themselves to be treacherous people. This is politics and they won’t change their colours. The leopard will not change its spots. You will find if you take them back in a quarter to the elections, you understand, something else will happen. That is why I believe if people have shown what they are, how they are, you have to deal with them in that manner.
Recently, a chieftain of your party, Engr. Buba Galadima, raised the alarm that the Federal Government is planning an emergency ruling in Kano, just as we have in Rivers. How credible is the alarm?
(Cuts in) You cannot blame him in anyway if he said that. You see, you cannot blame him. When the Emirates crisis was on, the rumour on the streets in Kano was that members of the ruling party were saying that once there was violence, then the government at the centre would be free to declare a state of emergency. When it didn’t happen, we thanked God, but we were going out to tell our supporters, do not fall for the intimidation. So, there was no violence, there was no crisis at all during that period. But when it got to the case of Rivers, the same way that people kept saying that, ‘oh, you know, they should take it easy,’ and some people were boasting that it would happen. Look at how it happened.
They said there was an explosion in a pipeline. Is this the first time we’ve had a pipeline explosion? Did they investigate it? Who caused the explosion? Was it the so-called militants who they claimed threatened? Could it have been the people who wanted the state of emergency? Do you understand? So when you see that, you cannot blame Engineer Buba Galadima, because he has his ears to the ground, for saying that, maybe the agenda for Kano is still on. This is politics. So you find that when you hear rumours after a while, especially in big countries, you begin to see things that go that way. What you think is impossible becomes possible before your very eyes. So, I don’t know. It’s something that I’m sure he has his reasons for saying, but I haven’t had the time to discuss with him. I haven’t discussed it with him at all.
Finally, Kano State is your base. Are you worried that some of your chieftains are defecting to the ruling APC?
You see, this is a natural process. There are times when people grow within a group, within a party and they get to a stage where they can no longer grow, because of people holding positions there, at the top there. Then they tend to look for an excuse or whatever to move on to some other place, for some other reason.
That is one. Two, is the fact that as this natural process happens, you will find that the important thing is that more people should be coming in than going out. It’s like the football transfer season. You understand? At times I joke about it. I say it’s like the football transfer window. It gets to a stage, you see more movement when elections are coming, both ways. But as I said, we are fortunate in Kano State.
