Chief Dan Orbih is the Edo State chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In this interview with selected journalists he faulted the financial accountability of the incumbent administration in Edo State among other issues. Excerpts:

You must be happy that the state government has rescinded its decision to sack teachers and is now looking forward to the training and retraining of teachers just as you prescribed it.

It would, however, interest you to know that those teachers have not been recalled and neither have their entitlements been paid. The statement was a television political statement as he (governor) only announced their recall and promised to pay their entitlements. Up till today, nothing has happened. Over the years, we were begging the state government to employ more teachers but he surprisingly woke up one day and decided to sack some of the teachers.

Orbih

It is not a political statement that there are no teachers in the Edo public schools; it is a statement of fact. Go to the schools and you will understand what I am saying. Even the teachers are begging that more teachers should be employed because they have been stretched beyond the limit.

The story is the same in every sector. It is quite depressing that while pregnant women in neighboring Delta State get free medicare, those in Edo State pay and don’t get services for their money. Do you know that training of nurses and midwives in Edo State-owned hospitals stopped in January, 2013, after the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) withdrew their operating license due to what they described as poor training regime and inclement training conditions? While the NMCN recommends a ratio of 10 nursing students to one instructor, the practice in Edo State dropped to as low as 78 nursing students to one instructor. Edo people will not allow be deceived again.

This is happening when a lot of qualified graduates are roaming the streets looking for jobs. This is what we are facing in Edo State but when we talk the governor would start talking about the past governments in the state. He would start talking about who was governor 15 years ago. The governor cannot see that democracy is evolving in Nigeria and that a lot has changed in the political system.

For those of us in the PDP, we will not give Oshiomhole the privilege of picking a successor who will protect his corrupt practices. Our people must know that we need a governor who will relate with the Presidency to fast-track development. We don’t want a governor who will fight everyone at all times. Edo people have seen that Oshiomhole is fake and that the governor and his party cannot be trusted. Edo people have seen how Oshiomhole shouted one-man-one-vote slogan and what he did when he conducted local government election. With that election, Oshiomhole took us back the ladder of democratic development. Just look at the legacy President Goodluck Jonathan is laying through the conduct of free and fair elections. Look at the governorship elections that were conducted in Ekiti and Osun States. You could see the sincerity and commitment of Mr. President to the development of democratic institutions. I don’t even need to say more on that election that was organized by Oshiomhole since people saw what took place here during that particular election.

For me, what worries me most about the state of affairs in Edo State is the current annexation of the judiciary arm of government to the executive by Governor Oshiomhole. Until recently when some brave lawmakers in the Edo State House of Assembly took on Governor Oshiomhole, he had virtually turned the House to an arm of the executive. He has now extended his conquest to the judiciary arm of government. He has drafted the judiciary into politics. We are saying this because the judiciary in Edo State is sick and that the NJC should quickly intervene before it collapses completely.

What do you think was responsible for the division of the Edo State House of Assembly into two factions along party lines?

The assembly crisis was created by Governor Oshiomhole because he is afraid of his own shadow. It is sad that the governor just decided to set the state on fire because of his lust for power. At a point in the crisis, a window opened to resolve it when the Oba of Benin, Oba Erediauwa, intervened but Oshiomhole prevailed on the APC lawmakers not to listen to the elders. Today, the APC lawmakers sit in one of the governor’s chambers in the Government House. In order to prevent the PDP lawmakers from using the House of Assembly Complex at the Ring Road, the governor and his lawmakers removed the roofing covering the assembly and said that they were carrying out renovation exercise. That, to me, was height of lawlessness and brigandage.

Oshiomhole said they wanted to impeach him. The Nigerian Constitution provides conditions and processes to be followed in matters relating to impeachment. It is only the elected representatives of the people that can impeach the governor of a state. If they feel the governor of Edo State has committed impeachable offences, they would look at it. However, for us as party, we are not interested in his impeachment. We are just looking forward to the elections of 2015 and 2016 where we shall teach the APC a political lesson. It is obvious that the APC is afraid of a crushing defeat come 2015 and 2016, hence they are singing this worn-out tune.

How prepared is your party for the 2015 general election?

As you know very well, campaigns have not started. Right we are focusing on conducting free and fair primaries to pick candidates who will fly our flag in the general election of next year. In the last few months the party has been busy receiving thousands of defectors from the APC, who have become tired of the lies and deceits in the APC. Many of these people were original PDP members who were swayed by the deceits of Governor Oshiomhole. Now, they are back in the party and together we are building the party. For those who are just coming into the party and those they met in the party, we have assured them that we will create a level playing field for all. We are not just saying this, we mean it. This is the attraction in the PDP and what marks us from the other party.

What you are witnessing in Edo State is unprecedented because it is the first time people are leaving the ruling party for the opposition party. Hitherto, the reverse has always been the case. People have seen that the PDP is the only Democratic Party in the country where aspirants are not imposed on the party.

Edo people have tasted the APC and have come to the realization that they need to be in the mainstream of Nigeria’s political system. For us, we are sure of victory next year. The misrule of Governor Oshiomhole has given us the assurance that we will defeat the APC.