Retired Captain Ibrahim Aboki, a stalwart of People’s Democratic Party, [PDP] in Nasarawa state in this hold no bares interview with our Nasarawa state correspondent, Rabiu Doma bared his mind on the lingering internal rift that has divided the party. He called for the retrospection of the embattled party – while identifying some of the fiasco surrounding the PDP to the emergence of a faction of the PDP [The concerned Group]. He described Maku or Doma as low rangers, saying the party will only reclaim the Governorship mandate by endorsing a popular candidate come 2015. The grass root mobilizer and a onetime elected chairman of Keffi Local Government said the insistence of the party to foist Maku or Doma will not go down well with the party. Aboki also emphasized that the removal of state/Local Government joint account which he ascribed as the major impediment of the third tier of Government.
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Excerpt:
SIR, AS A CONTESTANT OF THE POSITION OF MEMBER OF THE STATE EXECUTIVE OF THE PDP, THE UNABATED WRANGLINGS THAT CAUSED THE GOVERNORSHIP SEAT OF THE STATE IN 2011 GOVERNORSHIP SEAT, I WILL LIKE TO KNOW THE SITUATION ON GROUND?
The dust is yet to settled ,As I’m talking to you now our party held a meeting with some selected few at an undisclosed location in the state and they resolved that either the ousted Governor,Aliyu Akwe Doma or Labaran Maku, The current minister of information are feet for the number one seat in the state, They agreed that the two are consensus candidates come 2015Governorship election in the state, The PDP needed a popular and consensus candidate that have the gut to whisk away power from the ruling Congress for progressive Change under Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.
HONORABLE ARE YOU SAYING LABARAN MAKU OR ALIYU AKWE DOMA ARE NOT CREDIBLE OR LACKING THE POLITICAL PEDIGREE TO VIE FOR GOVERNORSHIP ?
If we allow what happened in 2011 to repeat itself, then the future of PDP will be at stake, because in 2011 Governorship election, the former Governor was foist on the will of the electorate, The state executive of the party under the chairmanship of Yunana Iliya said no vacancy at Government House, The position of the party at the state level compel the present Governor to dumped the PDP to his new abode, The CPC,The contest that supposed to be open was hijacked by self-seeking individual and what happen at the end of the day ? Defeat.
YOUR PARTY IS IN SERIOUS LEGAL BATTLE FOLLOWING MISSING N20M FROM THE COFFERS OF THE PARTY WHILE THE SECOND ISSUE IS ON THE INSISTENCE OF THE CONCERNED GROUP WHICH YOU BELONG FOR THE DISSOLUTION OF THE PRESENT CROP OF STATE EXECUTIVE OF THE PARTY,HOW FAR HAVE YOU PEOPLE GONE ?
On the missing money from the coffers of the party, The crisis surrounding the money has been taken over by an event, The remaining fiasco is issue of dissolution of the state executive of the party, The state exco are not recognized by the National Working Committee of our party, Even if the NWC acknowledged them we members of the concerned Group stand by our words, The dissolution of the present exco is the only panacea for peace to reign, No election hold instead is position swapping or you can called it selection because nomination forms were hijacked by the state exco,Due process and decorum were not followed in dealing with party affairs.
SIR, DON’T YOU SEE THE INTERNAL BRAWL IN YOUR PARTY AS A COG WHEEL TO THE SUCCESS OF PDP AHEAD OF UNSCHEDULED COUNCIL POLL?
If we succeeded in settling the differences in us by burying our hatchet the sky will be our starting point, Though i believe in PDP and I know before Local Government election all the differences are over, PDP experienced crisis that are more than this, and at the end of the day or few days the election those exigencies are settled amicably, I’m full of hope that the PDP will replicate the only way for peace ,One thing is that the lacuna make the PDP to wax stronger as a party.
AS A ONE TIME ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF KEFFI L.G HOW DO YOU SUCCEEDED IN RUNNING THE AFFAIRS OF YOUR OFFICE WITH THE STATE/LOCAL GOVERNMENT JOINT ACCOUNT WHICH WAS THE MAJOR IMPEDIMENT AFFECTING THE OPERATIONS OF L.G ?
During our days as council chairman ,Governor Abdullahi Adamu did not starve us of fund, I embarked on projects that has direct impact on the lives of the people ,People of Keffi can testify that i laid a solid fortress for the running of Local Government, As you rightly said state/Local Government Joint account is one of the greatest challenges Local Government system in the country and the third tier of Government can survive if the National Assembly members succeeded in make amendment of the state/Local Government Joint account, by so doing the removal of joint account will foster prudent and rapid transformation of the tier of Government ,”if Local Government grant are given to them directly development will be feasible in almost all ramifications.
HONORABLE, OTHER PREPONDERANCE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT ARE ABSENCE OF FIXED TENURE OF OFFICE, THIS ALLOW THE STATE GOVERNORS TO MANIPULATE L.G ELECTIONS, WHAT WILL BE YOUR TAKE ON THIS?
The scrapping of state electoral body (SIEC) will go a long in addressing the way and manner sitting Governors manipulate council poll, The ruling party make sure that by hook or crook maneuver elections in favor of the party at the centre of event, The Local Government system needs to be free from subjugation ,deprivation and starved of fund by the state Governors, The autonomy of the third tier of Government i know will curb the situation.
