16 Years of PDP: INEC and Bode George’s only regret

0
46

By Chris Otaigbe

As Nigeria prepares for the 2023 general elections, while eyeing the coming Edo and Ondo States election, a founding father and staunch stalwart of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, said the only regret he has in all of PDP’s 16-year reign in government is not to have made the Independent Election Commission (INEC) truly transparently and incorruptibly independent.

The party’s former national deputy Chairman disclosed this recently, during an exclusive interview with KaftanPost, South. Speaking on the state of electoral process in the country, the PDP Chieftain said this is the 21st century where the world has gone digital.

In its present state, he said all the elections that INEC has been conducting are premised on what can be considered obsolete, processes-wise. “This is the 21st century and we are still doing elections by Paper ballot. We are still writing paper. You go from your Ward to Ward collation by hand. And by the time it gets there, they have started to fiddle with the documents. So, if they are stronger there, they rig all the way…,” said Chief George.

Although, the PDP top-shot has the great regards for the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, he said he had to confront the nation’s Chief electoral umpire severally on his handling of elections and the processes administering them.

“The INEC Chairman is a God-fearing gentleman who has always succeeded in most of the Public appointments he has had to manage. I had confronted him severally that he can actually do better…,” he said.

Recalling the origin of the PVC, the PDP pioneer National deputy Chairman, South, reminded that the innovation was one of the legacies of the last PDP government before the All Progressive Congress (APC) took over power.

“You take the PVC to the machine; it recognizes you; that is hi-tech, confirming that you are the owner of that document. So, why can’t you go a step further by instituting a system whereby when you thumbprint your preferred candidate it is registered across designated systems and then you can back it up with a hard copy. But the electronic transmission will be there. And it is possible!” he submitted.

Giving examples of countries where e-Voting is succeeding, Chief George said France had its elections and it went well without hitches.

“France concluded its Presidential elections by six o’clock. At about 8pm, they already knew what the results were. The Loser called the Winner to congratulate him. End of story because he knows, in another six years, which they operate in France, they will come back again,” explained Chief George.

Stressing the need for Leaders to be more honest, sincere and transparent to the people they govern, the PDP Leader lamented the level of lies leaders tell and live before their people.

“Why are we perpetuating lies? Why? The attitude of some of these leaders to their people is uncalled for! It is substandard. It is sub-human. If they know that power is derived from the people, they would ensure that when they return, they will use the four years to maximally please the people.

“Because, that is where the power lies. In military governance, power lies at the top. Once an order is given, it percolates to the ground. Once you fall out of line, you know the consequences. But in a democratic setting, power lies at the base. The people’s power goes all the way to the top. So, whoever emerges is a servant leader,” he explained.

Such elected leader, he said, must constantly and consistently, put the interest of the people in front of him and ensure it reflects in every policy and decision he makes in his government.

“He must perpetually remind himself: have I done right for these people? What else do they need? How many of the children are in school, are their parents able to support them… This corona virus pandemic, we are running now, what palliatives do we give them? Those who are losing their jobs or those who have already lost their jobs… Petty Traders, you ask how you give money to those people…Otherwise, you would make the people ask you why are you in government because, things are not going well at all,” he decried.

The other regret Chief George nurses has to do with the administrative concept of the party, which according to him had a more nationally cohesive inclusive system. Speaking on the rationale behind the idea, the former Naval Commodore said the concept was also meant to organically and operationally reflect the wealth and spread of the nation in a manner that every part of it is served effectively.

“I love Nigeria. The beauty of this nation is when you travel round. From the swampy forest to the savannah regions in the North, you will see the goodness that God has given us. As you go from one village to another, you see the differences; you see the resources. There is no part of this country that God has not endowed with one resource or the other. It could be mineral, human, agricultural, something, they can live on.” He said.

According to him, the PDP started realizing the congregation of the Nigerian nation, knowing that the manner in which the country was managed in the 60s was faulty.

“The minorities in the North were to be seen and not heard. The minorities in the South were to be seen and not heard. Yes, Gen. Gowon came and created states and all that… but when our people (the PDP) came, as the founding Fathers of our party, we realized the problem and decided to carve the country into six geo-political zones; Northwest majority, Northeast majority, North Central minority, Southwest majority, Southeast majority and South-South minority. And that there are six top positions in the land; the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker, Secretary to Government and Chairman of the party,” said the PDP Chieftain.

The idea, according to him was to ensure no state, no zone in the country, goes without having a piece of the action.
“Because, we have a saying in my part of the world that we all can’t be a member of an organization, where one is ‘siddon look’ (Onlooker) and the other is always getting.

There can’t be peace in that kind of scenario. No! that was the concept of the founding Fathers of our Party.” He said.
After eight years, he explained, three of the categorized governance structures will go to the South and the others to the North.

“After eight years, all those in the South will go back to the North and the ones in the North will come back to the South. That was how we were able to pilot the affairs of the country for sixteen years.” George explained.

The moment party operatives started fiddling with concept, the former National Vice Chairman of the Party said that was when PDP began derailing. Admitting that the Party could have done better, Chief George believed that with benefit of hindsight, perhaps the party administrators could have done some rejigging to assuage discontented parties in the body of the party.

“The only thing we would have done would have been to say ‘Okay, how many times should certain parts of the structure stay in certain parts of the country’… The Party was so organized that even at the Party level, there are twelve members of the National Working Committee (NWC). Divide that by six and you get two, two per zone,” George enlightened.

Lamenting on the current state of the Party, Chief Bode George said the concept of the party has been tampered with.

“That is why the party is wobbling, although they are trying to rewrite the wrongs now. People who did not know how the concept came to be are the ones now saying ‘am now governor this, governor that…’ oya go and change it. It has its consequences. There are consequences for that,” he said.

Advising those who are intoxicated by the sweet wine of power, the PDP Chieftain said Power is transient and there is no perpetuity.

“Every four years, you will go back and renew your mandate to tell the people you can do this, you cannot do that.”

Having experienced elections under the two political parties, Nigerians can compare and draw their own conclusions as to which party actually bequeathed the preferred electoral process.

However, the admission by a major player and operative of the former ruling party, regretting the flaw of the Party in election management of the country, could perhaps be a sign that the PDP, at least, maybe thinking of righting the wrongs they did to elections during its time in government, should the Party be given an opportunity to return to power.

Whether Nigerians believe the party Chieftain enough to give them another opportunity to repair that damage or not, only time will tell and in 2023, they will make their judgement loud and clear.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here