By Chioma Gabriel, Deputy Editor
Navy Captain Tunji Shelle, rtd., is the state Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Lagos State. In this encounter, he talks about the return of Chief Bode George from prison and the coming elections and says the enemies have failed in their mission.
Excerpts:

When I was coming here, I expected to see changes, renovations by the PDP in anticipation of the return of Chief Bode George, but I cannot see anything.

We don’t have to do it the way you feel, but inside us, we are preparing for his return because we miss his charisma and  his contribution to the party. But by the time he comes back, you’d see more action because we miss his guidance, his connections. He is a man that will tell you where to go and what to get so that the party can remain afloat. Fortunately, we were able to stand still despite what happened. But he is coming back. Shame to his enemies.

In what ways has his absence affected the primaries of the PDP in Lagos?

It affected us in so many ways. His going to prison was a conspiracy in the first place because Bode George didn’t steal anybody’s money. I followed the case from day one to the end, to the appeal. These people have been compromised. Let them challenge me. It’s somebody who put them there and they know what they were doing. That’s why we are having crisis at the top echelon of the judiciary. Somebody was strategically placed and he penetrated the judiciary, penetrated the EFCC, and strange things started happening. It’s for this same reason that PDP started losing states in the South-West. But those who think they have a god-father are jokers. God is our own father. Eventually, certain things will be exposed and people will regret their action. Look at the man Fashola, his party is destroying him. Didn’t you read about the face of Lagos, all the expose in the last seven months? Fashola was overwhelmed. He almost jumped out of his seat and they were ready to replace him, they were ready to impeach him. But bec
ause PDP won the Ikorodu and Ibeju Lekki election, it jolted them back to reality, making them decide that instead of losing all, they should give Fashola another chance. They have already rendered him impotent .Now let me tell you, as many as use that toll  gate today at Lekki today, they are already recording how much it cost on a daily basis.

But nobody is paying  the Lekki toll fee.

We are not paying as individuals. The government is paying to the man who constructed the road. They are paying behind us and that is illegal, that is irresponsible. That money could have been used for doing something else. But all this  conspiracy theory would work itself out at the appropriate time.

So, what should  Lagosians expect with the return of Bode George?

He is a man of colours and colours will return to PDP Lagos and the entire South-West. Preparations are in top gear but we are not loud about it. You know, they planned to keep him in jail till after the elections but unfortunately for them, the elections were shifted from January to April. He only lost participating in the primaries but the detractors have lost out in the real game. He will be out next Saturday, February 26 and will participate in the elections which is what they didn’t want. But they have failed. Bode George will make a lot of difference in the elections. He has a world of experience which money cannot buy and that is what we stand to benefit from him. He is a man who knows how to get things done and his return will revitalise the party. So, on Saturday, let Lagosians come to Kirikiri. They will see motorcades, convoys from the prison yard to the church, the Cathedral Church at the Marina. That is where they will offer prayers for his return, so he comes out a clean person who will now use
his experience to transform Lagos and other states in the South-West, and beyond because he has contacts all over. From the church, it will be to his office at Ikoyi where a mammoth crowd would be waiting. That is the programme. We are not going to be wasteful but there would be pomp and pageantry. We don’t want it to be loud because there should be soberness for somebody coming out of prison. He is a man of the people and the people will be waiting to welcome him.

The Lagos boy is coming out and he is coming out a different person and will make a lot of difference in Lagos and the South-West. The Lagos boy is a man of the people, he has charisma, he is focused, he is an achiever-per excellence and what else can you say?  These are the reasons why they put him in prison in the first place so that he won’t partake in the elections. But it’s unfortunate. Shame on them. The Lagos Boy is coming out to partake in helping PDP win Lagos State.

It’s been Lagos State and ACN. What extra measures  is your party PDP taking to win Lagos State?

Lagos is a very complex place. It’s a metropolitan city. A lot of infrastructure has been on ground before the state was created. The water, that is the Lagoon that stretched to the Bar Beach brought a lot of activities.

If a party has been in power before now, probably because they are leaning towards the progressives, they play Awolowo kind of politics and they used it to gain power, I want to tell you that things have changed now. Things have become more complex. Other people are interested in grabbing power from whoever has been managing it.

We have decided to keep our own strategy to our chest. The same strategy we used in winning Ibeju-Lekki by-election, that we used in winning Ikorodu by-election, we shall never disclose it to the opposition, but we are very focused and determined and very ready to defend our votes this time around. We will not allow anybody to falsify results or rig; or allow anybody to use funds meant for the development f the state without challenging it, as part of our strategy but the main strategy remains in our chest.

The ACN and the PDP are always at war in Lagos. Is it not possible for the two parties to co-exist peacefully?

You know the state is being governed by the ACN. You can see the kind of rascality being displayed. Go to the stadium now. They said people should not place posters but posters are there. They said posters should be displayed at designated places  but go to stadium, you see all manner of posters including that of the governor. Who is fooling who? That is immoral. That is illegal and unacceptable. If I were Fashola, I would have called my people to order but they are not using their own money, they are using state’s money. All the local governments are now wasting resources instead of clearing drains, instead of sweeping streets, instead of using it to develop the roads in the rural areas or the interiors. They are displaying posters and constituting nuisance.

That is not the question…

Now, to answer your question, you talked about not co-existing peacefully, may be because of the clashes at Alimosho, the problem is caused by the display of posters. Everybody is fighting for space to display his or her posters.

But no matter what anybody may be thinking, if you look at the almost four years of Fashola, you will acknowledge that he is on ground in Lagos State.

I have given you two examples. It’s Fashola that is in power and we won Ibeju-Lekki. It’s Fashola that is in power that we won Ikorodu. If he has made so much impact, why are they losing? Why did they lose Ibeju-Lekki? Why did hey lose in Ikorodu? He is on ground but his programmes and development are cosmetic. Look at the Victoria Island axis, the Lekki axis, you are putting two, three toll gates. You are borrowing money from different sources. Are you aware that Lagos is the highest borrower from the international community? It is public knowledge that Lagos State is owing the highest foreign debt., apart from domestic debt.

So, they have used our tax payers money to do nothing. They borrow. What you see as development are mere aesthetics,. What they are doing in Lekki axis is make up. But there could be an alternative and this thing could have been done in phases, rather than contracting it to somebody who is exploiting us. That is not Fashola’s project. That is the project of his godfather and we are going to pay tolls to his godfather, not to the government or for development.

And the Lagos-Badagry road…

That is World Bank- assisted project. It is an initiative. You can praise him for his initiative but it is not his money. A lot is being wasted of state government funds. I can state examples. Look at the boat at the Marina that they bought in for N4.2 billion alongside the Marina. It has not done any work for two years. It is lying fallow. If they are not careful,  that ship will develop holes and that will be the end of N4.2 billion. It’s wastage. They do Eyo festival every year.

That is tourism…

Yes, and tourism is supposed to bring back money for you. You don’t waste money on tourism without getting returns. Tell me how much return they have brought  since the last Eyo festival where they spent about N12 billion. If they don’t know what to do with the yatch, I know what to do with it. They an move it in and out of harbour, and carry people and make money. They can lease it out to people for parties and weddings, ad make money. People can even go there and sleep and pay. Newly-weds can spend honey-moon in that yatch. If they don’t know what to do, they should tow it outside Nigeria in the night so that we don’t know that thing is there. That wastage as it is now is unacceptable. So, these are the issues.

Opposition is not making much contribution in Lagos State.

I have sold this idea severally. Have I not been talking to the press? Fashola attended the same secondary school I attended. I made serious noise before that school was put back to its old glory. I can tell you that he has done well in the area of renovation of schools.But he has not done well in other areas.