Ini Emembong is the newly-elected National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In this interview monitored on Arise Television, he speaks on the recent national convention of the party and why the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike and 10 others were expelled from the party, among other issues, ANAYO EZUGWU reports
In June, when Governor Umo Eno decided to defect from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC), you were his commissioner but you said will not follow the multitude. You resigned from the administration. You chose to stand alone. Now, it looks like you have been rewarded for that act of audacity. Do you feel vindicated?
It has very little to do with reward. It just has to do with who you are. There are irreducible minimums that you take in every circumstance and I’m a person who holds fast to the things I believe in.
I like to just stay constant, so that I’m not confused. There are times, especially when you’ve served in government, that you are blackmailed, and they tell you things that we said about you, and you ask yourself, was that me? So, I don’t like to get confused at that point. I compare it to a flag and a pole. I prefer to be the pole that is standing in one place and not the flag that is going according to the wind. But I do not have issues with those who have done that.
I believe in democratization of our country because there is no country in the world that is practicing pure democracy. So, everyone is on a journey towards democracy, and that journey is called democratization. The speed at which you travel is dependent on a lot of factors, one of which is competitive political democracy.
So, there must be a government in power which is put in place by majority votes of the people. That vote may change per time, but there must also be an opposition capable of holding that government to account for the good of the people. And so, in a multi-party system, we need to hold fast onto that which we believe.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not show up to observe the process. Do you think that the convention and its outcomes will stand?
Absolutely! You do know that the Electoral Act which governs the operation of INEC and how political parties operate, including all electoral matters, is clear on that. Section 82 subsection (1) makes a mandatory provision for the notice to be given and specifies it shall be given, which is mandatory. But subsection (2) says, INEC may, which leaves it within the realms of discretion.
Before the convention, a former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, had gone to court to say that he was excluded and that he was not allowed to obtain the form. Don’t you foresee that this matter is not settled?
Our disposition as stated by our national chairman, Kabiru Turaki is clear that we are coming on a reconciliatory and conciliatory note. One of the things he said to me was that we’ll try to wash our dirty linens behind as much as possible.
The former governor is a great party man and the question as to the validity or not of what he said is a question of facts. Remember that every electoral process has a guideline; a guideline which was printed and circulated.
That guideline stipulates when people will buy forms and when they will submit the forms. These are the facts behind it. But because Governor Seyi Makinde and other governors and leaders of the party are already talking to former Governor Lamido, we’ll leave it at that.
Rivers, Sokoto and Jigawa states delegates didn’t attend the convention, so where is the path towards reconciliation and do you think that the boycott by delegates from these states had any material effect on the outcome of the convention?
Starting from the last, the quorum is two-third. And for any motion to pass, you needed just a simple majority. But does it mean we don’t care what’s happening there? No, that’s not true.
You also do know that there are the backroom politics behind; the politics of defection, the politics of people being in this party and trying to become placeholders for people in other parties. But we’re a fresh administration, so we’re careful how we’re approaching that because the chairman of the party wants everyone back. It’s possible if we show sincerity.
It’s possible he’s been a public servant and he is someone who has worked with most of the people who are aggrieved. And he clearly mentioned and said he would go out looking for them, that he wouldn’t wait for them to come. So, as to the validity of the convention by reason of non-attendance of some states, we had more than two-third of the delegates. You can see that from the votes.
Now, as to aggrieved parties going to court, again, like I said, it is the challenge of the judicialization of politics, which again would ultimately lead to the politicization of the judiciary, which is what we are afraid of. One of the reasons why people were expelled was the fact that there are mechanisms that the party has for dialogue, conciliation and negotiation. But some people have an approach that it is either their way or the highway.
They use the court as a means of saying if you don’t agree with me I go to court, whereas we need to find democratic ways. The court dockets are already filled with cases that should stimulate the economy. Political cases don’t stimulate the economy. Economic and criminal cases are suffering because of political cases but look at the speed at which political cases are determined.
Where in the constitution of the PDP does the party derive its powers to expel members?
You do know that indiscipline is not time-bound. There’s always a time for a wake-up. There’s never a late time to do what is right. But again, because of the disposition of the national chairman, we will be very reserved in making comments on this because there are comments we make that may exacerbate the situation.
The national chairman has said: ‘Gentlemen, can you allow me handle this?’ The convention took the decision, and the convention is the highest lawmaking body of the party and if you watch the video, you see the resounding appreciation and acceptance of that.
However, the chairman who emerged from that process, and who should celebrate that process, says ‘no, I want everyone back in the fold.’ So, we’ll be careful but as to the powers of the convention to undertake disciplinary action, Article 33 subsection (2J), which speaks to the convention, says it shall exercise control and take disciplinary action against all officers and members of the party.
And the motion that was moved for that decision, listed item by item, including anti-party activities. The issue is not even anti-party only. There are times when you try to exercise patience, hoping that time can heal. But there are times when you discover that rather than heal, time compounds, so you must take a decision.
Would it be correct to say that the PDP is a dysfunctional political family?
No! You see, everything depends on positionality. Just like research, your positionality depends on what you see. And most times, what we see comes from our worldview.
That is why I do not question people’s subjectivity. But if you were in Ibadan, and boarded commercial vehicles and listened to people, you would have known that indeed, this is that defining moment that can bring a renaissance to the party. You would have seen hope.
You would see that some people who came by road missed their path. People who are riding okada led them to where they were going to, free of charge. And they said, can you rebuild this party? That is the way it is but I do not have the opportunity to question people’s subjectivity. It is their reality.
Governors of Adamawa and Plateau states have said categorically, that they are not part of this expulsion drama and these are principal members of the party. What are your concerns about that?
The two gentlemen you’ve mentioned excluded themselves; they did not question the validity. They did not question the legality. Rather, they questioned the morality and the management.
But again, remember that this is a convention and in democracy, majority will have their way, while minority will have their say. They mentioned their personal dissent and objection to a particular item. There were more than four motions moved. A voice vote was taken in all of these motions, and no nay was taken.
Away from that, we respect the fact that they have spoken out, but even at that, they are not seeking to destroy the party. None of them has condemned the process, but they have mentioned that this particular motion doesn’t sit well with them and the national chairman of the party has registered those concerns and is going to discuss with them.
