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…insists Wike is just a symptom in PDP’s crisis

…Atiku turned our party into ticket in and ticket out

…once no Presidential tickets he runs away

… it’s annoying

Hon Teejay Yusuf one of the strongest pillars still standing in the major opposition party in Nigeria, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP spoke extensively in this interview on the emergence of ADC and the intrigues within his party declaring finally that nothing will make him quit the PDP, excerpts.

Read Teejay Yusuf:

How does all of this look to you? It does feel like the emptying of your party into another party and that is coming after several governors defecting, peoples in the National Assembly defecting. How does all of that feel for someone like you who has insisted that he’s going to stand in the Peoples Democratic Party?

It’s not strange. It’s not new to me. I envisaged, I knew this since last year and this is not the first time and the persons involved, majority of them, we know that their trading stock that they will move.
The moment we started having congresses in 27 states last year and they couldn’t grab the structure in any of those states, by implication presidential ticket will not be available for them. So I knew they will move.

You’re referring to a person in particular, aren’t you?

Yes, definitely.

Who are you referring to?
The leader, I call the coalition Atiku coalition ambition coalition and any other person that is not in Atiku, I mean who does not have that mindset might just be a pawn without the person knowing, it’s about his ambition. I can give you…

Are you referring to Peter Obi as a pawn?

Anybody who is not and I expect Peter Obi to be more circumspect and understand. In the last election Peter Obi didn’t want to run for presidency, he wanted to be VP to Atiku.

When forms were being sold in PDP Atiku told him to face it that he will not guarantee his VP’s, the man who was his VP in 2019, that’s how it went. So if you could not guarantee who stood by you, ran through the court case, when Atiku was in Dubai and he could not say okay for your loyalty, we can still run on the same platform and you still throw in your support, your loyalty, good for him.

Ours is that PDP cannot become a one-man affair , I mean affairs of ticket-in, ticket-out.

This is a man that Obasanjo and him were the president and vice president of Nigeria under PDP, before the end of first tenure of Obasanjo, he was already attempting to run against Obasanjo and that’s when the crisis started.
To me that is to tell you that how disloyal and unpredictable he is because I assume, I might be wrong I’m not God he would have been president if he had a seamless relationship with Obasanjo 2007, he might be president.

I want to go back to that thing you said because a lot of us thought that what happened was that Peter Obi wanted the presidential ticket itself for the Peoples Democratic Party and since that presidential ticket was given to Atiku Abubakar, that was the reason why he moved to Labour Party.

He moved while we were just selling form for president. If you remember when Atiku declared….

You’re saying the reason why he moved is because he wasn’t even guaranteed of a vice president.

Guaranteed of a vice president, quote me; if you recall when Atiku declared his ambition, made his declaration to run for presidency, Peter Obi was still there with him. The forms were just being sold.
If Atiku had even waited a bit for forms to close, Obi wouldn’t have gone to Labour Party. But because he was so sure because of the promises of the deals he did in 2019 with the Villa, the alleged deal, he was so sure that he will not need anybody, anybody he picks will be just okay.

So you think Peter Obi is not being very wise right now in his decision to being part of this coalition?

I don’t know what is in his head but I know that that coalition will end up producing an Atiku and if he does not produce an Atiku, Atiku will not be committed to it.
It’s about I, myself Nigeria Limited, if not Atiku. I’m just giving you historical perspective. When he fell out with Obasanjo, Tinubu and himself were in PDM with Yaradua, so you remember what Tinubu did, he went back to ACN, ACN gave him platform in 2007.

After the General Election, he left them, came back to PDP, ran primaries against Jonathan 2011, Jonathan won, before 2014 he left went to APC believing that the relationship with the PDM group, Tinubu and Co could still help but those ones chose to support Buhari, he lost the primary. After the election he came back to PDP.
The PDP don’t forget between 2015 and 2019 was a viral, very vibrant opposition platform, we had a very strong voice. But when he came in 2019 and became the party flag bearer by implication they bleed out the party.
In 2019, the House of Reps, there was I mean a kind of the platform or the voice of the PDP on national discourse became silent because it couldn’t give leadership to the emergence of the minority caucus in the house.

We’ll talk a little bit about the People’s Democratic Party under the leadership of “Atiku Abubakar. By the way is he still a member of the of the PDP?
I was with Seun a few weeks ago here and he asked this question. He’s moved for long forget..

Officially has he left the PDP?
See I’m not bothered about the official movement; the moment the congresses last year didn’t favour his structures, the moment he could not hijack those state congresses I knew he had left because he will not be involved if he’s not running; so he wants to run and the congresses were clear indication that he cannot get ticket.

If he does officially…
It’s a good thing, it’s expected.

Is it something that because you are still in the Peoples Democratic Party still actively involved in the activities
Active, no, he’s not.

ANo, I mean you are actively involved in the politicking of the People’s Democratic Party.
By the grace of God.

Well, there are people who feel if he goes as good riddance and then there are people that feel like well with him gone we are basically following him.

It will be the third time he’s leaving the PDP if he left. So how can you call that failure? And how does he keep returning back if there’s nothing because when people are leaving they say the party is finished and we are done this and they end up coming back. So if the party is finished how come you find a house to come and stay.

Mr. Damamgum explained it to us. He said that the Peoples Democratic Party, your Acting National Chairman. He said it’s the most welcoming place. It’s the place, he said all these people that are leaving will come back ultimately.
It is the only party where no man owns the party.

Do you want them back?
Of a truth. I think that they need to be changing narrative and faces of leadership of the party. So we cannot be a party of the BoT members and the elders of the parties; Atiku is their contemporary. So a lot of them will always still be because if the new ox take over the party they will not be that relevant again.
So they need to understand that change is constant. The same way you gave instruction and it was law those days can’t be again. I have been a three- term House of Reps member. When I came you were there, after my third term you were still there. I’m 56years old, I came when I was 40+ and I still continue, no.
When you kept saying leaders of tomorrow, when will the tomorrow come? So they should understand that you take backstage by now. If people keep talking about the crisis in PDP, Wike this, I say if Atiku ambition was turned on the table after 2023 election PDP would have rebranded itself.

So let’s talk about the actual issues. But before we do that there’s a post I saw from Shehu Sani I mean you mentioned leaders of tomorrow and he talked about the fact that when David Mark was Governor of Niger state that he was a boy in secondary school and that they used to get dressed in their school uniforms to welcome him as governor and then look at him still now you know still being the interim national chairman of the ADC.
You see when we look at old people, let’s use that word, when we look at people who’ve been in politics for a very long time, it’s a mismatch when it comes to the thoughts people have about them. For some people’s confidence is greater when I see old people in a place you know if I see older people who have been in the party like with the All Progressives Congress like a John Oyegun would have been someone that oh this is someone who was the first national chairman; so we can trust that this party caters to the people in there. For the People’s Democratic Party, we’re looking at someone like David Mark, 27 years in the Peoples Democratic Party, which means that this is a party who’s able to handle, you know, people as they evolve and as they change, which is good for a young politician. When you have all these great people, Dele Momodu left your party. He said, in fact in the interview that I watched him he said categorically that we are leaving the PDP for Wike and his cronies. Are you among Wike’s cronies?

He came into the party when, Dele Momodu came in about four years ago , he ran presidential primary he didn’t get one vote as a candidate, he didn’t get one vote. So Dele Momodu yes is in the media space but in politics he should learn to talk less.

You are saying he wasn’t very helpful to the party.
Yeah, maybe he used leverage on his link as a media man but not as a politician.

What of David Mark?
And for David Mark, I cannot question his contribution to the party and that’s why I’m shocked, I don’t know how they were able to make him take such a leap, that jump to me at that age is a dangerous jump but he is a respected elder statesman, I can’t question his decision but I chose to remain.

But Dele Momodu said they are leaving the place for Wike and his cronies. Are you among Wike’s cronies?

They left the place for Wike and his cronies 2015 to 2019. Where were they when the structures of the party were being decimated and the only people that were standing was House of Reps members, where were they?

Where was Atiku until 2019 primaries and after the 2019 primary where was he until 2023 primaries?

I, led some people, went to see him in Dubai to engage on certain party things in 2019. He did not call me back, he did not reach me back until he was preparing for 2023 primaries, he needed me again.
So Wike, I kept telling people Wike has a reason why he did what he did. There are some of us who want to remain in the party and still work for the party, I don’t want to work for APC.
But you keep saying anybody that disagrees with you now is about Wike. But before the election you told us Wike was irrelevant. What is this? So how come two years after it’s still about Wike?
We did everything to see how we could make you see reason to look at this bloc and see how we can bring it together and work together. But you were so convinced.
The man after primaries people say give him vice president, you said no. You said you will give it to those who are presidential, by implication he wasn’t presidential.
They said okay give him party chairman, sacrifice that, you said no and that who is he, what do you mean? And two years the same man chased him out of the party by implication because when you keep saying Wike, so you agree to the fact that that same Wike chased you out of the party.

So we must understand something that no human being is capable of delivering himself in any election; it’s a collective goodwill of people and there’s nothing like over-winning an election, that I have so much support that this is enough, I don’t need anybody. You need everybody.

So that’s why I look at what they are doing right now. I say unfortunately, so sad they might be strengthening the APC without knowing because most of their attention, Dele Momodu granted interview, it was PDP he was attacking. So people will reply him.
So it means that they will take on more PDP, PDP will take them back rather than focusing on APC.
Unfortunately, let me say this before I quit. I’ve not seen any one of them so far that is genuinely saying that we are moving to this coalition. We are coming to confront the APC because we want to fight hunger and what have you, it’s about ambition.

Let’s talk about the Wike factor. You said something that he said in his media chat as well. He said this is not about the hunger of the Nigerian people, it is the hunger for power of the people that are here. These people are not hungry for food. They’re hungry for power.
Now here’s the thing. when we look at the People’s Democratic Party and you know that I’m holding brief for Dele Momodu or anything but many people have had that view that the reason why the Peoples Democratic Party, there’s a plethora of reasons why the Peoples Democratic Party is going through a lot of issues; one of those issues is this man, this FCT minister, Nyesom Wike and for many of them, okay you have someone who is still in the Peoples Democratic Party but works for the APC and last election openly he said I will not support the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, that’s within his rights.
But what that has done is that it creates a divide and while he’s still in the People’s Democratic Party, how can the party, you’re still there, how can you still trust that someone who works for the opposition will build your party?

How did we get there? I shared this on different platform. PDP normally zone to North or South. The party positions came first and the chairman was zoned to the North. And the moment you have chairman in one side, presidency goes to the other side, it was natural believe that the presidency will come to the South.
However, the committee was set up to do the zoning chaired by Governor Ortom then, the then Governor of Benue State. But the Atiku structure, were formidable a lot from the North, I was involved and they insisted that it should not be zoned.
So when I hear people sayI know, I even listened to him say if they had zoned to South East he wouldn’t have contested. I feel like crying that leaders will misinform the populace to manipulate them this way. We don’t zone to geopolitical zone, we zone North and South.
Two, the zoning thing was done with before forms came. So he was given an impression that if they had zoned to South East seeing Peter Obi’s vote in the election so as to appeal to those group that if they have been zoned to South East I wouldn’t have ran for the election.
He disrupted NEC because of zoning because he said it should not be zoned. So that is where you find this crisis. So don’t forget that Wike is a symptom. The real cause of the crisis we refuse to zone.
And they will come up with an argument that Buhari was not in PDP, that the last person that was president under PDP was Jonathan from the South that it should come to the North.
They brought the same argument in 2019 that was why all those who ran presidential primary in Port Harcourt under PDP were from the North. So did rule APC country or Nigeria?
So Wike now belong to that group who said oh because you did not zone, you have fluffed the rules, the constitution of the party that there’s no basis for me to be loyal to you.
Then the people went into negotiation. I played a lot of roles trying to see how we could breach this but you could see arrogance, this conviction that it’s done, we have, just like they’re doing now, the election is done, PDP is dead, the same way, the same approach, no lessons learnt.

So where do things stand with you and the national chairman do you because that’s another contention in the People’s Democratic Party, the office of this national chairman right now Mr. Damagun’s office.
There’s a committee set up for zoning, they will zone.

Are you okay with him as acting national chairman?

The constitution of our party said when the substantive chairman is not there, the next person in hierarchy from that zone, Ayu was the chairman and Ayu was taken and the next person was Damamgum so that is the national chairman.

What about this office of national secretary.
It was, there are plethora of I mean judgments and what have you, it was ego trip by some people and by those who are doing coalition believing that they will sustain that fight, those who want to run election in PDP will get discouraged out of fear they will join them in coalition.
They are already working with coalition so there was no basis for that crisis of okay let’s even assume that there’s basis for it, his tenure expires November so why fighting for four months, there is zoning committee already, I don’t have the report yet but the information at my disposal is that they’ll still maintain the same position that in the North and in the South but not in the state that they are now.
By implication if secretary is going to South it will not be in Imo so you have zoned him out; so why are you fighting to the point it got to where it got to. There were those who felt their ego were bruised and what I don’t know and there are those who were working for the coalition to make sure.
So let me come back to the Wike thing. I repeat I working for PDP, Wike has his reason, is why he took his position, I can’t question him, he has the right to it because you can’t put nothing on nothing.
The moment the fundamentals that makes a party a party is breached you cannot now be treating the reaction because we all react to things in different way.
There are those who go into their shell when they are being hit, there are those who cry, there are those who confront the situation and say hey “all die na die, we die here”. So why did you allow one man’s ambition to get us into that?

You’ve answered my question in some ways, but ultimately how can you trust that this man, Minister Nyesom Wike, who openly in the last election told you he’s not going to support the person that the party is presenting and now worked for the opposition. How can you trust that someone in that position I know that it has happened in the past.
How can you be talking of trust? He said he’s not working for you. How do you now doubt him?

But he’s one of the people who are considered the reason why you’ve lost 24 states. Let me explain that, many people believe Peter Obi had 12 states in the last election as did Atiku; you’ve lost those two people. You don’t think that it’s a loss that you’ve lost.
Was Peter Obi in PDP?

He was in the PDP. The plan was that he was going to come back. They were trying to move him back into the PDP.
No, that is the narrative I only want to clear. There are those who are with them. In fact before 2023 election, there are those who wanted to work against APC, who said they wanted PDP to rebrand, change its name or move to another party.
So what you’re saying now is not about Peter Obi coming to PDP. The Obidients and what have you didn’t want to come to PDP. They were now looking of how to form another party.

Let’s leave Peter obi out. Atiku is 12 states.
What does that lead to? in 2019 what did that produce for us? In 2023 what did that produce for us?

He gave him more governors than you have right now.
He gave us more governors. We had how many governors in 2014 when he left us and took five with him. How can you now be ascribing to the man who was the foundation of the challenge?
Look at what you’re doing. You are treating the symptoms forgetting that we started from somewhere. You now got into the middle; you saw a man’s reaction is now the main issue. So this man has now become the democratic face of Nigeria. He wants to rescue Nigeria from this and what have you.
My dear, I am not speaking for Wike. I will do PDP. He say he’s not doing PDP.
But I will not join you on your journey to satisfy your ambition all the time. If he was able to take the structure of the party, will he leave? Let’s be sincere with ourselves. If the congresses had favoured Atiku Abubakar, will he leave? No.
So it’s a simple thing that you lost out and you’re moving because it means that you’ are not sure, you are not guaranteed of the ticket of the party. And some of us with Wike or no Wike, we don’t want you. I don’t want Atiku to have my ticket.

Does PDP have a formidable candidate right now that can stand Tinubu in 2027?

Before the general election in 2023 was Peter Obi a formidable candidate, was he? So politics is not two plus two…

You are not answering my question, does the PDP have a formidable candidate?
We have.

Who?
Thank you very much that’s why I replied you the way I replied you that before 2023 election was Peter Obi a formidable candidate? No.

Should the Nigerian people trust the PDP to be a viable opposition and be ready to present a candidate that they can trust in 2023.

I tell you sitting here that the best alternative for Nigeria is PDP.

How is it the best alternative for Nigerians?
Go and check Nigeria pre and post PDP. Just go, check the data. Major opposition you had on the floor then were members who will say no we do not agree to this.

So this is a party that can deliver.
And we will still deliver because I have a conviction that this APC cannot take us to El-Dorado.

And this ADC?
ADC, I mean I don’t want to worry myself about ADC of a truth, I don’t want to worry myself, I don’t want to talk about certain people there. Like I said the interim chairman David Mark, respect, what have you, but he’s in a journey he might not understand.

And you’re not leaving the PDP?
By the grace of God, I am staying back.