Chief Emeka Charles Kalu is a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Coalition (PDPCO). Dr Kalu, President of Eck Foundation, in this interview with EJIKEME OMENAZU speaks on the emerging interests as the party goes to the National Convention, as well as the current crisis involving the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, among other issues. Excerpt:
Your party, the PDP, is planning its convention. What is your advice to the leadership as they get ready for the event?
As the party’s National Executive Committee meetings have been scheduled to hold on April 18, 2024, the supremacy battle between the former presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and Nyesom Wike on who controls the soul of the party intensifies. Critical issues have to be put into consideration by the NEC to avoid sentimentally leaving the party’s leadership in sabotaged hands. Since there are already perceived leadership cracks, NEC is advised to holistically look into building the party structure in a way capable of making PDP stand to contend with APC in 2027 general elections. The party’s national leadership must avoid the eruption of personality conflict of interest among members to destabilise its central organ. We are talking about building a formidable party structure set to slug it out with APC in the next general elections, not one whose structure is left in the hands of few individuals who surreptitiously remain in the party while clandestinely working for another party. That is an act of sabotage and disloyalty that PDP must try to prevent. No individual member is bigger than the party if we must achieve our goal as stakeholders of the largest opposition party in Africa.
How do you see the current situation where the Wike camp and other groups are trying to upstage each other for Ayu’s position?
The PDP national leadership must do everything in its discretion to eschew any form of division, else it loses next general elections. Anti-party activities must not be taken lightly, no matter whose ox is gored, if the party will stand the test of time. No group should be allowed to hijack the party’s structure, rather the party should fairly look into its constitution and choose the next national chairman of the party from the zone whose turn it is to produce same and must be a person of integrity, charisma, eager enough to strongly weld together the broken segments of the party to stand a powerful tool to wrestle power from APC come 2027. Once the NEC/NWC allows undue influence, emotional selectivity and psychological apartheid to guide her choice of the next National Chairman, the outcome is sure failure in the 2027 presidential election.
Going by the PDP’s constitution, which zone should rightly produce the National Chairman?
Actually, it should be the turn of the North Central zone to reproduce the next chairman since the zone’s tenure has not been completed despite Dr. Ayu’s sack. But the party’s constitution will properly and fairly guide the exercise. Even a former governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswan, has declared interest in occupying the exalted position. PDP has a lot of job demanding her attention in vehemently galvanising her national leadership above being hijacked and muddled by some cronies whose core intent is to use the party as a pedestal to gain, work and achieve personal ambition for another party. These bag eggs should be totally resisted. Composing a party’s new leadership requires absolute carefulness, scrutiny, sensitivity and feasibility confirmation so as to not drag the party into disarray. It is either you do the right thing and succeed, or otherwise and then experience failure. It is up to the PDP National Leadership to do the needful, if she wants the party to attain the expected height come 2027 and Senator Gabriel Suswan is fit to man the party.
How do you see the unending crises in the Labour Party? How is the situation in LP rubbing off on PDP in parts of the country, especially in the South East?
Everywhere is boiling because the remaining days to access 2027 are quickly dropping off in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks and months. It is all about political ambition and man’s quest for power. NLC is agitating that Julius Abure denounces his national chairmanship of the party, while Joe Ajero, the National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress is being threatened to be buried alive by Labour Party in the heat of the crisis, to the extent that according to a national daily as at April 7, 2024, Peter Obi was told by the NLC leadership that he was free to leave Labour Party. In terms of LP’s crisis, it is not a new thing to worry about as usually experienced in party politics and the spate with which political actors decamp to LP touches heart and if PDP fails to put its house in order, LP will shake the former’s structures in the Southeast.
Another challenge PDP has in the Southeast was the activities of the past governors of the zone who didn’t impact their states while in office. Dr. Alex Otti of LP is rated the best performing governor in the Southeast, if not in the entire federation in terms of attracting development infrastructures, harmonisation of local government administration, abolishing bad and selfish pension payment provisions as packaged by the past governors of the state. These lines of performances are attributable to Dr. Otti’s personal integrity as a good leader and I stand by him for doing well in the state. But, being a member of a party does not exempt one from corrupt practices as we have other LP Senators in the National Assembly who diverted 500 Million palliatives given them to support their constituents. So, you see that it has nothing to do with being a political office holder from a given party, but the integrity of such a leader that matters. I am a member of PDP, but what Otti is doing in Abia State gladdens my heart.
What is your take on the hike of tariff on electricity, even as supply and service to Nigerians have been deteriorating?
I totally condemn such unguided hike on electricity tariff simply because Discos, as the operators and suppliers of power, have been insincere in their dealings with customers. Those under Band A, as claimed by Discos, 70 percent of their feeders can’t even get 22 hours daily power supply, let alone 24/7 as claimed by Discos. The lacuna created by fraudulent handling of Nigeria’s Electricity system, from PHCN to Discos, is yet to be filled in terms of rectification simply because of poor supervision and monitoring by the government. The commercialisation of NEPA has not done Nigerians any good. Rather, they have been serially cheated, frustrated and deceived by the power holding platforms; using electronic data smartness since the government cannot fact-check their data. Nigeria is battling with gross economic woes in the face of fuel subsidy revolution while the government is fast on the relay, increasing electricity consumption tariff without consistently responding with power supplies to the value of the charges given. I call on the government to reverse these misguided excesses of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission. Although, some concerned organisations like SEREP have dragged FG to court to challenge the sensibility, or otherwise, of this unexpected upsurge in electricity tariff.
How do you see the reported suspension of the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, by his Ward over corruption allegations and the immediate reversal of the same by the state hierarchy of the party? What does it tell about the internal workings of the party?
You know, APC is one political party I know that houses a bunch of conflicts of interest against their fellow members and these members are always in the habit of championing personal selfishness above the interest of the party as a body. The issue of Ganduje being accused of corrupt practices while in office as the immediate-past governor of Kano State is already in court and it is within the ambit of the judiciary under established evidence to determine if such allegation is true or false. The suspension of Ganduje by the ward chapter of his party was to ensure he did not hide under the protection of his office to compromise fair trials. Reversing of his sack by the state chapter of the party was political, just to ensure his trials are given shallow attention in consideration of the integrity of his office as a National Chairman of the ruling party. It tells how disunited the APC has been in Kano State and other parts of the country. Akin to what is being encountered in Kano State APC leadership is that of Ondo where piles of conflicts are weakening its base in its bid to have a smooth sail in the gubernatorial primaries ahead of Ondo State governorship election. Ganduje will be in a position to prove that the allegations of corruption slammed on him by the Kano State government are false when the court sits to treat his matters. Nigerians have been long awaiting a time like this when the activities of our past governors would be laid bare on the table of the judiciary to assess their performance, accountability or otherwise while in office.
