How Party Members Betrayed Me – Ebea

Hon. Festus Ebea, the suspended deputy speaker, Edo State House of Assembly, in this interview with ISAAC OLAMIKAN reveals how he was betrayed by some of his party members in the just-concluded polls. 
You just lost your bid to be re-elected to the state House of Assembly. Can you tell us how it happened?

Festus Ebea

We’ve had an election that, for now, people considered free and fair, but as an active participant I will say that the election was fraught with many irregularities. I do believe that Nigerians do want change as they claimed, but whatever happened in the last elections is not something that people will know now until probably much later – after the inauguration you’ll begin to hear tales of what really happened at the elections generally. I am not making any exception but taking into cognisance what happened in Edo State here, what really played out. You’ll find that in my own constituency so many ugly things happened, to the extent that even the hands of security agents were not clean. In the constituency 1 of my local government – the Ewohinmi end of it – there were so many irregularities, to the extent that there was massive thumb-printing, shooting, snatching of ballot boxes, etc. But, you see, I have always said that this thing is not about me. We want democracy to thrive. We have no other country, but we keep begging God that He enthrone good leaders for us. If you force yourself on the people, except God does not exist, the truth will always come out. The situation whereby you induce voters with N1,000.00 just because you know they’re poor, they cannot make decisions for themselves – it is a pity. I always pray that the poverty burden on our people is ameliorated so that they can think properly.
Are you going to challenge the result at the election petitions tribunal?
No, I am not in the tribunal. I  am not in the tribunal because the level of betrayal, even by some members of my political party, cannot be downplayed and I do not want a situation whereby even the witnesses we have – they’ll start to intimidate them, which they have already started. I don’t want to put anybody in harm’s way because I want to represent my people. I do believe that God is the ultimate judge. But above all, my opponent who said that he won the election knows quite well that he didn’t win. All those boxes they snatched at Ikeken unit 7 and 8 of ward 2 in Esan South-East Local Government Area under the cover of security men – they know quite well that visibly those two boxes ought not to be part of it. The returning officer was culpable. INEC themselves, as early as 1pm, had gotten report that two ballot boxes had been snatched and they later loaded them with thumb-printed ballot papers and took the boxes to the police station. In the end, APC agents and leaders from Ewohinmi end escorted the so-called result from those two units to Ubiaja at the final collation point. Results were never collated in ward 2. They just came to Ubiaja, they had a piece of paper where they had entered results. For INEC to have accepted that result, especially their ad hoc staff – the so-called returning officer, who of course is from Auchi, a man that I had met earlier and pleaded with not to rig election for me but to be fair to all and follow all the rules as INEC has stated. But in the end, after the manoeuvrings, they said I should have started my fighting earlier from the ward level not to allow the result come in, that it was too late as they had to enter the result. I live in Ubiaja, this thing happened in Ewohinmi. Because I am the contestant, I should start fighting because the result was not included? I asked them, did you collate any result in Ewohinmi? Our agent ensured that they did not put it there. They went and hid the ward 2 returning officer in the police station at Ewohinmi. Members of my party, the agents who were beaten made statement to the police. Some of them were still in the hospital when results were been declared. When you see a thing like that I do believe to just calm down frayed nerves. There is no point. Let the man who claimed he won let us see what he is going to do. I don’t believe that the dividends of democracy given to people are the job of one man. Let us equally try him. I wish them all the best. But I pray that subsequent elections don’t go this way because if you allow them to continue like this we are not helping the cause of this country.
From your comment you sound like someone who wants to quit politics, because you seem to have good evidence that would favour you at the tribunal, but you’re saying you won’t take your case there.
Like I said, my opponent is from Ubiaja, like me. We are going to represent Ubiaja and other adjoining villages and towns. I am not saying that he is not capable. He is capable. So let us wait for him. I am not calling it quits with politics. Why? Politics, I believe, is a catalyst to bring development to the people. For you to make sure that your voice is heard and you’re equally able to contribute to the change that we are talking about. If you try through elective position and it is not working for you, you remain a party member, play opposition politics and do constructive criticism. For me, I have always told people that from the onset I don’t have problem with anybody. But it is the system that we’re operating. Today you are in party A later you switch over to party B and vice-versa. Is that why you should have problem with the people? But the system that allows you to shortchange people and move to the other party is what we should talk about. It is not about me at all. I believe that every right meaning Nigerian knows the right thing to do.
Barely had the election results been announced than PDP members started moving to the APC. Do you think this is healthy for democracy?
It is not healthy for democracy. It is not healthy for people who lost election to be looking for cover from the party that won. What if you want some witnesses to buttress your case but they have switched party too? Some of my key witnesses are already been approached by the APC with mouthwatering sums of money. So, it is the system that ‘am talking about. Not until we check the influence of money politics in Nigeria our democracy is going no where. With this cash and carry democracy we will not go anywhere. We just pray that the incoming president is able to engineer some electoral reforms, if not we cannot say we are enjoying democracy. If not the election might be free and fair but not credible.