In this interview with OZIOMA UBABUKOH, a former governorship candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change in Enugu State, Osita Okechukwu, speaks about the All Progressives Congress, its plans to oust the Peoples Democratic Party, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential ambition, among other issues
Is the sole aim of the All Progressives Congress just to grab power?
The sole aim of the APC is the provision of welfare and security, which Nigerians have been denied in the last 13 years by the PDP, a political party with the philosophy, ‘Food is Ready’ and motto: ‘Share the Money.’
Many Nigerians are of the opinion that there is no ideological difference between any of the political parties, therefore, the APC is a gang-up with the aim to grab power.
APC is not a gang-up, but a merger borne out of national consensus and collective rationality. On the ideological spectrum, APC is of the centre of the left, while the PDP is conservative. By the time the sub-committee on manifesto completes its job, Nigerians will embrace the APC because we will adhere strictly to Chapter II, Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, which states that, “The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”
Do you want the people to get the impression that the APC is a missionary party set out to espouse the good things of life?
Far from it, we are not a missionary party which is only evangelical and has little intendment to capture power. We are aware that without winning power at the centre, states and local government areas, there is no way we can provide either welfare or security to our fellow citizens. If you follow the little excerpts of our manifesto released by the Progressive Governors’ Forum recently, you will capture our commitment to free education, job creation, alleviation of poverty, public funding of critical infrastructure, etc.
PDP has maintained that the private sector will drive the economy, which means that the government has no business in running business and that state-owned institutions are bedeviled by corruption.
When we are through with our manifesto it will be 360 degrees at variance with the policy of the PDP; a stance, which impoverished our people, bred gross unemployment, decayed infrastructure and led to the exodus of millions of our intellectuals. We do not regard critical infrastructure as business, neither do we regard public investment as a waste of fund. It is pertinent to recall that those rail tunnels in the UK, US, France, Germany and China were constructed with public funds.
The argument is that currently throughout the world the private sector drives the economy.
The truth of the matter is that we are not going to drive away the private sector; we are going to run what is called a mixed economy, where the public sector leads and the private follows. Don’t forget that in actual fact, our economy is a primitive economy, which needs rapid investment. Nigeria under the PDP waited endlessly for the so-called captains of industry, who have no industry or even a ‘pure water’ factory, to construct the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the second Niger Bridge and refineries to no avail.
There have been complaints about the provision of Section 162 of the constitution, which makes it mandatory for all monies accruing to the Federation Account to be shared among all the three tiers of government. So, where does the APC raise money from to embark on such huge projects?
As I said earlier, we are yet to finish the harmonisation of the manifestoes of the merging parties; we are yet to finalise and produce a final copy of the manifesto of APC. We are basically social democrats and we believe in social justice, pro-people policies and equity. Accordingly, my layman understanding of the intendment of the framers of the 1999 Constitution that any amount standing to the credit of the Federation Account shall be distributed among the federal, states and local government areas on such terms and manners as may be prescribed by the National Assembly does not mean that the money shall be shared in raw cash as is the case now.
How will the APC manage the money accruing to the Federation Account?
An APC-led Federal Government come 2015 will definitely avoid corruption and looting that have been going on since the past 13 years. We are going to run a transparent and accountable government, which will stimulate trust and confidence and make it easier for the National Assembly to appropriate funds for investment in critical infrastructure and social services. One believes that the best way to distribute our revenue is to invest in critical infrastructure, human capital development, health services and agriculture. APC government cannot squander $22bn in the Excess Crude Account and another $45bn.
Outside the issue of manifesto, some people have predicted that the APC is dead on arrival because the party is peopled by strange bed fellows.
The truth of the matter is that all members of political parties throughout history are not of same parents and therefore, do not have same DNA. However, from the North to the South, we share the belief in urgent need for welfare, security, free education, access to medical care and robust infrastructure.
One may agree with your uncommon desire for welfare, what happens to the ambitions of top leaders of the APC like Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and others?
Buhari, Tinubu and others, contrary to peoples’ perception, are democrats and above all, patriots. From the outset, they agreed on the urgent need to construct a national platform aimed at halting the dangerous drift of Nigeria into a failed state. They are also aware that for the merger to work, public good must supersede self-interest. Buhari has made it clear that if the party chooses him, he will run and if not, he will support whosoever is chosen. What else do you want from him?
He (Buhari) is a strong character and one who is adamant about running for the Presidency. Don’t you think his ambition or position on some of these vital issues may rupture the cohesion in the new party?
I’m not a soothsayer, I’m a pragmatic politician, therefore, one can only stand by what Buhari said. Secondly and most importantly, in my over 10 years in politics with him, he does not take prisoners; he means whatever he says. He is a man of his words; you may like to know that he snubbed some of our members who are opposed to the merger. He is totally committed to the merger, which will salvage the common man in Nigeria.
Who are the contenders for the Presidency?
To be honest, the issue of candidature is not in the cards now. Our preoccupation now is the construction of a broad-based progressive national platform capable of defeating the PDP at the 2015 general elections. We want to provide Nigerians with a viable and credible platform. Indeed, the APC has redefined the political landscape of Nigeria; consequently, the 2015 general elections battle is between PDP and APC. This is because the history of liberal democracies all over the world is that of two dominant political parties.
Punch Nigeria
No comments:
Post a Comment