Chief William Makinde is the immediate past national treasurer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He hails from Ethiope West local government area of Delta State. In this interview with SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT John Dugbe, he speaks on the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan and aspiration of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa as governor of Delta State. Excerpts:
Why do you want Deltans to support and vote President Goodluck Jonathan, Ifeanyi Okowa as president of Nigeria and Governor of Delta State respectively?
William Makinde
It will be good for Deltans and Nigerians to vote President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term in office, because President Jonathan has done well in less than six years in office. President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration has constructed so many roads across the nation. The Jonathan administration has also done well in the area of education, electric power supply, agriculture, health, aviation, and transportation among others.
Before the coming of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in 2011, Nigeria economic was nothing to write home about but today Nigeria economy is the largest in Africa and among the fastest growing economies in the world.
What is your comment on the insurgency bedevilling the country?
The issue of Boko Haram that has claimed many lives did not start during President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. It was in existence in the past administration, which never deemed it fit to address their demands.
APC and other opposition parties are using Boko Haram to campaign against the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan, which I believe is not being fair to the President. Mr. President has done a lot to address the issue of Boko Haram and the insurgents are not prepared to lay down their arms neither are they prepared for any dialogue. I urge Nigerians to vote President Goodluck as their president come February poll 2015.
I want to urge APC and it members to accept the outcome of the election come February the way they are because politics is not a do or die affair. I want to appeal to the Boko Haram to stop the killing because that will not bring the solution of Nigeria, if the Boko Haram is killing people, then who are they fighting for? Are they going to rule themselves? Why should Boko Haram be killing innocent people and be burning churches and mosques in oreder to Islamise Nigeria.
They have succeeded in killing the economy of their zone and they cannot recover from it in the next 20 years because things destroyed in the process are running into billions and trillions of naira. So I urge the northern leaders to sit down and address this issue properly for the unity and growth of this country.
What is your comment on Senator Ifeanyi Okowa;s emergence as PDP governorship candidate in the state?
Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, who emerge the PDP governorship candidate in the state is a well-known and humble man, whom I believe has the experience to govern the state, having been in different positions in government before 1999 till date. Senator Okowa has equally done well in less than four years in the Senate based on his performance and he is the Senate House Committee Chairman on Health. Having worked so hard for his people at the grassroots, Okowa stands out among the lot who contested the party _primary with him and that is why he won the party primary convincingly in a free and fair primary, which was broadcast live by TV channels and journalists who covered the primary can attest to it. I want to urge the people of Delta Central Senatorial District to vote Okowa as their next governor come February because he is the best among them. I want to tell you that whenever you send a text message or call Senator Okowa, he must reply or call you back and that show the kind of leader he is.
Do you see Urhobo voting against PDP?
I do not see Urhobo voting against Mr. President, Okowa and other PDP candidates, because the Urhobo must remember that they must be in the corridors of power based on their large voting strength. So, I want to urge the leadership of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) not to allow the Urhobo to vote against Mr. President and its candidates because they have a lot to offer them if voted for. The Urhobo should know that it would be a suicide mission t vote against Mr. President and Senator Okowa because it will not speak well of the Urhobo. I want our father, Chief Joe Omene, the President General of UPU to ensure that the Urhobo do not fail in voting for Mr. President and other candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party.
How do you rate Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s administration?
I cannot score Uduaghan and his administration yet because Uduaghan is still writing his examination and after he has finished his, then I can score him.
Do you see General Muhammed Buhari, the Presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress winning the presidential election against President Goodluck Jonathan?
I can see that those crowd following Muhammed Buhari, APC presidential candidate are all rented crowd and that does not mean he will be the man to win the presidential election. Mr. President will emerge the winner of the presidential poll come February because he has done so well in office and I want all Nigerians to give him another term for him to finish all the good works he started. The APC wants Mr. President to jail some corrupt leaders through the back door, which I believe is not good and we must follow the rule of law as a democratic nation.
What is your view about all those members of PDP, who left the party to join other parties due to the fallout of the party primaries and is there any internal crisis in the party?
I want to recommend that all our members that left the party after the primaries should be sanctioned, which will stand as a deterrent to others because many of them did it in the time past and came back begging the party for forgiveness and at the end, we will gather party members and organise a party for their welcome. There is no crisis in PDP as I speak to you now and there will never be any crisis because we are one family and we know how to resolve family issues.
What is your advice to Urhobo, Deltans and Nigeria in general on February polls?
The Urhobo must see themselves as the lion in the forest by voting en mass for President Goodluck Jonathan, Senator Okowa and other PDP candidates. Okowa has been a friend to the Urhobo for over 10 years and I do not think it is proper for the Urhobo to vote against him because he is a son of the Urhobo. Senator Okowa has so many brothers, sisters, relatives and friends in Delta Central and they cannot work against him at this crucial time. The Urhobo should know the importance of being in the corridors of power because it is through there you will get the full dividends of democracy and I am assuring the Urhobo that Senator Okowa will not fail them and the entire Delta State. I want to urge the UPU leadership to consult widely with all stake holders before taking its decision because we are all one, the Delta North, Central and South should live as brothers which they have been doing before now and that will continue to bring peace and development to us.
The post Urhobo people will benefit from Okowa’s administration –Makinde appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.