CA: Why do you think Peter Obi left?
BA: From my own understanding, I will tell you why he left. I think it is pre-meditated, it didn’t just happen last Friday and you can verify. About two months ago or so, he had a meeting with Seriake Dickson in Kano, with Kwankwaso. That week, Kwankwaso was trying to make up his mind to come to the ADC then they (3 of them) had that meeting. After that meeting, I went to meet former Governor Dickson, I said Kwankwaso is trying to join the ADC then you went to do this and that, I hope you are not trying to set up a different platform because when you do that, then you will have divided the rank of the opposition and when you do that you have given the incumbent the advantage to come back to power. I asked him again, I hope that’s not what you are trying to do, he said no no no, actually the ADC is having litigation problems, so if anything happens to ADC, you guys can come. I now asked him, who else has this understanding with you? Is it a shared understanding or with some people.
That’s why I said all this has been pre-planned, that’s why it’s easy for some people to look back and ask whether Rabiu Kwankwaso wasn’t a Trojan horse, that was brought into the ADC.
CA: You are talking about divisions, many were asking with all the bigwigs and the big egos there whether it wasn’t going to be apolitical warfare?
BA: No, we were going to settle for consensus, whether it was tilted to one man or it was slow in coming. Honestly, I think the type of party a Mr. Peter Obi needs is the one he is in now(NDC), a party that belongs to one man who can guarantee him a ticket before he comes in. In a political coalition where a lot of negotiations will happen, where you cannot take anybody for granted, you have to keep everybody in the coalition even if they don’t get what they want and it requires inspiring people and giving them reasons to stay, I don’t think Peter Obi can survive in such environment and that’s why he has gone to NDC because wndc has promised him the ticket. And now, when he started the romance with Rabiu Kwankwaso, he made it like he not only wanted the Party ticket but also wanted his own running mate.
BA: We started the coalition two years ago, and it took Peter Obi six months to defect to the ADC. He was giving excuses, and then he started demanding that zoning be settled before he could join. We told him we are a coalition, if you believe in what we believe in you can come. If you want zoning as a pre-condition, we cannot guarantee that. So, for six months he didn’t know it was an Atiku’s Party? I don’t want to be sexist, but when a woman wants to divorce her husband, she will accuse him of everything, including suffocating her with too much love. This is a coalition of political leaders, if anybody intends to leave, that’s fine but don’t give the impression like you are whining.
He said he doesn’t feel wanted in the Party. I can tell you Charles as the National Publicity Secretary that none of the aspirants has been favoured the way His Excellency Peter Obi has been. Let me give you a clear example; which office is the heart of operations of a political party – that’s the National Organising Secretary: This office organises internal elections, primaries, congresses – The person there is Peter Obi’s man, brought by him.
Bolaji Abdullahi is the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC.
