Aliyu Audu, until recently, a Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu is currently the convener of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Rebirth Group. In this interview monitored on Arise Television by ADEYEMI LAHANMI, he gives reasons for his resignation and comments on lack of internal democracy in the APC

You recently resigned as a Senior Special Assistant to the President Tinubu on Media. Why did you take such action?

I am disappointed in a lot of things. The sheer display of ‘unsportsmanliness,’ for the lack of a better word. We need to create a society where we need to say ‘it’s okay to have a winner’ and because nobody really loses. The only man who loses is the man who did not try.

I’m trying to understand how that applies to your resignation with focus on the government you were part of?

It’s straightforward. The most uncomfortable part of it that I have come to realise in my resignation is how we are very comfortable with pretending that our problem exists or we acknowledge that it exists. We have the energy to solve the problem but rather expend that energy on avoiding the consequences of solving the problem. We want to build but something is in our way. We could have used the energy to go through it or rather sidestep it and know that thing is forever coming to haunt us.

For instance, it’s simple. The FCT Minister is in PDP but he controls the APC in Rivers State and the FCT. I am a card-carrying member of the APC in the FCT. I contested for the post of a Local government chairman of the FCT in April 2015. I did not win the primary ticket but I was instrumental to the record of our local government because we were in opposition at the time. Abdullahi Ahmadu Candido was our candidate that won the primary election. The political elite in the party secretariat wanted to ruin that because they wanted somebody else.

I was working in Accra at the time and I kept flying in and I was the youngest or maybe someone was younger than me; the son of the former late House of Representative member. I went round to one of the aspirants and told them that you all wanted to win and equally one person would win. Thirty-two people really indicated interest, sixteen of us bought forms and we knew only one of us would win. So, if you really love the country and the party, the person who wins you will work with him to deliver on where you want to deliver.

Basically, in our case what has happened, we have a Wike who is a member of the PDP destroying the PDP with the support of this President, because the office of the Minister of the FCT is not a political position, it’s a state power. So, if you give that state power to back someone to destroy opposition, let’s remind ourselves that the position where President Bola Tinubu is today is thanks to the opposition. It might have played a huge role in keeping opposition alive and he has gotten the biggest reward from installing himself practically. That’s okay but, what isn’t okay is now destroying the opposition because you don’t want rivalry.

You can’t sell me a liberalisation with monopolised politics, it doesn’t work. You address monopoly in the economy but encourage it in politics. Economy is a subset of your politics.

But, do you think that people would see the point you are making especially the same way you are criticizing Nyesom Wike who is in the PDP but is influential in the APC?

It’s not working against him, but it’s the first step in building a future for my generation and those behind us…Let me tell you what President Buhari told us in 2013 when we paid him a visit under the leadership of Ismaila Ahmed. The APC had not been formed formally and was at its early stage. We had a movement called All Progressives Youth Forum and most of us came from Occupy Nigeria in 2012. It wasn’t because we didn’t like President Jonathan. It was because we were desirous of a better nation and he wasn’t doing the right thing.

Eighty-five percent of the people I grew up with are no longer in this country. They are all abroad and are an intelligent set of people. I worked as a mid-level manager with MTN and they were at that level too. They liquidated their businesses, sold their houses, cars and for what? To be able to wash plates overseas and we think it is okay that we have a set of people who want to sit on our yesterday, today and steal our tomorrow? No. It’s not okay. Let me say that the very essence of progressivism is contestation of ideas, thoughts and reasoning.

Even within the party itself, my membership of the party was at my own instance and not at President Bola Tinubu’s instance. He cannot determine my membership of the APC as it’s not up to him and not his call. What he could approve of was my appointment which he did after my nomination by his former Spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale. So, I have given him back that but, what I do with my membership of the party led to his emergence.

The APC started when things were not going well and was a member of the committee. I was promised a land but it was taken because I didn’t change my position. I walked away from a well-paid job and I’m saying we can all do this and be very intentional about the country we want to build, despite the challenges and what we can do to fix it right.

Are there many more people like you within the APC?

Cuts in… Eighty-percent of card-carrying members who were responsible for his election, and last me tell you, the people who voted for President Tinubu are card-carrying members who didn’t want to see APC lose and were not paid but, now they are aggrieved.

These people are just waiting to see the light, and let’s remember by 2014 about 24 governors had endorsed Jonathan but there were a lot of people waiting inside there for something to happen. There was a G7 and a G5 eventually. We saw what happened and the fact that everybody is going one way is the sign of desperation. ..because whoever is on the other side knows that not everything is right.

It is even more an attack on democracy because you have governors who supposedly are doing well in their domain that are not originally APC. What has Akwa Ibom and Delta got changing loyalty? What impact have they made in those states?

Do you think those defections are not going to have a negative impact on the APC in the next election?

It’s going to have a negative impact on the APC, not just our existence but our democracy if we don’t stop it now.

On the APC specifically?

I have spent 12 years as a member of the APC and I would probably like to give it a shot again to run for the local government chairman position. The current chairman Kalangudi, who was in PDP has been taken to the National Chairman (of APC) by Wike to direct the state chairman of the APC in Abuja to register him as a member of the APC and he told the sitting local government chairman in AMAC that if he wants to be re-elected, he should switch to the APC. This is because Wike said he will ensure there is no National Secretary for the party (PDP) to sign your nomination before INEC. This is an essential part of your nomination and this is the same thing he is telling all the other governors and the reason they are running.

It sounds like the APC is starting to implode?

Of course, because I’m you are bringing someone to start sitting on my head, we will not allow it

You are talking about the undermining of democratic values and citing the relationship between Nyesom Wike and the President. Tell us how you think it is at odds with our democratic values?

If you want to run a government of national unity, you can’t build an institution while destroying one. PDP, APC, LP and the FG are institutions whether we like it or not. We need an institution that is bigger than an individual and all of us. Trump tried to mess up the institution and was thrown out and that shows the fairness and stability of an institution. We should be able to do that and not idolise an individual who may have been best yesterday but not today and even if he is, he doesn’t have to be the best tomorrow. I mean the difference between Lagos that has been under the control of the President and the next best state is so wide that we should be concerned why others are not catching up.

You said you are working against the re-election of the President. Who are you going to work for in 2027?

I’ve told people that it’s not about who will be the President but who is the best among us though not perfect and will be answerable to us and will have a transparency tag on the President. I worked with the president for two years and hardly sat with him. I was one of his spokespersons but, he sat with Davido who insulted him a couple of weeks before then, sat with Jandor who didn’t come second in the League elections and it doesn’t make sense.

Is there anything in the works currently for you in the coalition?

The coalition is essential but the real determinant of the future are the young people. We are taking our future and its not by protest it we are going to organise ourselves and it’s massive.

Are you setting your sights on the presidency or any post for example? Do you believe he is going to do that and did he do that in 2023?

He is a contender. So, it starts from giving the independence that he asked for when he was in the opposition in INEC. He has to give them and be has to wholeheartedly give them that. Majority of Nigerians need to believe that there is still independence. He has to ensure internal democracy is entrenched in the APC starting with the removal of Ganduje who he imposed on us. For the past two years that position belonged to the North Central where I am from and Ganduje is from North-West.

The leadership of the National Assembly could have gone round the six geo-political zones. We have the Senate and Deputy Senate President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker, the you bring the executive that is the President and the Vice.

These positions should have been shared round the geo-political zones, but you know the President is from South-West, Vice is from the North-East, Senate President from South-South, Deputy is from North-West as well as the Speaker of the House of Reps and nothing for the North Central. The chairmanship position meant for the North Central by right and has been given to a North-West person. Any leader that does not practice fairness no matter how intelligent or powerful should not be in the driver’s seat.

All of the crimes, injustices, Boko Haram, IPOB are all symptoms of injustice. If the head of the country embodies injustices, there is nothing we will do; we won’t have it right. There is supposed to be fairness as you are the leader and they look at you first before they look at the nation.