Ikonne: ‘APC leadership must beware of defectors’

 

Paul Ikonne

 Prince Paul Ikonne is a former governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Abia State and a chieftain of APC in the state. In this chat with Tony Akowe in Abuja he advice APC leadership to put defectors to the new ruling party ‘where they belong.’

There are reports in the media of the planned defection of Senator Nkechi Nwogu from the PDP to the APC in Abia State. What is your reaction to this?

I see that to be disgusting and an act of desperation for somebody like that to think of dumping her party at this point in time because to the best of my knowledge, she has not joined APC. I hear her talk about change and I don’t understand what she understands by change. The change Nigerians are talking about is not changing from PDP to APC, but changing the pattern of doing things, changing the present situation in Nigeria, changing the way our economy is run, changing the way our people do things, changing from corruption to doing things the right way. So, if what she called change is changing from PDP to APC, that is totally wrong in our understanding of change and that is not the change APC is talking about. One would have expected that she should wait and see what the government of APC will bring on board which will form her opinion of dumping her party and crossing over to APC. Moreover, our national leadership has made it clear that those that are intending to join the party should wait and remain in their party, build their party and provide credible opposition so that by so doing, Nigeria will move forward. So, I advice Senator Nkechi Nwogu to hold her peace, remain in her party and provide credible opposition and when the time comes and the national leadership deems it fit that the doors should be opened for people to begin to jump into the party, she will be properly informed and she will be welcomed. To the best of my knowledge, she is not welcome yet because for now, it will amount to taking old wine and putting it in a new bottle.

Beyond what you saw on television, have you heard from the leadership of the party in the state that she wants to join the APC?

I was told that the event took place in the office of a member of the BOT. I heard that they were at a meeting when she gate crashed into the meeting to make her intention known that she is joining the party. I heard the state chairman told her that the time is not yet ripe and the governorship candidate also told her that for now, the doors are not open for her to join the party, but that she should hold her peace. I am towing the same line.

But the constitution allows her or any other person the right to join any party of her choice. Don’t you think Nigerians would think that those of you who don’t want her to join the party now feel threatened?

 We are not stopping her from joining. We are saying she should show integrity and show us reason for wanting to join the APC. What has she seen in the APC that interests her to want to join? Is it the same desperation and fear of being out of power for people who believe they must be in power? What is she bringing on board? What is it that she contributed to PDP or wanted to contribute to PDP and was not able to contribute? What has she seen that is different from PDP? We are not stopping her from joining, but we are asking what your reason is? She has been a member of the senate under PDP for eight years. Why are you now dumping PDP few days to the end of your tenure?

 So, what would you say to the leadership of the party regarding these people who are joining the party after it recorded victory?

You cannot take old wine and put in new bottle. These are people that are coming to distract the party, so I advice the leadership of the party to be conscious.

Are you saying the party does not have the mechanism to checkmate all those joining the party?

To be honest with you, the leadership of APC has the capacity to manage any crisis. If you noticed, there were a lot of things that were said would not happen. They said the merger would not work; APC will not be able to produce a presidential candidate. You noticed that all these things were properly handled and Nigerians were happy for it. For those that are coming in, I know that the party has the capacity to handle them and place them where they belong.

 The National Leader of the party said recently that the party will not adopt zoning of offices, but would rely on competence. How do you think your zone that did not give much votes to the APC would benefit from this arrangement?

  What the South-East did is as good as voting much. You would recall that in the 2011 elections, from my state, PDP got over one million votes. So, based on that, you will not say that the South-East did not vote for the President. If they were muzzling us and we insisted that the right thing must be done and the card reader must be used and you cannot rig this time around and the result showed that it was difficult. For example, in Abia, what they wrote was over three hundred thousand votes as against over one million votes in 2011. So, you would agree with me that South-East will not be isolated considering the role we played. You can also remember that when Buhari visited Aba, there was a standing ovation. He was not molested by throwing of pure water and he was not afraid of walking in the market. That showed acceptability. So, I believe that whatever is due to the South-East, they will get it.

  You took GMB to Ariaria Market. Why did you choose to take him to Ariaria Market?

Ariara Market in Aba is one of the biggest markets in West Africa. It is a market that whatever you want, you will get and yet, it has been forgotten. It is supposed to be an international market, but there is nothing to show that it is an international market. So, based on that, we needed him to see ahead of time that a lot of work needs to be done, that this city has been abandoned. The symbolic thing is that the road leading to that international market was built by the new President when he was PTF chairman.