We will win Lagos in 2015 - PDP
2013-04-27 23:00:24

The Publicity Secretary of the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Taofik Gani, in this interview with ALLWELL OKPI, restates the party's readiness to win more states, including Lagos, in 2015

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Bamanga Tukur, recently said PDP would win at least 32 out of 36 states in the country in 2015. How possible is that?

For my national chairman to have said that, then he knows what he is saying. He is a man that is meticulous; he must have looked at the situation for him to be very sure the PDP will win 32 states. What I can add is that even if the national chairman had not mentioned it, Lagos will be one of the 32 states. Our national chairman is a veteran in politics, having been a governor, when politicking was actually thick. I don't expect him to lay his cards open. I'm not also going to reveal our tactics. Our gunpowder will be left dry for now. But some signs that we are going to win are obvious in the sense that the opposition that appeared to have given PDP a good run for its money - Action Congress of Nigeria - has died. Though they have this tendency to die and reincarnate. But this is their last chance, there will be no opportunity for them to reincarnate again. They were lucky to have done that from the original Alliance for Democracy to Action Congress and then to Action Congress of Nigeria. Now, they have gone to All Progressives Congress. APC is not a party that can be welcomed in the South-West. I think they have made a mistake by leaving an identity that appeared to have been a South-West identity. That is why I will agree that the national chairman of the PDP must have appreciated that fact that ACN has left its flank open. As a result, Lagos State will become a PDP state in 2015.

Are you saying the merger of the top three opposition parties into APC will not be able to dislodge PDP?

If you look at the so called merger, you will find out that it is actually coming out of frustration. The fact is that ACN is no longer a good brand to be sold to the electorate. So, the party that is benefitting the most in this change of nomenclature is ACN. It is not the Congress for Progressive Change. It is not the All Nigeria Peoples Party. That explains why ACN is the most committed to making sure that APC is adopted. It is actually ACN that has changed name. There is no merger at all. ANPP has disintegrated. CPC came out of ANPP. APGA of course is not in the hands of Rochas Okorocha. Okorocha wants to continue to be relevant. He cannot come to PDP again, because he was there and we pursued him, like we pursued Chris Ngige, like we pursued Dino Melaye; like we pursued Audu Ogbeh. These are spent forces. These are forces that we've tested in PDP and they failed. So, they cannot be trusted. If they are the people that APC is having confidence in, then APC is getting over ambitious. I agree 100 per cent that PDP will win at least 32 states in 2015.

The argument by ACN is that Tukur's assertion was based on PDP's plan to rig the 2015 elections. Do you think your party can actually win up to 32 states without engaging in electoral malpractices?

Let me tell you the fact, which the opposition will continue to controvert because of their desire to continue deceiving the Nigerian electorate. It is a fact that the Federal Government has given us the hope that we need for democracy to survive in Nigeria. This has not been done by state governments controlled by ACN and other opposition parties that are quick to criticise the Independent National Electoral Commission. It is on record that the only reason these opposition parties are confident to form a merger is because they know that the INEC will conduct a free and fair election. They saw what happened in the governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states. They saw how President Goodluck Jonathan, who belongs to PDP, ensured that there was a level playing field for all political parties in the elections. PDP candidates lost in the two elections. Even PDP's challenge of the results at the electoral tribunal failed. That is to show you that even the judiciary is ready to ensure that people are duly elected in this country. PDP is confident that the 2015 elections will be free and fair and we will win. PDP has no resemblance of election riggers. It's even good that some of the ACN states have conducted local government elections. It was clear to everybody that the local government election in Lagos State, for example, was rigged by ACN. It was full of irregularities. The fact is that ACN has lost Lagos by working against the masses; the okada riders, the market women, and the students, whose school fees were raised from N25, 000 to almost N350, 000. All these will come to reckon in 2015.

Despite these, don't you think it will be extremely difficult for PDP to win South-West states, especially Lagos, given the political influence of people like the National Leader of the ACN, Bola Tinubu?

I concede that Tinubu is a tactician. But I'm sure that he cannot repeat the tactics that he used to win the South-West states. Such tactics have become archaic. It cannot work now, because the Chief Justice of Nigeria is really watching the judges to make sure that nobody can manipulate the system. However, let us not overrate Tinubu's ability to win elections. When 2015 comes Nigerians will see the difference.

Why did PDP lose some states it had won in the past?

The leaders of the PDP made a big mistake by fighting one another. That is why we lost Edo, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, and Ondo states. But now, most of these leaders have made peace and are now in talking terms. When we were together, we won most of the states. We will do it again in 2015. It's laughable for anybody to say that PDP will rely on rigging. We are confident in the fact that our veterans, who helped us win elections in the past, are coming together.

Corruption has hindered development in the country for the past 14 years that PDP has been in-charge at the federal level and in more of the states than any other party. How can your party convince an average Nigerian to vote for its candidates in 2015?

It's not true that PDP has been the cause of corruption in Nigeria. The fact is that corruption had become ingrained in the Nigerian system before PDP came on board in 1999. In fact, PDP should be given the credit for instituting anti-corruption agencies to fight corruption. PDP-led governments have probed and discovered corruption in the petroleum sector and discovered the pension scams and fraud in some other sectors. A PDP-led government passed the Freedom of Information bill into law; an action that was commended globally. I challenge ACN to tell us how many of the states it controls have domesticated the FoI Act. In Lagos, ACN is running the state government with so much secrecy that one cannot have access to simple information that should be in the public domain. Governor Babatunde Fashola sent out memos stopping civil servants, even permanent secretaries and commissioners from talking to the press or giving out any information on how Lagos is being run. That is absurd in a democracy. Have you seen any ACN-led government probing its predecessor from the same party? But you see that happening in PDP. ACN is even shamelessly celebrating the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, who is being tried for money laundering. Whenever he is going to court, the House of Assembly is shut down in solidarity. Also, when the ACN national leader, Bola Tinubu, was in court, all the ACN governors abandoned their states and went with him to the court in Abuja to show solidarity. Even my governor, Fashola, went there as a lawyer and sat among Tinubu's team of lawyers; something he was not supposed to do as governor of a state. Because ACN is run in such a way that nobody asks questions, the real corrupt politicians are comfortable in ACN.


http://mobile.punchng.com/output.php?link=http://www.punchng.com/politics/crossfire/we-will-win-lagos-in-2015-pdp/

hmmmh, so am the first to comment today. Okay, thanks to every one for not seeing the topic on time. Thanks to network for delaying those who would have commented before me. Thanks to mtn who for the first time in their history opened a page so fast. Thanks to my lovers and haters alike. I love you all. #takes a bow#*winks*
Now to topic, its really not my business. Stating the fact, politics does not affect some folks. If you would be rich, politics has no business with that. For example, how does politics affect Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Alinko Dangote or even Mike Aednuga. Let those who play politics keep on, thats their business. Am working to build my own wealth in a clean way. Pdp+Acn+Cpc= Children of thesame parents, which is greed, selfish interest under the guise of "saving and helping Nigerians"

2nd to comment. Idnoble This space is not for sale

Rubbish!

Reserving space

How? PDP is still talking? Dead party....

come HAVE FUN here

www.nairaland.com/1269423/nairaland-post-best-pic-day

Best of luck PDP

Ok. but am also seen PDP losing central goverment by 2015.......

Take it or leave it.

It's TIME we re-focus, re-engineer and re-align our efforts resources, physically mentally spiritually and otherwise

We need a revolution
What is a revolution
What and how do we want Nigeria to be
What do we stand to gain
How do we go about revolution
What are risks
How do we handle the risk
How do we sustain the revolution
How will the coordination be

12 inches!:
2nd to comment. Idnoble This space is not for sale

lwkmd, i have now posted the real message.*winks*

I can't tell about the state election, but if pdp use Gej as there presidential candidate they will loss

let's wait and see 2015 is almost close

Just the way Ibori would win America presidential election

We are tired of APC in Lagos.Talk to everyone in the streets of Lagos,do an opinion poll.The result is glaring.PDP need to get their ass together,present a credible and grassroot person and Apc is history in Lagos.

@OP, thanks a lot. Laughter is really the best medicine.

If 2 say politics b football match,
by now PDP don score APC (1-0)
because me i go vote pdp 4 2015.
D devil u know is better than d angel u dont know.
men naija go hear wen.

Yes, PDP will win through institutionalized RIGGING.

Justice42003: If 2 say politics b football match,
by now PDP don score APC (1-0)
because me i go vote pdp 4 2015.
D devil u know is better than d angel u dont know.
thifnubu nd binuhari collabo,men naija go hear wen.

Of course some touts will still vote for the dead party pdp.

i think apc is only popular in south west

teskyg: We are tired of APC in Lagos.Talk to everyone in the streets of Lagos,do an opinion poll.The result is glaring.PDP need to get their ass together,present a credible and grassroot person and Apc is history in Lagos.

first let me tell you that am not a politician but am a lagosian, on your comments I think you are ON YOUR OWN and that is yours alone Lagos State will never be taken by the PDP come 2015 even if they spend all their life on it am certain about this because PDP is falling the Nation at the central and lagos is one of the few states where government is working for the people but if you think am lying leave lagos to any of PDP governed state and come back to share the testimony, why are their governors having crisis or you don't follow PDP or may be you don't even know that Lagos state is a pace setter for other state even the PDP state want to copy the accomnplishment of Lagos because PDP has no manifesto, no agenda , no poeple oriented programs, have ever ask your self the reason why PDP hate Lagos so much, it is just Lagos is the place where real Democracy started working in Nigeria and that is why the people in some state fought so had to send PDP packing in their states because PDP is a failed Government. Very soon you will witness another sea port and interntional air port in lagos state that we create thounsand of jobs but if you think you don't want it pack and leave for your state, you see people coming to Lagos everyday despite your claim if there not enjoy the changes why are they still in Lagos or name any developed cities outside Nigeria that people there will not pay tax for everything they use or if you are giving opportunity now to travel and leave in uk,us or canada you will grap it but remember when you get there either citizen or outsider you must pay tax abide by the rules.so mr man Lagos State stant out because Lagosian know what they want and they go for it.

So pdp is still in the southwest i didnt know o mase o. SMH.

32 States?

Well, I'm sure of one thing, though,

Osun is NOT one of them!

...the warning is timely, if only ACN will look and learn that politics in Nigeria is ruled by numbers as a result of the yearnings from the common people on the street maybe they will take this warning seriously! So far so good from my findings, many Lagosians are not pleased with this Fashola's government

tomakint: ...the warning is timely, if only ACN will look and learn that politics in Nigeria is ruled by numbers as a result of the yearnings from the common people on the street maybe they will take this warning seriously! So far so good from my findings, many Lagosians are not pleased with this Fashola's government

Mr. Ode, Stop deceiving yourself...

teskyg: We are tired of APC in Lagos.Talk to everyone in the streets of Lagos,do an opinion poll.The result is glaring.PDP need to get their ass together,present a credible and grassroot person and Apc is history in Lagos.

I cn say only a courrupt person wil say Lagos is nt workin or ACN. I wil as well advise u 2go 2any sectariat n colect 2,500 n go bak 2ur village cuz we r okay wit ACN IN LAGOS .That is all...

tomakint: ...the warning is timely, if only ACN will look and learn that politics in Nigeria is ruled by numbers as a result of the yearnings from the common people on the street maybe they will take this warning seriously! So far so good from my findings, many Lagosians are not pleased with this Fashola's government

Am vry sori 2say ds : u r vomittin nonsense nd u dnt knw wat u r sayin. Do u think its fools dt stay in Lagos, wat wuld u say of pdp dt hav been rulin 4ova 12yrs n no chances. U cnt succesfuly drive a trailer witout killin pple bt u r hopin 2drive danfo......Fool ursf

teskyg: We are tired of APC in Lagos.Talk to everyone in the streets of Lagos,do an opinion poll.The result is glaring.PDP need to get their ass together,present a credible and grassroot person and Apc is history in Lagos.

Maybe you are one of the Okada riders. Cos I don't know what PDP has done since they have been in Gov.in Nigeria.

Godside:

Am vry sori 2say ds : u r vomittin nonsense nd u dnt knw wat u r sayin. Do u think its fools dt stay in Lagos, wat wuld u say of pdp dt hav been rulin 4ova 12yrs n no chances. U cnt succesfuly drive a trailer witout killin pple bt u r hopin 2drive danfo......Fool ursf

Are you a Danfo driver? Because you just reasoned like one now

100%:
It's TIME we re-focus, re-engineer and re-align our efforts resources, physically mentally spiritually and otherwise

We need a revolution
What is a revolution
What and how do we want Nigeria to be
What do we stand to gain
How do we go about revolution
What are risks
How do we handle the risk
How do we sustain the revolution
How will the coordination be

this is exactly the types of brain i would love to pally with for a neccessary revolution. REVOLUTION IS WHAT OUR SHAMELESS POLITICIANS NEEDS TO GET THEIR EXCESES CHECKED. The inevitable will soon cloud us and rain salt only on the warms that eats mercilessly on d farmers grain.

what he meant is pdp will rig more than acn,useless political parties.