SIMON EBEGBULEM, BENIN CITY

Barr. Patrick Obahiagbon (Igodomigodo) is the Chief of  Staff to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State and a strong believer in the ability of the newly formed All Progressive Congress (APC) to kick out the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the Presidency in 2015. In this interview, the former House of Representatives member scores the federal administration, led by the PDP, low in terms of delivering dividends of democracy. He also speaks on the tax regime in Edo State and the April 20 local government elections in the state. Excerpts:

What is your take on the formation of the All Progressive Congress (APC)? How optimistic are you that it can bring the desired change in the country?

The formation of the APC is a salubrious political intervention in the polity. That the PDP behemoth has led the ship of state into avoidable economic cataracts and political ox-bow lakes is a fact too glaring and indubitable to be contested. Nigerians do certainly need an alternative credible political platform to checkmate the power megalomania of the PDP. The merger would work if its prime facilitators vigorously resist the temptation to be detained by their presidential calculations and allow the more sublime sentiments of enthroning the Nigeria of our dreams to propel the process.

I am sanguine (hopeful) that the APC can and would take over power from the PDP because the material conditions for such a flushing out process is propitiously rife. You will agree with me that the PDP is just now like an apple of Hesperides sitting atop a perilous precipice and Nigerians are ready to embrace the APC as a veritable battle axe for their freedom from the political jobbery and carpet-bagging of the PDP. It is only now left for the opposition to show discipline, vision, altruism, patriotism and an historic commitment to revolutionary change. The leading luminaries in this effort to cleanse the Nigerian Augean stables must resist the temptation of selling out and disappointing Nigerians at the end of the day.

From what we have seen about the politics of the PDP today, it seems President Goodluck Jonathan may put himself forward for re-election. As one of those who agitated for a South South Presidency, do you think he deserve a return?

I have consistently held the view that poverty is poverty whether it resides in the North, South, West or East and it is for that reason I thought, during the last presidential election and still do think, that the Presidency of Nigeria is too serious a subject to be reduced to parapoistic (conspiratorial) shenanigans. To answer the question if the Jonathan administration has met the goodwill with which it rode to power must lead to other epiphenomenal questions such as, what has improved today in the material conditions of the ragtag and bobtail since the president’s emergence and how has he deployed his powers in aid of the utilitarian matrix? It does appear to me that Nigeria is still a sleeping giant standing on spaghetti legs even today.

Hon. Obahiagbon

What is your take on the emergence of a PDP Governors Forum and the attempt to whittle down the powers of the Nigeria Governors Forum?

I have followed the activities of the Nigeria Governors Forum with rapt attention since its formation. Whilst some of its reactionary positions have come under corrosive objurgating and rightly so, it has, on the whole, played a stabilizing role and positioned itself as a positive agglutinating force at critical moments in our state of democratic infantilism. And it is for this reason, more than any other one, that it would be utterly sad if the FORUM allows itself to be mired, quarantined, decapitated and rendered pusillanimous (powerless) at the altars of (Aso) Villa politicking and presidential macabre dance. These are times they should be statesmen and not politicians. I wish them well but they should know that history is already recording their respective utterances and roles.

Do you think President Jonathan should do a second term in the light of the pact the governor of Niger State talked about that he signed on one- term tenure?

Let me remind you that when Mr. President was seeking the nomination of his party to contest the presidential election two years ago, I called a world press conference titled, “Random Musings”, and one of the issues that caught my attention, inter alia, was my call on him at that time to honor the zoning agreement of the PDP.I predicted an acrimonious backlash in the polity if he disrespected the zoning policy of his political party.

Where are we today? I am the first to say today that he has a constitutional right to contest for second term but if he entered into a pact to do one term which the Niger State governor claims to be documented, then it would be unpresidential not to honor this agreement. But I challenge and encourage the governor of Niger State to deposit this pact, if truly there is one, in the public domain to allow for more reasoned and critical contributions. This is more of the moment when presidential minders and gatekeepers have denied the existence of such a pact.

There has been this altercation between the Presidency and the National Assembly, the recent being the issue of budget which the president eventually signed into law. Do you think such misunderstandings is good for our democracy?

The yearly ritualistic altercation between the Presidency and the National Assembly would continue to stay until the Presidency comes to terms with the fact that its budget proposals are mere proposals until the National Assembly gives legal teeth to it. Its damn unhealthy for the Presidency and executive suzerains across the states to continue to see and treat parliamentarians as meddlesome interlopers and political hallelujah boys.

Back in Edo State, there were complaints during the primaries for the local government elections. The leadership of the ACN was accused of imposing candidates. Are you sure your party is not going the PDP way?

Let me start by asseverating (asserting) that the decision that threw up ACN candidates for the local government elections by consensus was unanimous by the state caucus of the party and it was an ingenious democratic contrivance that had all the trappings of a rigorous political colloquy that involved aspirants and the leadership structure of the party agreeing to disagree and disagreeing to agree.

I was present at all of the sessions and I can say authoritatively that Mr. Governor never imposed one candidate. If anything at all, Mr. Governor’s democratic credentials were exhibited throughout the process to the extent that he jettisoned his preferred candidates in some instances in obeisance to the clear and manifest will of the people, and came out of the exercise with eulogies and our party came out stronger and unified prepared  to re-enact our eighteen over eighteen political feat.

But the tax regime is causing some discomfort in the state.  Does it augur well for the Comrade Governor who is a man of the people?

The taxation policy of the state is an exercise of social engineering advertently designed to redress the social inequities, maladjustment and disequilibrium in our society. Any society that does not take a little from its Plutocrats to enable it garner enough resources to meet the basic needs of its teeming masses is an unjust and oppressive society. From this point of view, therefore, our taxation policy wears a human face which carries a smile of social and economic justice, and the people are not complaining because they can see dividends of visionary governance in all facets of their lives.

The focus of the Comrade Governor in his second term is to consolidate on his previous achievements. Let me assure Edo people that Mr. Governor is daily conscious of the pro- Edo mandate he was garlanded with and the Leviathan concomitant responsibilities that come with same.