Moghalu: With 25 Presidential Aspirants, Neutrality of Party Leadership Will Save APC from Implosion

The Director General of National Inland Waterways and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, George Moghalu, in this interview with Adedayo Akinwale said the neutrality of the party leadership during the presidential primary will save the APC from implosion. Excerpts:

How do you feel about your recent victory at the Supreme Court? Describe the journey to the apex court?

For me, the judgement from the Supreme Court is not a matter of being happy, but rather a matter of mixed feelings. Because nobody ordinarily would desire to go to court with his party, ordinarily. But when you also feel that you need to right a wrong, when you feel the need to put a  stop to the unnecessary impunity. When you need to change the narrative, when you need to get people to understand their limits and that a political process must be honourable. So that at the end of the day, both the winner and the loser in every election, no matter how small, will feel happy. So, I now said no, I need to start and take it to a conclusive end. So when I went to court, and by the grace of God, the federal court in Abuja, agreed with us and our submissions. The aspect of the appeal and Supreme Court was not my decision, but a decision of those who lost in the High Court. So they were the ones who felt the judgement of the High Court was not right, and they appealed against it. We had no choice than to come to defend the appeal. And fortunately, the two steps; both the appeal and  the Supreme Court went in our favour. 

What is your fate in the party?

 I’m a committed member of APC. How can I leave the house that I built? I make bold to say that I’m one of the very few politicians in this country who has not changed parties.  From All Peoples Party (APP), 1998/99 till we formed APC. I also participated in the process of forming APC. So, I am an APC man in blood, fully committed and dedicated to the ideals of  the party.

What is your advise for the party ahead of the upcoming primaries?

That we should learn  our lessons;  that we should do what is right, we must obey our guidelines, we must obey our rules. These rules were made by us and it is intended to throw up the proper candidates. And that’s why the President, in his wisdom, advised the current party leadership  not to field unpopular candidates. Field candidates that are acceptable by the people. And you can only determine this by preparing a credible electoral process. And once the process is credible, free and fair, two things are guaranteed;  the winner will feel happy; even the loser will feel happy. Secondly, there’ll be unity in the party. But the moment you manipulate the process, the moment you bend the rules you made, you have created disaffection ab initio and the consequence is that you can’t achieve unity at the end of the day. So by the time you throw up a candidate, you have internal problems, internal disagreement, at the end of the day, we lose. These are things that should be avoided by anybody. I believe that the party itself, the party leadership, must have learnt some lessons from it.

With a legion of presidential aspirants in your party,  25 now. There are fears that the quest for zoning of the presidency to the south may fail. Are you not worried that the party has not said anything about zoning?

If I tell you I’m not worried then I’m fooling myself. I’m worried because you have 25 aspirants aspiring for one position, all qualified. All I believe are capable of running the affairs of the country. It is a great concern, it is a great worry for me as a person, as a committed party person. We may all end up going to pray and ask for divine intervention. I really sympathize with the party leadership currently. 

Don’t you think the more the merrier, If based on what you just said, they are going to be guided by the rules and everybody  will be allowed to go to the field to contest?

 I have no problem with the number so to speak. I have no problem with that. Because certainly the process that will be credible, free and fair, will throw up the best at the end of the day. That’s why I started by saying that they’re all qualified. Okay, they all have the capacity to emerge as president, but that does not remove the fact that there is a clamour for zoning. That does not remove the fact that the South-east, the Igbos  have made a case for the presidency to be zoned to the south.  I also believe very strongly that as the days go by that we may reach a point where there must be discussion.

That is where the problem lies. The fear is that the southern part of the country is always not talking as one.

I don’t agree. I don’t agree with you.

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu said it is only fair that power should return to the South and the South-west is the top in his consideration

He’s entitled to his opinion and I respect it. There was a time the media asked me, where I wish the president to come from? I said from my family, it’s a wish. if I’m the one allocating it, you can’t remove the aspect of selfishness. As long as the person is qualified. I have also said that every street in this country can generate a complete cabinet. It is not about the capacity of the individuals. The governor is entitled to his opinion. His wish is that the presidency be zoned to South-west, I should expect that, just like I wish that it should be zoned to the Igbo nation. I’m also entitled to that. And if you ask somebody, if it’s a matter of go and take it for your people, a lot of us will certainly want to take it for our family members. So, these are the realities of the moment. But when you are looking at politics of our country, you look at equity, fairness, you look at justice, you look at balance, because at the end of the day, it is a matter of numbers. And that’s why there must be handshake across the Niger, because whoever will be the president of Nigeria today, even if he’s of South-east stock, even if he’s of the Igbo stock, he must have the required support from the Kano, he must have the required support from Sokoto,  from Lagos, from Oyo, from Rivers State from Cross River, because you’re talking of a Nigerian president, but of Igbo extraction. For you to be a Nigerian president, you must win the confidence of people across the country. 

You have been following politics for years now. You’ve also studied the political terrain so far: PDP is in crisis, APC is in crisis, no third force to weather the storm. What are your fears?

When people say party in crisis, I really don’t see it as crisis. Because these are expected reactions, because you’re talking about human management. Both APC and PDP are human organisations that are managed by human beings. And these human beings are of varied interests and ambitions. Certainly interest will clash. Because these 26 presidential aspirants, for example, have 26 support bases and they have the same party, of the same stock, certainly their  supporters will clash. Because their supporters are marketing them with a view for their own product to be bought by the entire APC family. After which if you come out of APC family, now, that same product will be sold to the Nigerian people. Certainly interests will clash and when interests clash, it doesn’t mean there’s crisis. But for me, I consider it as  politically expected reactions. It is now incumbent on us to manage it properly, because it is the mismanagement of such reactions that bring problems. But when you are able to manage it, and the key principle in managing such situations is the neutrality and the honesty of the umpire who should stick to the guidelines that have been established. If there is no intention to alter the guideline in the middle of the game, if he has no intention to change the rules as it affects different persons. If there is no intention to satisfy a personal ambition, and everything we are doing in all honesty, with a determined desire to have the actual result but not the expected result, then, then there won’t be any problem.

Do you think your party has the ability and the capacity to do right and get it right in order to retain power?

Yes, why not? It has the capacity. People were put in position today at the last national convention led by the senator Abdulahi Adamu, he has credibility, he has character and the  confidence that he has  the capacity and he has a good team. To navigate through the murky waters of politics, he has   a good team to drive the process.