SIMON EBEGBULEM, BENIN CITY

Ehigie Uzamere is the immediate past senator representing Edo South. As a matter of fact, he is the only senator in the history of the district, made of the Binis, to  have made it to the Senate twice (2007-2015).

Uzamere: Expectation is still high

In this interview,  Uzamere, who is one of those being tipped to pick the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2016 governorship election in Edo State, shares his experience in the red chamber as well as his falling out with his state governor, Adams Oshiomhole, who was in strumental to making him pick his second term ticket under the then Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN.

He reels out his achievements, which include installing the first Bini man as Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin. He, however, laments the failure of his party to win the presidential election, saying the PDP could win the governorship election in Edo  if the party leaders ensured that a credible candidate emerges. He warns Senator President Bukola Saraki to sort out his differences with those opposed to his leadership within the APC so as to allow President Muhammadu Buhari fulfil his promises to Nigerians.

You are the only Bini man to have spent two terms in the Senate. How were you able to achieve that?

First and foremost I want to thank the Almighty God and the people of Edo South who gave me their mandate to represent them for two terms at the Senate.

I came into politics from business back ground. I veered into politics after my incarceration over the Alameseigha issue by the EFCC. I came out and found that a lot of people were urging me to join politics.

When I came into politics, some people thought I was joking and that was how the name, Munemune Joker, came about. I joined the sixth Senate and it was a challenge to me because I was not a  politician before that time. Though I had been following the politics of the nation right from time. When I got to the Senate, I started supporting the Akume group, issues came up including the NDDC issue and I excelled. In that NDDC issue, the rule  of the Senate says two senators must support the clearing of any nominee for the NDDC Commissioner in any state.

What I did was that I appealed to my other two colleagues from Edo to soft pedal and allow me have my way. But the media interpreted it that I defeated my two colleagues in that contest to clear the late Don Omorodion as NDDC Commissioner in the state then. I informed them that the elders and people of Edo South  which I represented directed me to go and clear Omorodion at a meeting held at the residence of Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who, today, is the National Chairman of the APC. At that time, Oyegun was in the ANPP, Dr Ogbemudia and Col Ogbebor were in the PDP, while the candidate I was being asked to clear was in the ACN.

So it was not really a party affair; I only  carried out the choice of the leaders of Edo South. And that pitched me against my party leaders in PDP. Then the next controversy I encountered within the system was the issue of Doctrine of Necessity. You will recall that the late President Yar’Adua was ill for a long time and there was this issue of how the country will move forward. Most of us in the senate then felt it is only the Senate that could resolve the stalemate. So we started from nine“senators, later to 82 and we held the meetings in my house.

We did every thing possible to convince the leadership that our meeting had nothing to do with impeachment, what we were doing was to see how we could allow the Vice President to act so as to avoid vacuum. And our fear then was that the military may take advantage of that. We met and agreed, we convinced the leadership to take the bull by the horn and they accepted. That happened in the sixth Senate. In the seventh Senate, we had few challenges when three major parties came  together to form the APC. At the time APC was born, I moved back to the PDP. But things were very smooth there was no rancour among us despite the cross carpeting in the Senate.

We are aware you were instrumental to the making of a Bini man the VC of UNIBEN after over 40 years. How did you make that happen?

For some time now  we have been reading a lot of things being said about who contributed to the making of a Bini man the UNIBEN VC and that the Senate  did not contribute. I decided to remain silent because I was still serving and what happened was top secret which I was not able to say. But you know our people, whatever you do, some will abuse you, some will blackmail you. Many people who initially did not know the role I played in the emergence of a Bini VC in UNIBEN later called me to apologize. A Bini man became  the VC of UNIBEN  as a result of the pride of the Bini man.

We held meetings, I was invited to a meeting chaired by Prof. Emovon and some prominent Benin men, where they pleaded with me to intervene in the struggle.  A committee was sent to meet with the then Pro Chancellor of the university, the Sultan of Sokoto.  Then I wrote a petition to the late President Yar’Adua, who granted me audience and told me that he decided to grant me audience because of my petition and that one aspect of my petition that bothered him was the area I said we have six senatorial districts in the two states that made up the then Bendel State, that only Edo South has not produced a Vice Chancellor.

So he called one of his SAs and instructed that they should go and ensure that a Bini man became the VC.  I was touched. But I was surprised that a night before the interview for the VC, I was told to come up with a petition kicking against this interview, this message came from the Presidency at about midnight. So I had to assemble my aides to put up a strong letter to denounce the interview that was scheduled to take place the next day. I received the letter at about 7am, by 12pm we heard on television and radio that the senator representing Edo South has written a letter and because of the letter, they cancelled the interview.

Now, the question I ask my detractors is, how will a senator write a letter to the Governing Council to stop an interview. The truth is that every one of us, from the Oba and our leaders, contributed to the emergence of a Bini man as the UNIBEN VC but the aspect that turned the table was the order of the late President, that was what did it. And the Chairman of the Governing Council then called me that this was the President’s directive.

So they needed to have a petition to enable them push for the cancellation of the interview that day. If that interview had gone on, a Bini man would not have emerged. So I played a major role in the emergence of a Bini man as the VC of UNIBEN, but my detractors don’t want to hear that because they don’t see anything good about me.

The second leg of this matter is that every professor is qualified to be a Vice Chancellor because, once you get to that position, it becomes a political position. The present VC, Prof. Orunmwense, is very qualified to be there  and my joy is that Prof. Oshodin, Prof. Orumnwense and I attended, Western Boys High School. People tried to cause confusion between me and Prof.Oshodin but thank God we settled because he is my elder brother and a mentor when I entered the United States in the mid 70s.

Another interesting appointment I attracted to my people is the Executive Director of NAIFOR. For the past 72 years, no Bini man has occupied that seat despite the fact that the then Oba of Benin, Oba Akenzua, gave that land to the expatriate founders  in 1933, the year he was installed as I used my political will to ensure that President Jonathan gladly accepted a Benin man.

Then we played a very strong part in ensuring that Dr Olotu emerges as the Medical Director of the Psychiatric Hospital, Uselu. The other one that I was called upon was the Iyanomo Rubber Research. They did the interview, Dr Ogbemudia spoke to me about it. So I got to Abuja, spoke to the Minister and some senators and, by the grace of God, I provided the political power that got the Benin man there as MD.

 How do you review the general elections which sow party, the PDP, losing the presidency?

Politics is just a game. Our party got it right from the beginning. It was very clear that the people of Edo were actually fed up with the APC and that showed in the results of the National Assembly and the Presidential elections which PDP won in the state.

The PDP campaigned vigorously in the elections in Edo. We won the National Assembly and presidential but lost the House of Assembly election. And that was as a result of the  presidential election which the APC won. And that is why I oppose this amendment in the Senate, I was one of the senators who insisted that all elections should be conducted on the same day. If elections are staggered, there will always be band wagon effect; if we had had the elections in one day, we would have had a different result today. However, the elections have come and gone. When elections are over you close ranks and move on.

And in the case of the presidential election, I think Jonathan meant well for Nigerians but the truth of the matter is that his campaign was not handled properly. They was this conspiracy too; besides that there was this religious issue which came up. Former President Jonathan may have altered the dreams of more than 35 million Nigerians whose destiny was tied round his own, but he is a good man due to the sacrifice he made. I commend his courage for accepting the situation, may be some of us may have fled the country due to crisis. But he saved us the stress. It was God that made it possible for Buhari to win and I want our people in the PDP to accept the situation and re-organize ourselves. APC started from Lagos State; so if that one party today grew to control the Federal Government; it means we still have hope that PDP will bounce back.

Relationship with Oshiomhole

I have a very good relationship with the Comrade Governor; my disagreement with him had to do with issues not personal. I told people that it was the Comrade Governor who backed me to get a second term in the Senate. The Comrade Governor and God made it possible for me to be a ranking senator. The issue of NDDC was a major issue, which I made the governor realize that ‘I have cleared two persons for you in the past, so help me give appointments in the state to my followers’. But none was given to me by either the Federal Government or the state government. Before I left ACN, I consulted widely; appointments were made even into Neighbourhood Watch, my people were never considered. How do you expect me to stay in a party where I was not wanted? Meetings will be called and I will not be invited even as a senator. So I exited progressively, my relationship with the Comrade Governor is still intact because I have nothing against him. The governor is a good man but sometimes pressure and lies people tell may confuse him.

National Assembly crisis

From what I see in this 8th Senate, I see the emergence of the leadership as politics that was played to the highest level. Yes, the party is supreme, but, again, I plead with the parties, not only APC, PDP inclusive, that they should allow members of the National Assembly to play their politics according to the rules of the game in the hallowed chambers. You saw what happened to  former House of Reps Speaker Tambuwal; today he is being celebrated all over the country. What happened in this 8th Senate in choosing their leadership had to do with lack of information between the party leadership and their members.

I think the party should be concerned about who directed them to the International Conference Center that morning. Was it the Chairman of the party or the President? That is where the problem came from. That Mr President had  sent his proclamation letter to the clerk of the Assembly meant that proclamation was sacrosanct. You could not stop the inauguration that day.

Therefore I will say that whoever directed the APC senators to the International Conference Center is the cause of their problem. In the 7th Senate, the opposition was not able to form a quorum due to the number, but in this 8th Senate, it is a different ball game. The two parties, especially the ruling party, must be very careful in taking decisions because you have substantial number of PDP senators and they are speaking with one voice, which is commendable.

There is no rebel among them; if there was a rebel among them the APC will have upper hand but now it is not the situation; so APC must be careful for the smooth running of the senate. We saw how the House of Reps resolved their own crisis few days ago. I congratulated Dogara and Gbajamiamila for that smooth resolution. I still call on the Senate President Bukola Saraki and Senator Lawan to see how they can come together and sort out their problem. The ministerial list will soon be out; if this matter is not resolved,

I am telling you, in the next one year or two, we will not have any Minister in the country. It is not easy to move from one group to another group in the Senate. I pray that the Saraki  and Lawan groups become one group. That is my prayer. David Mark was able to bring all the groups together during his time. Then I was in the Akume group but Mark was able to bring the two groups to be one group and that is what I urge them today. Let the interest of Nigerians be upper most in their hearts so that they will be able to create a conducive atmosphere for Mr President to deliver his promises to Nigerians. Because if this problem persist, we will be in darkness and for us to see light, these two groups must become one group.

How prepared is your party for the 2016 guber election in Edo?

Our party, the PDP, is doing everything to first reconcile our differences. We are reconciling different factions; once that is done, we will move to those who decided to stay at home. So, once we sort out ourselves, we will be able to take over the state come 2016. It is possible, God did it in other states. Serving governors were either defeated by the opposition or their candidates defeated in the last elections.

If the Almighty God can do it for these people, He will also do it for us. All we need to do now in PDP is to come up with a credible, acceptable candidate for Edo people. With faith and determination, the Okada rider will overthrow a trailer in a hill. We made mistakes in the past in PDP, so we must not make them again. We should come together and agree on a certain template where we can be able to come together, that template may warrant us to reduce the number of aspirants and make them realize that we are confronting a government which party controls the federal, state and local governments. So we need an acceptable candidate that does not have any baggage like Buhari. So the people of Edo PDP will be looking at a candidate that is credible so that that candidate will be acceptable to both APC and PDP, that is the only way we can win.

There is this strong rumour that you will join the race for Oshiomhole’s successor?

In politics, there is always rumour, sometimes it becomes reality, sometimes it becomes so negative. I think it is too early to say you want to run for an election that will come up some time in August next year. Nobody knows who will be alive till then. What we need now is to build the party and build confidence among the electorate.

It is being rumoured that you are being backed for the governorship by the former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alameseigha. How true is that?

Sometimes our people tell lies either because they are ignorant or envious. My relationship with Alameseigha is very clear. It is more of a senior brother and junior brother. He was a former governor of Bayelsa, he is retired and people should allow him to enjoy his retirement. He cannot come and vote in Edo. Every one of us, irrespective of party affiliations, have friends but it does not mean they are supporting you. Chief Alameseighe and I have not discussed any governorship ambition; so people should stop linking him to the governorship race in Edo.