Chief Glory Emeh was a Commissioner in Rivers State during the reign of former Governor Peter Odili. He recently crossed over from the All Progressive Congress, APC where he was one of the leaders of the party to the Peoples Democratic Party. In this interview he speaks on the reason why he moved over to his new party. Read:

By Jimitota Onoyume, Asst News Editor

WHY did you leave the APC for the PDP?

In the first place, it was a little envy that made me leave the PDP. You remember we were all in the PDP with our leader, Dr. Peter Odili.  So there was this issue of envy from some of the members then. I remained apolitical when I pulled out of the PDP. I was at home for a long time. Because of those in PDP I joined the APC.

Glory Emeh

In APC I found out that the people were totally unorganised. I would not have known that from outside. I knew when I got in. There is no leadership, no organization. There is no structure, no thinking, nobody thinks, everything comes from behind. Once PDP strikes, APC comes from behind.

Proactive approach

You recall that APC conducted the local government election, you know they are not there now. There is no proactive approach to anything. Being a seasoned administrator, having been in governance, Commissioner, Chief of Staff, I  saw  that so many things were wrong with the party.

I also had pressure from a lot of those who are real politicians name them, Prince Uche Secondus, Sir Celestine Omehia, Abiye  Sekibo, Chief Sergeant Awuse, just name them. Each time we met at the airport they asked what was my reason for staying  with strange bed fellows.

The persons that made you leave PDP are they still there?

I had a new condition, Governor Nyesom Wike is a pragmatic politician, he looks beyond the fence. He is proactive, he plans.

He decided that as a politician he is bringing in political technocrats, analysts, strategists , he is identifying them and bringing them into the system and he said nobody will influence how he relates with them. So that is how we relate in the PDP now.

What are you bringing to the table with all elections concluded already?

A lot. I think you need to talk to some people to better appreciate who I am in the politics of Rivers State. Yes, government has been formed. It is one thing to form government, it is another thing to stabilise government. Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC  has released time table for another election, he needs people like me to keep what he has.

Wike is a governor and a leader who knows what he wants. For him to agree for me to come back to PDP, I think he understands what he wants.

The problem of governors and leaders are selfish people around them. We had it in Odili’s time and he quickly identified it and thrashed it. Governor Wike  is looking beyond those around him to identify those outside he will also need.

What is your word for friends still in APC

APC is marking time, I must confess to you. The leadership forum of APC is about 84 persons and more than half of them are with us.

They know and I told them I will say so when I grant an interview.  They are with us. There is no hide and seek about it. More than half of those still attending the management meeting of the APC are with us. They will pull out, nobody will want to wait till the ship sinks, I jumped out, so others are on their way out.

You are coming into PDP when the party is factionalised

There is no factional problem in the party in the state. The party is intact in the state. At the national level, the problem will settle. You don’t expect a small fight in a big party that was in power for sixteen years.

The PDP has so many great people and as usual, the party offices are limited. So it is normal to see the fight. I see Markafi boxing out others to take his rightful position.  He was properly elected. I am a lawyer, I cannot say more than this.

Rate the APC led federal government

Its zero. You cannot  run a system where naira was N190 to a dollar when you took over  and now it is over N380  to  a dollar. I am not saying this because I have left the party.  It is not a question of sentiment or because I have left the party. Even the APC members are not happy with it.

You measure economy with the value of the currency vis a vis other currencies. Of what value is your currency if it cannot buy a towel, people cannot pay fees abroad, so they are withdrawing their children from schools.

They should replace APC with PDP because our economy is down. The price of noodles has gone up , this was the cheapest meal you could get in Nigeria.  If you put Nigeria for sale now nobody will buy because of the way APC government has mismanaged the economy.