I'M BACK TO CLAIM WHAT BELONGS TO ME – JOEL MADAKI

The governor is a member of your party, whydo you want his seat?

Anybody wanting to push out a friend before coming in must definitely have a reason. In 2007, I was a gubernatorial aspirant of the PDP and when we bought forms, about nine of us, the present governor was not among us. We were the one that canvassed for votes from all the parts of the state; but at the eve of screening in Bauchi, the present governor got form and he was also served with the membership card of the PDP.

About six of us were cleared for the primaries, but on the day of the primaries, PDP sent people from the national secretariat in Abuja to do it, but they ran away from the state and there was no guber primary in Adamawa. They ran away and then told us later that Nyako was the consensus candidate they picked in Jos. I said there can't be a consensus candidate because other contestants were not there.

All the six of us were at the Lamido cinema, the venue of the primaries but nobody came. The manner they imposed the present governor on all of us annoyed me so much that I had to leave the party I helped in building from the scratch. I had to leave the party I served as the first chairman and which I served diligently as chairman for eight years. I had to leave because of the poor internal democracy in the party. The internal democracy at that time was zero.

I left not because PDP is bad but the operators at that time were very bad people. Those who came to conduct the primaries were supposed to be guided by the constitution of the party, but they ran away and then declared someone that was never a member until the day of screening as the candidate of the party. When the present governor came, I said it was the will of God, I thought he was sent by God to address the underdevelopment of the state. With all due respect, I respect the governor because of his career attainment, but to my dismay, he lacks the idea of developing the state. I realised that he is not bringing the needed development we need in the state.

We are supposed to be at par with some states in the federation but we are behind. We get our share of allocations from the federation account monthly but we still lack so many things, especially in the area of agriculture, education and health.

This is why I am throwing my cap in the ring. In 2006, I was the leading candidate, but there were no primaries, but now there will be primaries because the operators of the PDP now are democrats. President Goodluck Jonathan is a man that has been talking of free and fair election and he went ahead to appoint a unionist as the chairman of INEC.

Since the appointment of Professor Attahiru Jega, he has been consistent with the idea of free and fair election, now coupled with the resolution of the PDP NEC to ensure that there is internal democracy in the party.

The National Assembly also ensured that they safeguard issue of internal democracy in the parties by inserting clauses that makes it impossible for imposition of candidates.

Do you think with the present Exco in Adamawa you can have free and fair primaries?

The people in the state executive today are still the people that worked with me when I was elected chairman in 2006. The person that deputized for me in 2006 is now the chairman. If they want to look at it, their time has lapsed. If they now say that they want a consensus arrangement, fine by me, so far as they abide by the constitution of the party. I am sure that if primaries are conducted I stand a very good chance.

Let me quickly say that, there cannot be any free and fair election in Nigeria if the primaries in the various political parties are not credible.

If the PDP in Adamawa tries to do what they did in 2006, we will see where it will land us.

The PDP we formed is a democratic party and we will protect it from undemocratic elements.

You said the term of the present executive has lapsed, INEC agreed but the court later declared that the Adamawa executive was in order, what is the meaning of all this?

I think someone is deceiving someone. The courts were not served properly and the facts presented before the court might be faulty.

So are you saying INEC was right?
INEC was never right. There are serious discrepancies. I am not talking of the Adamawa INEC but the national INEC. Adamawa INEC reported to the national INEC that there were no primaries in the state and they wrote to say that they didn't recognise the executive and that there should be new congresses in the state. That was the position INEC took on the first, second and third letters to Adamawa PDP, but in the fourth letter, INEC wrote saying that Adamawa PDP executive was in order.

You then begin to ask what happens and when did they come to Adamawa to conduct a new congress. It is regrettable that the present crisis in Adamawa PDP is caused by INEC. There is something that must be investigated at the national INEC about Adamawa. It can't be out of place to say that some people in national INEC are playing games or they have been compromised.

How true is the allegation that the governor is favoring his Fulani kinsmen in appointments?

It is true to some extent but that is the best way he can handle his things. He might think it is by operating with his friends, not Fulanis, that he can achieve the desired goal. If I say he is using Fulanis, I will be getting it wrong; there are many Fulanis that are marginalized too. I can say authoritatively that he is bringing his friends, and I will rather add that he is using family friends. It is because of this widespread marginalization that I decide to salvage the PDP in Adamawa because the people are unhappy with the party now.

Why is the governor having problem with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Adamawa?

I wont say he is having problem with the CAN. I will say that they are looking at issues from different sides. CAN is a political section of the Christians and if the governor is going wrong, they will tell him and maybe the governor is going wrong and they are telling him and he is rejecting it. I just think that objective criticism is welcomed in every society. I won't go the way he is going if I am the governor.

Two Presidential aspirants from Adamawa— Nuhu Ridabu and Atiku Abubakar, are interested in the seat currently being occupied by president Goodluck Jonathan, will that not create problem for the state?

I don't see any problem at all. The two are Nigerians and I for one, don't doubt their capability. As far as capability is concerned, Ribadu is capable and Atiku too is capable. I won't want to speak on Ribadu because he is in another party. I can only talk on Atiku. In politics, you have to look at the person that can assist in developing the state. Atiku was the number two man when Obasanjo was there, how much did he do for the state? So if we have someone from another place who can help you, so why deceive yourself by insisting it must be your person? We in Adamawa are not confused.

We need to acknowledge that the manner Jonathan came to power says a lot. Jonathan came to power by divine arrangement. The person that we the people elected was called to meet his creator and our law says the number two man must finish the tenure. If there is any argument over that it has to be in 2015.