Former lawmaker and governorship candidate on the platform of Congress of Progressive Change (CPC), Farouk Adamu Aliyu, spoke with JOHN AKUBO in Dutse on the edge the merger will offer the parties coming together. Excerpts
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WHAT is your outlook on the merger of some political parties and the formation of the All Progressive Congress (APC)?
This merger will bring progress democratically to this country. The truth of the matter is that we are all from different political parties but the reality is that all the other parties need to come together. We have come together to bring true democracy because the situation where one party dominates the political space is not good for democracy. We have come together to confront the monster, which is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Some members of the PDP like the governor of Adamawa State, Sule Lamido have described the merger as mere propaganda that will not stand the test of time…
Lamido should not speak on this. In the first place, it is Lamido who said that nobody should confront President Goodluck Jonathan because he is an incumbent President yet he goes about campaigning to be the President. Has he forgotten that Jonathan is an incumbent President? The PDP is a conglomeration of many strange bedfellows. When the PDP was formed people came from different parties. Lamido was part of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adamu Ciroma who was in the then National party of Nigeria (NPN) all joined to form PDP. What is wrong in some of the other parties coming together to confront PDP? For me there is nothing like propaganda; time will tell. We are trying to bring about real checks and balances so that there will be true democracy, so that no party become an octopus. We want to avoid a situation where people will sit in their rooms and write election results.
The other parties tried it in 2011 but failed. Why would now be different?
Well the difference between those other attempts and this very one is that those other ones were arrangements of convenience for election purposes but this is an arrangement for the survival of democracy; it is an arrangement to make sure that people should have an alternative, another solid party in this country. We are already working even though the next election is still two years away. I don’t believe in the excuse that the earlier attempts failed but this time around there is enough time and the hypocrites should return to PDP. But those who are serious are in the majority and we will get there.
Do you share the fears that the quest for the presidential ticket may yet divide the other parties?
Well it is part of politics. Is the PDP not fighting now between Atiku Abubakar, Lamido, Jonathan and the governors like Babangida Aliyu and others who want to get the ticket of PDP? There is nothing wrong when people in a new party try to vie for positions. In the long run it will unite us.
In the 2011 election there was an attempt for the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the CPC to merge but it did not work…
There was not enough time then. It was just about two months to the election and the CPC was barely six months trying to align with ACN. Time is very important and we thank God that we have time now.
Has Governor Lamido declared his political ambition?
We have all seen his campaign vehicles, posters and car stickers. The State House of Assembly has also endorsed him, so what are we saying about an official campaign? It is an open secret.
What of the dissenting voice from the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA)?
In the first place the Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha was at the meeting with another senator from Anambra State. The party I am sure will clear things at the appropriate time.
Will you trust the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) this time around?
We are aiming for a free and fair election in the new party. The INEC has promised to use the biometric system for the next election. The INEC chairman Prof Attahiru Jega was given over N100 billion to procure the equipment for the biometric system but during the election those item were not used. We are going to insist on one-man, one-vote in this election.
Despite the merger, what do you make of the crises in all the parties including PDP, is it a good omen for 2015?
Of course it is. Politics is all about interests; personal or group so of course, the struggle in any parties is part of politicking. On the long run the people will decide whether the interest that each party puts forward is acceptable to the people; all we want is for people to have the opportunity to vote for whomever they want. We have nothing against the PDP except that we want free and fair election. If they win fairly we will concede defeat and if they are defeated they should concede so that there will be democracy and good governance. Our point is that the people will have the opportunity to decide who governs them.
Were you surprised when the PDP congratulated the new party after the merger was announced?
I think it is a good omen for the PDP to have accepted the need for a party that can check what they are doing. We also commend them for doing that and it is for the collective interest of our country because it belongs to all of us. When it comes to Nigeria it is all of us and just not PDP or CPC. We have nothing personal against the PDP; it is just the differences of opinion. We don’t agree with how they perceive the country should be governed and how we perceive it. They know that without other credible parties there will be anarchy. It could get to a stage where the masses will view everything as conspiracy of the elite and there could be chaos.
We are all one and we should subsume our personal interest when it clashes with that of the nation. Some people are surprised seeing President Jonathan and Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari at the flag-off of the centenary celebrations. Why should they be? There is nothing personal between Buhari and Goodluck; it is just differences in opinion. It is good Buhari was at the ceremony because it was about Nigeria and not just about President Goodluck or PDP.
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Source: Guardian
