Gov Sheriff moving to APC will bring massive infrastructural development to Delta State

A founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State, Barrister Charles Edo says with the State Governor’s movement to the All-Progressive Congress (APC), Delta is now in a better position to attract more infrastructural development from Abuja. In this interview with Orisemeke Benjamin in Abuja, Barr. Edo also spoke on other national issues. Excerpt!

Before now, there were rumours that the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori would decamp and we saw the rumours becoming a reality. What is the likely implication of this wholesale defection?

I don’t think the appropriate word is wholesale defection, because when you begin to see the arrogance of the likes of Atiku and el-Rufai, as if they have a monopoly of Nigeria’s political landscape, I will look as if Southerners are weakling. Southerners are actually not weakling, but they have been supportive in sustaining the federation called Nigeria and the defection is a pointer to the fact particularly in PDP. For PDP, over the years, other parties have had no financial capacity in pursuing their presidential election apart from Obasanjo that the military helped to power. Thereafter, the PDP as a party looked to the oil-rich states to fund and finance their presidential election. In 2019, Atiku Abubakar contested under PDP. He lost that election against Buhari. In 2023, common sense demanded that Atiku should not be fielded as a candidate from the North because we had this unwritten, gentlemanly agreement that where you do your eight years from the South, the North will do their eight years. But Atiku broke that protocol, including PDP itself. And don’t be unmindful of the fact that this same Atiku left PDP; they ganged up to destroy that same party to enthrone Buhari, alongside Amaechi and Saraki. So, it beats logic for even PDP to have given Atiku a ticket, when it was actually the turn of the South. The school of thought now is that they are going to give Tinubu the Jonathan treatment. There’s nothing like Jonathan treatment, Jonathan was not a political tactician that is why he allowed that merger, that coalition to happen. And even if there’s going to be any coalition, Tinubu must finish his eight years. So, defection, decampment by the Southern Governors is a kind of political reawakening, just to send a clear message to the Northern politicians that we are no longer going to play a second fiddle in the federation called Nigeria, we all have equal stake. If you will not allow our son to do eight years, we were stupid in 2015 to have actually cut short the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan but this time around, I think it’s a clear-cut signal. And there’s nothing anybody can do about it because of the arrogance with which the likes of el-Rufai, Atiku and others are crying they are being marginalized. The bastardization of this country actually started from Buhari. He appointed almost all the key positions in this country for eight years nobody even cared. So, if, peradventure, the current president from APC is taking a cue from it, appointing Yorubas, Lagosians and all that, why are we crying? But the clear sense of it is that Southerners cannot betray a Southerner any longer. And I’m even happy that Okowa has decamped also. It was at the government house when Okowa was governor that Southern governors held the meeting that power should rotate to the South. But because Atiku was broke, he needed somebody from the south-south and Okowa fell for it. In an interview on AriseTv, Okowa said he regretted being Atiku’s Vice Presidential candidate. Actually, Atiku is broke but he pretends to be rich. He needs money from the oil region. So, the mass defection is a positive development for the country. And I don’t see the country drifting into a one-party state. But I see the country revolting against itself, against all political permutations because the North sees politics as their business. But I think the jungle has matured for Southerners as well to say look, politics is everybody’s business.

Do you ascribe to the school of thought that Delta is now a one party state with this defection by the Governor and his camp?

Yes, Delta is fully APC. Delta is a one-party state, as of today. And I think the governor did the right thing to connect the state to the centre so that we can attract more developmental projects, so we can attract more infrastructures to the state by connecting the state to the centre. Technically, there’s no opposition in Delta State with the way things are right now. As a founding member of PDP from 1998, I can categorically beat my chest and say Delta State is conquered. Delta State is a one-party state. There’s no opposition in Delta State. And I believe that come 2027, Delta State can comfortably deliver 2 million votes for Tinubu.

With this, what might be the likely faith of the former governorship candidate of APC, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege?

I think Omo-Agege should not cry over spilt milk. With the collapse of PDP’s structure into APC, I think Governor Sheriff has actually strengthened APC beyond anybody’s imagination. And I think PDP at the national level never saw it coming. Omo-Agege should look for something else, go back to the Senate and slug it out as Senate President because he has every potential to be the next Senate President in 2027. It would be better for him.

But he already lost one term, if you want to go by what you just said…

No, he’s a two-term Senator already. So, if he wins 2027, he should be a third-term Senator. Akpabio is just a second-term Senator and he became Senate President. And the public opinion is against Akpabio returning even as a Senate President from his carriage, his candour, his demeanour. So, I don’t think the pendulum will swing to Akpabio’s end. So, if Omo-Agege goes to the Senate, Delta State will have that opportunity. I know Omo-Agege enjoys that goodwill among his colleagues to emerge as Senate President. So, if you allow Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to finish his eight-year term while he goes for Senate and attracts that glory as the first Delta indigene to be a Senate President come 2027.

The Governor while speaking said Delta will now fully connect to Abuja in order to enjoy more development. And there have been argument that Delta does not need to connect to Abuja before it can enjoy development when it’s about the richest state in Nigeria?

Yes, politics is all about interest. If you don’t have a President with a good heart and you are in opposition, it will be very difficult for you to thrive, even to attract projects that ordinarily you are entitled to. So, I agree with him that Delta State is now connected to the centre and will begin to have massive dividends of democracy in terms of infrastructural development, human empowerment, economic empowerment in the state. And I will also say that Sheriff, despite joining the party as a new person, should be given the free hand to lead the party as the APC leader. He should technically and equally be the leader of the party because before now, you have the Omo-Agege faction, the Ortega faction, you have the Keyamo faction, but with the Sheriff masterstroke, I think the leader of the party is Governor Sheriff.

Everywhere in Nigeria at the moment, it’s all about defection. Is this not bad for the country’s democracy at this stage?

It is not bad for the country’s democracy because the northern folks are beginning to overheat the policy unnecessarily undermining the eight years of a Southern President. So, if the southern governors in their own wisdom say no, irrespective of party affiliation, let’s collapse our interest, because the interest of the south is far paramount over and above the interest of the north as long as you want to truncate our eight-year tenure. So, it is not going to be a one-party state, other parties will thrive. The PDP is still there. If the PDP is actually a party of honour and dignity and in time past, they even claimed they will rule this country for the next 60 years. When you Delta State and River State, PDP has no funding. Over the years, over the decades, they relied on Delta and River State. And I can assure you, Fubara is coming to APC in the next couple of weeks, and that is how it is supposed to be. The people of Southern Nigeria must form an alliance and rally around their own because if you look at the economic policy of Tinubu it is putting the country on the right trajectory. And I think Sheriff should be magnanimous enough to accommodate, as a matter of fact, he should dissolve his Exco and accommodate the old APC members in that Exco. If I was in his shoes, I would dissolve that Exco and allow a free nomination of commissioners, special advisers, special assistants, and all that from the real house owners of APC. That is where you see cohesion, unity, love, and coordination.

But what you are saying now might lead to internal strife and anti-party activities?

No, it will not. Most of the political appointees in that government actually do not have any political relevance. If they do, let them remain in that PDP, whether they can make any impact. So, if I were to be Sheriff, I would dissolve the Exco, dissolve all the boards and give 70 percent appointment to APC founding members so as to give a sense of belonging, give them a sense of trust and honesty that I have not come into the party to use it as a platform of deception or in local parlance, use and dump.

That is the right thing for the Governor to do. And I expect that he should dissolve his cabinet, dissolve all the board, dissolve all the appointments before May 29th. If for any reason you are dropped and you are angry and you have any political relevance, go back to that same PDP and make an impact to get any appointment by 2027. And I can bet you, most of the appointees were recommended by briefcase politicians and Godfathers. So, Governor Sheriff must build synergy with the likes of Omo-Agege, Festus Keyamo, the three senators, the House of Representatives members, the founding members of APC and give everybody a sense of true belonging. Before you know it it is primary. If he doesn’t carry them along, he might not even get the ticket. So, the only way his ticket will be guaranteed is to make sure he dissolves and accommodates 70% of their interest and accommodates 30% of his own personal interest because of the ticket next year.