NYL TRIBUNE INTERVIEW Why PDP wants to win back Osun

Abdullahi Maibasira, the national youth leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in this interview with CHRISTIAN OKEKE, speaks on how the transformation going on in the party is already bringing goodwill to it as well as the party's plans to win back Osun State in the next month.

YOU are a member of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP and only recently, your party secured victory at the Ekiti governorship election. How will you describe the election and what can you say gave PDP the victory?

First, we must thank the people of Ekiti for coming together across the 16 local governments and showing support by voting for our candidate. I must also cease this moment to thank the youths of the state, most especially, the various students' movements within the state. They chose to identify with the party in the electoral process. All credit must go to the people of Ekiti, who worked tirelessly to ensure that the poll was free and fair, devoid of any form of violence, and this is what the PDP has always stood for: one man, one vote; one woman, one vote; one youth, one vote.

The belief in Nigerian politics is that it is difficult to defeat an incumbent. How does the PDP assess the incumbent governor of the state, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Does your party believe that he performed creditably at all?

The issue of governance is people-oriented; it is the people that will pass the verdict and it is either they pass a yes verdict on your performance or they pass a no verdict on your performance and in this case, the people of Ekiti passed their verdict. They chose to change their path; they chose to change their direction. They chose to be led on a different political platform with different ideology altogether. 

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As leaders, there is a time to be elected and there is a time to work and that is exactly what the result of the election has shown us. Across the 16 local governments of the state, our candidate got majority votes. The people spoke and that is the beauty of democracy that not only do the majority carry the day, but the will of the people will always prevail.      

The PDP is people-oriented, people centred, with our perspective always driven by an ideal to put the people in the frame of development, advancing their goal and participating fully in democracy. I think we must also give it to Dr Fayemi, who, I think for the first-time, conceded an election magnanimously in line with the verdict of the people. I think his concession and ongoing steps towards a smooth transition showed that Nigeria's democracy is coming of age and advancing and I believe that most Nigerians, who are aspiring for political offices, will toe the line of Dr Fayemi. We must definitely praise him for his statesmanship; we must salute him for his courage; we must also identify with this position he has taken and we hope that parties will also toe this same line in future elections.

Recently, we saw that some notable members left your party. Ironically, the PDP has just won an election in a state some pundits believed before the poll that it was not possible. What has happened in the PDP?

The beauty of democracy is greatly enshrined in certain fundamentals and these include our rights as Nigerians: to freedom, liberty and association. You can choose at your free-will to associate with whoever you may wish to associate with and that is also one of the central elements of politics: that where perhaps you are best suited, you pitch your tent there. As a party, we have shown Nigerians that this is a party for all Nigerians; a party where you can rise to any level irrespective of what you are and where you are coming from; to aspire for any office. 

To play your part in building this country, this is the only party that can guarantee you that. We have shown it time and over again and the PDP is the most formidable political platform ever built in the country. Why? Because we have maintained Nigeria's democracy since 1999, the longest period in our democratic experience and it is the PDP that has done that. So, the party is a very big family; it is a very big party. Therefore, it accommodates everybody and you must also give it that the NWC of the party has opened the doors for everyone to participate and of course, the national leader of the party, the president has also provided leadership. Our agenda are working, the fundamentals of our macro economy are stronger, and that is why I think you are seeing the change in tide. In every human word, you will find there are times when you have challenges but it is not the challenges that build a political party. It is how that institution responds to those challenges and as a party, I think we have shown to Nigerians that we can brace up to our inherent challenges and we will continue to rise up to the occasion to ensure that the mandate given to us by Nigerians of protecting this democracy and advancing our common wealth.

The next governorship election is coming up in Osun State in August. What is the PDP looking at?

Every political party goes to an election with the hope of winning. That is why there is competition for votes and of course, we are moving towards Osun with hopes and prospects to win the state. This has been a PDP state before and we still want to bring it back to PDP. We believe that the state should also follow the line of the transformation agenda that is going on at the federal level. I want to believe that our politics and of course our victory in Ekiti will propel and give us the necessary confidence to be able to approach Osun election. Of course, we are in contact with our people on the ground. For the youth structure there, we have already begun our mobilisation and we are working towards a strong and victorious show in Osun.

With few months now to 2015, do you think that APC is a threat to PDP?

I don't think the APC, as presently constituted, with no real manisfesto, with no plans for youths inclusion in governance, with no definite alternative policy proposals to PDP's and with no concrete alternative measures for national unity, is a threat to PDP. 

Giving our party's structures, our chances, of course, are bright. We are the largest political party in the country. The transformation agenda is working, we have thousands of youths in federal government-led youths empowerment programmes and we have had transformation in the agricultural sector. We now have federal universities in all the states of this country. We have advanced infrastructural development and the roadmap for power sector reform that will provide greater electricity for the generality of Nigerians. We have continuously opened up the gate to Nigeria's economic growth and that is why we are still the most investor-friendly country and we still receive the highest foreign direct investment in Africa and to cap it up, we have made Nigeria the largest economy in Africa. We have made heavy and critical investments in the rail sector. 

I personally believe that ideologies should drive party affiliation. Of course,  all nations have challenges and we do have challenges as a country but we are pushing forward to ensure that these challenges become a thing of the past and that is why I believe the youths of this country will generally identify with the PDP. More so, as a party, we have given young people opportunity and it will continue. We are moving towards effective and sustainable strategies for youths inclusion in politics, in both appointive and elective positions.

But, do you think there is any challenge the PDP may need to sort out before 2015?

We have our internal dispute-resolution mechanism and that is the beauty of PDP as a party. Over time, we have developed internal processes that will ultimately resolve different and varying degrees of challenges that will come up politically. As a party, we have demonstrated, we have proved to Nigerians that we have the mechanism and strength to solve our problems and maintain the unity of the country and with that, we will approach this election.