Nigerians believe that some loyalists of the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) are the only formidable and visible opposition group in the current democratic engineering. The party’s South East Zonal Secretary, Barrister Vincent Okpaleke, speaks to our Correspondent, Chidi Nkwopara, on a number of issues, including who flies the PDP presidential flag in 2011.

Who is the South East PDP rooting for in next year’s presidential election?

Honestly, as I am talking to you now, no decision has been taken on the issue, in the South East Zone of our party. We are still studying the situation very closely. We are watching the emerging scenario with tact. We are also taking note of every emerging player and their supporters.

Is President Jonathan free to fly the PDP presidential flag next year?

Okpaleke: We are yet to decide on Jonathan

He has a right to aspire. He is free to fly the presidential flag of the PDP. He has a right as a full-fledged citizen of this country to declare interest to run. There is nothing in the Nigerian or party constitution that legally stops him from running for the presidential seat. I am equally not aware that any Igboman wants to run for the position.

The position of the South East is that whosoever wants to be president must not only discuss with us but will also assure us that he or she must put the collective interests into consideration.

The schism in the PDP is unending. Why?

Well, I believe it is part of the politicking. Any time an election is drawing closer, there are bound to be people who have interests presenting their interests in various ways. Yes, the so called schism is there in the PDP but I believe it is a presentation of interests of people inside PDP who presently are not in governance, who are not in elective or

appointive offices but want to get into offices. So, that is the beginning.

Again, there are some people who feel genuinely, from their point of view, angered by the administration of the leaders of the party in the present. But their resentment may not be founded because everybody sees everything from his own perspective or point of view. So, what they perceive to be wrong doings, if you look at it broadly and may be from objective point of view, may not be wrong after all.

The truth of it is that we have disagreements, and they are normal. They are not anything to be worried about. At the appropriate time, and because we are all members of this party, I believe we will come to a roundtable conference to discuss our differences. We have started talking. We want everybody back on board. Things will be done appropriately because I believe that at the end of the day, we are going to agree. It will do us every measure of good to agree to agree.

What is really happening in Imo PDP?

Well, the truth of the matter is that since the last National Chairman and the National Working Committee dissolved the last executive and set up a caretaker committee, the people that were ousted from office have been fighting. And again, in Imo State, there is this coalition that is called “Alliance group”. This group is an alliance of the former Senator Ifeanyi Araraume’s Destiny Organization and Chief Achike Udenwa’s Redemption 98.

For one reason or the other, they are propping up the people that disagreed. And of course, a lot of discussions are going on. I have every reason to believe that very soon, we will come to the discussion table to chat the way forward.

In the interim, discussions are going on.

There are lots and lots of litigations in Imo State because some people, for one reason or the other, feel that they are not being carried along, they are not in the thick of things and they want to be in it. There are matters at the high courts in Iho, Owerri, Mgbidi and everywhere, all challenging the legality or otherwise of the caretaker committee that is in place.

Well, that matter is subjudice and as a lawyer, I will not say anything about it. But you know that nature abhors a vacuum. The party is in existence. The party must go on. So, the matters in court are yet unresolved but outside that, the courts themselves encourage alternative dispute resolution.

The National Secretariat has variously tried to call the warring factions together. Unfortunately, if not because of the demise of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, there was a meeting called by the National Secretariat where almost all the contending parties were supposed to meet and discuss this matter. The president’s death scuttled that meeting.

Does PDP not have internal mechanism for dispute resolution?

I must say that every individual has a right to approach the court to fight for his right. But for Christ’s sake, the PDP has internal methods of resolution of crisis. They should first of all try to exploit the internal mechanism before going to court because by so doing, they are overheating the polity.

As a lawyer, I know that even when you go to court without exhausting the internal mechanisms for resolution of this crisis, the courts will not even entertain these matters because the cases are not ripe for litigation. They should be dismissed.

The courts, with the greatest respect, are not doing these things because the internal mechanisms are there in the party constitution. The party constitution is not illegal because when it is determined to be illegal, you can now say the courts should not look at them. These are constitutions that are in alignment with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The parties are creations of the constitution. So, the truth is that 90 percent of these matters are not even ripe for being in court and I urge the courts to so look at them and dismiss them.

What of the Chief Vincent Ogbulafor episode?

The stress of the immediate past national chairman, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, came on board. Eventually, he stepped aside and the party was saddled with getting a new National Chairman. It was just about two weeks ago that the party got a new National Chairman. I know that the new National Chairman has promised that he is going to bring all the warring parties together.

He has not ceased to say that the PDP is a party for all of us and the umbrella is big enough to accommodate everybody. Apart from that, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo has been a governor and a national secretary of the PDP. He has the pedigree and requisite experience.

What happened at Enugu when he was received gives an insight of Dr. Nwodo’s stuff. APGA governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, was there to witness the event personally. Obi said he came to show solidarity because of the person of our National Chairman, promising that every Igbo man will give him support. Governor Theodore Orji was equally there.

If he can attract people from outside the party, there is no reason why he will not address the squabbles within the PDP family.

Why can’t Ndigbo solve their problems internally?

That is what people say but I do not believe that the Igbo cannot solve their matters by themselves. The truth of the matter is that the Igbo man by nature has a  republican tendency but that is not to say that we cannot sought ourselves out.

For instance, before the former national chairman stepped out, there was a time pressures were from everywhere that he should resign but because of what you just said, the leadership of the South East Zone met at Enugu and said, ‘This man is an Igboman and we are going to give him support’.

In fact, leadership of the South East came together and he was given support and he continued until it came to a stage where he could not move any further and he stepped aside. It is not impossible for Igbo people to resolve their differences. I believe that every matter should be taken on its merit. When people disagree on principle, that does not mean there is no unity.

This view can’t explain the number of Senate Presidents Igbo have so far produced.

Yes, in the last dispensation, we had about four but like I said, so soon thereafter, it came for the South East to produce the PDP National Chairman and looking back, we said we no longer want that tag to be attached to Igbo nation. That was probably the first time an Igboman was the PDP National Chairman.

When the pressure was on to remove Ogbulafor, the South East leadership said it was not good to call a dog a bad name in order to skin it alive. We agreed to support him until his accusers can show us proof of some reason for his removal.

When that came, we got together and made a decision. We called him and said that in order to obey a civilised, democratic process, and since he now had a charge to answer to, we urged him to step aside, answer the charges, so that the party goes along. That is a people who can make a decision to go forward in the affairs of the Igbo man in Nigeria.

What is your take on godfatherism politics?

There is godfatherism in Igboland. Some are external and others are internal. Everything has advantages and disadvantages but godfatherism in politics in Igboland has no advantage. Most of the godfathers are residents in Igboland. They pay no taxes in Igboland. They install leaders and live outside Igboland. The Igbo nation is sucked dry.

No employment for the people. Governor Ohakim’s 10,000 jobs for the unemployed is a giant stride. It is a way of reversing the ugly trend he inherited.

messages that judges have been given N2 billion to rule in anybody’s favour? The court is the last hope of the common man. The moment the sanctity of the court is destroyed, the nation is naked.