n this interview by Jacob Segun Olatunji, the immediate past Majority Leader in the House of Representatives, Honourable Mulikat Adeola Akande, spoke on general national issues, especially the recent Supreme Court judgment on the leadership crisis that rocked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).





What is your take on the recent Supreme Court judgment on the leadership crisis that rocked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?

We know that the judgment is not just for PDP but for the whole of Nigeria, a judgment that is bound to entrench democracy further, a judgment that has brought joy to every democrat, If it had been the other way round, I could imagine what would have happened to democracy in Nigeria.

In democracy, the majority would always have their way and we are the majority. I see it as a divine intervention. Everybody was confused on the issue until finally, the right judgment was given and so that has sealed it. Now, if such an issue happens again, we already know what the result will be. It is indeed a welcome development, I am very happy about it, Nigerians are very happy, PDP members are excited about it especially for us that are still in PDP For those who have left, I will appeal to them and advise them to come back, because PDP is the only democratic party, you may say I am speaking like a party member, but honestly, it is the fact.

Yes, mistakes have been made, but there is nobody above mistake. It is time for us to move forward and the way forward is to fashion out new ways of doing things within the party because for us to be able to go back to the Nigerian people, we need to have something good, something practicable, something that can be implemented and something that we can see that can give us credibility so we have to go back to that.

We need to come out with strategies on how to rejuvenate our party and turn a new leaf and this time round, it is going to be more encompassing especially quota for women, youths, those with disability, everybody will be carried along. PDP will definitely make a significant impact come 2019. You can see the reactions of Nigerians all over the federation after the judgment. This goes to show that people have seen that our party is a party they can rely on once again.



Are you saying corruption was not why the party lost its elections in 2015?

That was not why the party lost elections. Corruption came up after the coming in of this government saying people are corrupt and you know those things are not substantiated, you need to go to court to find somebody guilty. You can’t just accuse someone on the pages of newspapers and expect that it is the end of that person. If you feel the the person has done something wrong, go to court and when such person is convicted, then you are right but when he is free that then makes it a false accusation. So they are two different things. I agree that we have made mistakes, I have said it before and you cannot expect us to be perfect, the thing is that it is not easy for a government to be holistic and carry people along. I am sure Nigerians saw it all, some people are there praising us, Nigeria is not a small country, it is made up of difficult people and for us, we were able to carry people along. Life was not difficult, things were moving.



Are you saying the APC government has made life more difficult and things not easy under this government?

The thing is you have to ask those who voted this government, those who have been complaining that things are not going well and the downturn of the economy, there has been a lot of things, right now, I am basking in the euphoria of our judgment not talking about this government, people ask me, rate this government and I said I did not vote for this government, so there is no way I can rate them.



But you are a Nigerian?

Yes, I am a Nigerian, but since you did not vote for somebody, first and foremost, I must have a reason for not voting for them, maybe because I felt my government would have done better. So for those who felt this is it, they are the ones to tell us how the government is doing. We are looking at ways to come back in 2019.



Former President Goodluck Jonathan came out recently to tell us why they lost, so why do you think PDP lost?

Former President Jonathan did not say PDP lost because of corruption, I am sure what is happening right now is a surprise to former President Jonathan. Though he was the head of the government, but he had those working for him. The only way we can rate if all these corruption allegations are true is for them to go to court and prove their allegations. Since we have been talking about corruption, how many cases have been decided? We need to look at issues holistically. The country is blessed with both human and material resources. If we continue to go this way, it won’t go well with us, and the media too need to help us out on this because a lot of people are crying that the media sometimes don’t even balance their reports, it is sometimes a one sided report, so we call on the media to help this country.



Senator Makarfi said he would grant general amnesty to all those who caused the crisis in the party, while some people are calling for sanctions against them, what is your take as a leader in the party?

If you go to war and come back, you have to sit and examine what were the issues, the casualties and what lessons should be learnt. If it is necessary for you to take certain actions, then you do. We have not got to that stage yet, but I believe PDP is an all-embracing party. I believe that after all the leaders of the party have met, issues would come out. Whether amnesty or punishment would come in, it is not for an individual or me to say that this is what would happen.



Is the PDP ready to give APC an immediate opposition?

When you say ready, it is as if we were never ready. We have always been ready, but had some distractions but they are no morenow so we will do the needful.



Beyond allegations of corruption, what do you think is the reason PDP lost election?

I will think that the card reader greatly contributed. I will use my constituency as an example. Some people could not vote due to the card reader issue and it happened almost everywhere, it was new to us, it was not practised, it was not examined whether it would work or not. In my case, a lot of my supporters could not vote because the card reader did not recognise their thumbs.

They were denied their rights, a lot of things happened during the election, but you see for me at the end of the day, I would say that was how God wants it. For the president to accept the result, who am I not to? Probably God wanted us to take a rest like we are doing now, we don’t have to win always, you can be in politics forever, but not in power forever.



What should your supporters expect from you in 2019? Are you still going to run for the House of Representatives?

I was in the House of Representatives for two terms and I am not ready to go back and like I said, I am still in politics and whatever I would do, it is too early to say. Our party is trying to make things work and if there is an opportunity for me, why not? But certainly not governorship.



What is your take on the call for restructuring of the country?

I think it is all about equity. Recently, we had a national conference. One would expect that the report of that conference should be looked into and implemented, if not, bring people together








http://tribuneonlineng.com/pdp-will-make-significant-impact-2019-mulikat-akande/

APC and PDP are made up of recycled parts... Just that APC has more condemned batteries,that are short circuiting the Nation and making things worse... People like Buhari,Adeosun,Emefiele... etc.

Story for the gods of her village.
Keep deceiving yourself tat there was no corruption under the rather unfortunate era of Jonathan.

Better go find another job before its too late

Yes oh, waiting for 20r9 to send dis fucking Apc out

Affliction will not rise for the second time

We are watching APC too

No need.

We still trying address the "significant impact" they have created for 16 years.

Too many cook spoil the broth. Let your actions do the talking.