HOW WE LOST LAGOS, BY GEORGE

What went wrong in Lagos?
You know the resources displayed by this fellow was stupendous. There were some who came from their party and we thought they were loyal and committed. They jumped ship. They were one leg there and here. They benefited here. Where were their followers? Only one man or let me say one and half.

When Koro came, he also declared. All the others, who did they come with? The only man t hat breathed a good breath into PDP was the late Funsho Williams. Remember, we were in Tafawa Balewa Square, the day he joined. That was the day of rebirth of Lagos PDP. What did they do to him? They killed him and his blood is still crying for revenge like Abel and Cain and the Almighty God is the one who can do that. Now all these, others who came, who did they bring? And what did they do? Is it money? Is it honour? Is it followers?

What did they do?
Now they are still there, they went to do meeting and quickly they are back to their grand master. We saw all what happened. After elections, we met some of these people like, Ogunlewe, their people are special advisers in ACN government. Let him deny it. He is here and they are there. He doesn't even know the culture of the party, the origin.

When people were running away, some people stayed back and built it. He got the ticket of Funsho Williams and became a senator.

What did he do for his people. He was Minister of Works, what did he do for his people? In a political party, you find all kinds of characters.

He is now the champion, saying Bode George is an ex-convict.

He even said that you have been dropped as a member of the BoT

He is a fxxl. He is a bloody fxxl. I am a bonafide member. I was an ex-deputy National chairman, a member of the national caucus. I am still a member of the BoT and a member of the national executive committee of the party. It is a wishful thinking on his part that I will drop. Who is he? Who knows him in this party? Funsho that brought him, where is he? So, he is living in a fools paradise. He can go to the national secretariat of the party and see what I have done for most states of this country.

The people know, not the likes of him. He wants to get control of the party so that he can go back to Bola Tinubu and be telling him what we are doing. If he thinks he is honourable, let him stand on one side of the divide. He is a not member of PDP. That is the bottomline, and those people who are masquerading with him are jokers. We will wait for the election. This was the question we asked. What happened? We saw the results of the presidential election. They were busy saying Bola Tinubu supported Jonathan.

Did PDP not lose presidential election in Osun State? The closest governor to Bola Tinubu, where does he come from? Osun. And we lost there.

You know what they did? I have never met Prof. Jega. If I have an opportunity to rectify things, the Lagos election was absolutely unfair. You can verify it. On the day of the governorship election; that was also for state House of Assembly election, voters were given ballot papers for both at the same time. When the results came, the differences between the governorship election and the House of Assembly was in several thousands. In other words, you know when you collate them, they should be equal. 30,000, 40,000 differences in each local government defies all known logic. That's what it was.

The results are there. And they were so bold. You can call for the papers; why did we have the marked difference? Now, the presidential election that we did; Why did we score so high? What happened was that at the time what Bola usually gives to his people for logistics, he didn't pay them. (Laughter). I'm telling you. That was the real issue, the real election. And I want to also say, on my honour that the boy who was put in charge of operation at INEC, Salau, has been there like forever.

The chairman Jega, said that anybody that had served two terms in any station should be moved. He is still there. He conducted the election. He is a bonafide Tinubu stooge. He is still there. He was distributing the ballot papers. Where did they get the ballot papers for sale? Where? We had the first election on April 2 and by 2:00pm when it was almost getting ready, they said stop. Those ballot papers were found in the results of governors. Look, we will point to justice and fairness in this country.

Until then, well, we didn't riot or clamour for anything. So, they said they won. Eko Oni Baje. Lagos will never be rotten. The house is there. I am a bona fide Lagosian.

While they are busy sandfilling the atlantic ocean, sandfilling the lagoon, where is the environmental impact result? The widows are crying now. Go to Ikoyi, infront of my office, a bridge of N2.8 b is standing there. That short bridge. N2.8 b for that short bridge? I think all contractors in the world should start heading to Lagos. Having said all that, what is the debt portfolio of Lagos state? Who is going to pay this 'igbese'? I have no quarrel with the young man that is governor. Whatever you do today, you will account for it tomorrow. There is no hiding place for anybody.

So, Lagos is broke?
Lagos is the greatest debtor in Nigeria. Go to the records. Go to the Ministry of Finance. What is happening? Where is all this money going to? How can you have a first line charge - N500 million every thirty days. First line charge means by the definition of civil service, any money you get, you set it aside, who collects the N500 million? We are interested. We want to know. This issue of Speaker, let him come and speak to us now (laughter).

But we learnt it was Tinubu that was behind his travails?

I don 't care who is behind it. Look, the good thing is that, oh, I know you can be very inquisitive. Let the people know. Let us know. N500 million? We want to know whether it is Mr. Lagbaja or Mr. Damviti or Mr. Arabiyi or Mr. Emperor that is behind it, I don 't know. But let's get to the end of it. As a taxpayer, we want to know. Is it true that he is taking N500 m every 30 days, while people are groaning? This is a huge problem in this country. And they are crying. I have been trying to get a building approval to repair my office. They said I should come and pay N24 million. Where would I get that kind of money? To pay to who? Alpha Beta?

PDP is rearing to go for another convention in January. Are you not interested in running for a position?

That is the only national party in this country. I have sworn that come whatever, I will never jump ship. I will be a loyal, committed member of this party. For one reason, I was around when Dr Alex Ekwueme conceptualized the real national party. Brilliant. I think that Baba, if he had stayed in the university, he would have been a professor emeritus. He came out with a brilliant idea of six geo-political zones - North West, North East, North Central, South East, South South, South West. It is not in the National Constitution. It has gone down into history. Since 1960, this is the first time that democracy has gone on unhindered for 12 years.

Why? Turn by turn Nig Ltd. Everyone gets something. When you get something, I get something, he gets something, the majority doesn't carry everything. And that is what brought about the Awolowo concept that someday an Ijaw man will be President. Otherwise, how? So, with that, he has resolved one major political problem since 1914. This country can say now we are a nation. Jonathan came up, campaigned everywhere and the people said we will vote for him. Brilliant, it is the starting point. We are actually 12 years old democratically. America is over 200 years old. And we are not talking of the British and the French that had been there like forever. And if you look at their political activities, what is the difference? Would you talk to a judge in America and say O'boy I give you this, hide it here.

Do this for me. Even if the man is not contemplating the offer, the fourth estate of the realm will expose it. Look at the Republican Party primaries. When Perry came, he was grandstanding, but they went into history and researched. Who is this Perry? That is what I expect our journalists to do. Don't be afraid of anybody. Say it the way it is. Give us balanced information. Not cover up. Bayo Onanuga did not meet me in school. I had left long before he came in. He is an old boy of my school, but he didn't meet my shadow.

They have been screaming in their paper. N85 billion stolen in NPA. Part time Chairman. What did I do with it? But the truth will be told. Nigerians will know. I am saying I won't talk, but if you don't, people will just believe that this man took it. N85 billion, from the coffers of NPA and you won't see the big hole inside it. You are not a signatory to any bank account.

What's your relationship with ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo?

I will repeat exactly what I said before when one of your colleagues came. I leave Baba to his conscience and to the Almighty God. I will never make any public comment about the relationship.

Did you offend him in any way?
It is he who will know whether I offended him. But on my part as a soldier, as a retired general, we have an honour. Serve to the best of your ability. We have standards in whatever we do. I leave the rest to God. If I have an opportunity in house I'll do my x-ray. But for me, it is not for public consumption. But like I said, I leave him to his conscience and to the Almighty God.

Somebody said he had a grouse with you because you stabbed him at the back?

I insist, I leave him to God. Whether he said I stabbed him or not, for me I didn't stab anybody. I played the game according to the rules. I served my conscience and my God.

But you were so close to him? I was surprised he criticized you when you came out

I said, I leave him to God. You were with us in 1998, when we didn't even know where we were going. You were always there, even during the conventions. For me, on my part, I did nothing absolutely wrong. I worked as was expected of a follower.

Whatever it is, God Almighty, the Creator is still there for me. I could have gone under. I could have become crippled. I could have come out with serious diseases. But the experience I had there, I can never get in any classroom. I saw the good, the bad and the ugly. I saw all kinds of characters. Some deservedly, others undeservedly. What I could do to help, to persuade people to give succour to so many of them I did. Some went there and never came back. Some went, came back but didn't last and died. But I thank God. You know the big problem was how would I explain to my mother? My siblings shielded it from her. They never allowed her to know.

She wouldn't see newspapers. They removed televisions, radio from her. They told the people in church not to ever ask her or commiserate with her. But the day before we left prison, I told my sister that mum must come to church. I am the only boy. When she comes, tell her that what happened to her great uncle Herbert Macaulay when he was incarcerated in Calabar and they released him to Lagos happened to me. When he arrived in Lagos, our great grand mum, who was the younger sister to Herbert Macaulay took my mum with her to welcome him. It was the image she should give to her. Your son is doing politics.

That thing that happened to your great uncle is happening to your son. He didn't travel as we told you. You remember her great grand uncle went to prison for sedition. Your son too went to prison for a similar reason. I thank God too that she had some medical issues at that time. But today my mother is glowing. So who am I to complain? I will still say what the truth is; from my own view. So I have no personal gruise because nothing happens to a man without God's instructions. So I am happy. My mother is still there. No rashes on my body. The guys that I met there were marvelous. It is not my doing. Some of them would have said ah, these thieves have come.

The truth, like I said about this country will be told. It will be told one day. What they accused us of, contravening the guidelines on contract is still what they are doing till this hour. Let me now say this, it was a general circular not the law. What people should ask is what exactly is in that circular? That circular said that the Managing Director (MD) that used to have power to approve up to N10 million by himself without consulting anybody, that circular said the MD of a multi million corporation like the NPA will now have authority for only N1m. That's what the circular that they said we disobeyed said. 'Okay. If we saw that circular as human beings it is not even under the control of the board of NPA. Isn't it? Because anything above N1 m, you must turn to the board.

So who must be running NPA? Is it not the board? So if we didn't do it, you think it was intentional to allow the system to run? We would have been there twenty hours of the day and seven days of the week (24/7); take over the management. That's why Oyewole sent us to prison, and Ogunbiyi sanctioned it. We want to know what EFCC is doing, beyond making all the noise. And the spokesman of EFCC was Bola Tinubu's chap. He is Bola's boy. If I am lying, let him come out. He was abusing me saying, yes, we have committed Bode George there. Let him come out and refute that he was not Bola Tinubu is boy. How did he get there? Who took him there? And my last shot. Most interesting. Ribadu said that he will have a one way ticket. That the documents and things were ready. What happened? He said it on the floor of the Senate. In the end Bola said, it must be Ribadu for president.

But that was after he left office as EFCC Chairman?

I like him as a young man. but how he allowed himself to be deceived by this man; he should put his pen to paper and let Nigerians read it. Because for the Czar of anticorruption to go to bed with this man, what will be the outcome? Confusion. If Fela was still alive, it'll make a good song.