2019 Will Be Referendum on Leadership Trust, Says Gbenga Daniel

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Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

Former Governor of Ogun State and a chairmanship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Otunba Gbenga Daniel has said the challenges facing the country before 2019 election is that of getting the right leadership that would restore national unity.

He stated that the solution to a national problem cannot just be in fighting corruption, but to first fight ‘national disunity’, adding that the present All Progressives Congress (APC) -led administration has failed to restore trust in governance and to reduce poverty in the land.

Speaking during his formal declaration to contest for the PDP national chairman at TransCorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, Daniel noted that various agitations for restructuring in different parts of the country were a referendum on leadership trust and not for secession.

“The various agitations for restructuring in different parts of the country, and in isolated cases, of calls for secession were a referendum not for secession, but a referendum on ‘leadership trust’,” he said.
Daniel who came hard on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration said the regime has witnessed more than N402 billion bribery cases in just 12 months despite its claims to fighting corruption.
He described as false the assertion that fighting corruption will lead to eradication of poverty in the land, adding that since 2015, Nigeria is yet to have an appreciable 12 months of economic growth under the APC.

“It is disquieting that the APC-led government claims to focus on fighting corruption while facts on the ground suggest that Nigeria has become worse off and sinking low even in graft.

“About two months ago, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s number one repository of facts and data, revealed that more than N402 billion was paid as bribes within the last 12 months. What is N402 billion?-It is more than the federal government’s capital budget for Defence, Education and Health combined together,” he said.

The chairmanship aspirant said the latest report on corruption index in Nigeria (2016), according to Transparency International, was 2.8/10, adding that “before 2015, Nigeria had a P8 in corruption but and A3 in economic growth, now we have an F9 in both economic growth and corruption.”

The aspirant went on to highlight reasons for the defeat of the PDP in the 2015 election, saying the party took a lot of things for granted which a new leadership under his charge will try to correct.
He said the inability to ask the needed questions at the appropriate time affected the fortunes of the PDP and reflected in the final outcome of the party in the 2015 general election.

While reeling out reasons for the party’s defeat in 2015 presidential election, Daniel said: “We lost out because we miscalculated on certain aspects of our politics; outside the management of the nation’s economic resources. We failed to ask some critical questions needed for planning.
“For instance, when President Buhari in 2011 as the candidate of the CPC got less than 5,000 votes in Abia State, we did not ask why? When in 2011, the 15 states that Buhari had the least votes came from southern Nigeria, we did not ask why? When the trend repeated itself in 2015, who asked why?

“Again, in 2015 we failed to appreciate that it was not just an election, it was a referendum, a referendum not for secession, but for “effective governance”. I hold firmly that more than planning, leadership needs to ask more questions at all times. Asking the right questions is what the new leadership of the PDP under my watch will focus on,” he said.
The former governor whose confidence was boosted by the essence of many party stalwarts from the Southwest zone and other parts of the country, said the difference between the PDP and the APC is mission and vision, adding that whereas the PDP has a vision on what Nigeria should be, APC only has a mission.

He alleged that APC has been picketing the PDP, and that half of the APC senators are formerly of the PDP which is an indication that a resuscitated PDP can retrieve power in 2019.

Daniel told his supporters and party faithful who thronged the venue of the event that he is presenting himself to act as catalyst for the desired reform in the PDP.
“I stand here before you today, as a loyal party man who desires the best for our great party, the PDP. I have done informed study of the myriad of problems which confronted our political party in the last few years, especially the one which had cost us several electoral victories since 2011 and most especially the presidency in 2015,” he stated.

In his remark, former Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Adamu Maina Waziri, advised the Southwest zone to try and put their house in order by exploring avenues for consensus to reduce the number of aspirants for the chairmanship seat.

“We must encourage the Southwest to put on their thinking cap and agree on a consensus on who to present to the party,” he said.

On his part, the former Minister of Aviation, Femi-Fani Kayode, said it was very important that the party makes a good choice for the chairmanship of the party if it hopes to retake power in 2019 elections.

He said the party may be in for the fight of its life, adding that if anyone thinks that the ruling APC is going to sit back and say let the best party win in a free and fair election, that person is simply deluding himself.

Former Minister of Environment, Mr. John Odey, said this is the time for the PDP to choose a leader who will act as a bridge builder and manage the affairs of the party creditably.
Many of the speakers at the event said the PDP members are looking forward to electing a chairman that will enthrone PDP in power in 2019.

“We are to make sure that Daniel becomes the new chairman of the new PDP that will bring about the real change for Nigeria,” Odey said.