Dr. Adegbola Dominic, Lagos State chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in this exclusive interview with TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI speaks on the outcome of the 2019 general elections, brickbats between the party leadership and its governorship candidate, Jimi Agbaje

The 2019 elections have come and gone. Do you think it is an improvement on the 2015 elections or a decline?

It is far worse than the 2015 elections. We’ve never had any election like this before in the history of this country. There were irregularities in the 2015 elections but obviously, this one is worse. Most of the results have been predetermined even before the election. INEC has a set of rules for a particular area and another set of rules for other areas. Card readers were mandatory in most of the Southern states whereas it was mostly abandoned in the core Northern states. We have reports of results being written and handed over to INEC for announcement, while the Electoral Officers simply adopted it and signed under duress. Look at the number of killings that we have witnessed in this election, especially in Rivers as if we are in a war zone. We have situations where military officers invaded election venues and collation centres, arresting and killing civilians, destroying ballot papers as well as other electoral materials. These are soldiers in uniforms deployed by the Armed Forces and President Muhammadu Buhari by virtue of his position is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. So, in clear terms, he deployed these soldiers there to cause this mayhem. To me, this is unacceptable in these modern times. The elections should be totally cancelled in some of the states. In some places, the results announced are more than that of accredited voters and that was accepted by INEC. So, what kind of election is that? Whereas in some areas, even when the accreditation is okay and voting commenced peacefully, just because the validly cancelled votes are more than the difference in the figures, the elections were declared inconclusive and in some places, suspended. In Rivers state for instance, the election went well except for few places. The results are already there. All INEC need to do is to collate the results brought from the polling booths and announce. Why do they have to suspend the elections? Because it didn’t favour the powers that be and it didn’t go the way they wanted it, they decided to send in the military to disrupt the collation of results. It is very unfortunate and to me, this is the worst election conducted since 1999. It has never been this bad. We are heading for a fascist regime now.

Coming to Lagos, your party performed well and got eight seats in the Lagos State House of Assembly. But now, APC cleared the 40 seats leaving none for your party. Were you surprised by that development?

To some extent, I was shocked because it was total sweep by the APC. I personally was not too happy with developments within the party especially towards the elections. You could see our performance in the presidential election. We actually won the presidential election in Lagos state. There is no question about that. But we had a governorship candidate who just decided to do things his own way. He ignored the party completely. I as the party chairman in the state was never invited to even a single outing of the governorship candidate. I didn’t know what he was doing and his plans. He didn’t carry anybody along in the mainstream of the party. Agbaje seems to have his own league of friends who are going about with him. He didn’t hold a single rally and the party too did not hold any rally because the governorship candidate believes that rallies are not important. He kept on sneaking into areas in the name of holding Town Hall meetings. I am from Alimosho Local Government area. As the party chairman, I was informed that Jimi Agbaje, our governorship candidate has crept into the local government and was holding a Town Hall meeting. Honestly, I didn’t know anything about the meeting until some party members phoned me asking me if I was aware. The Town Hall meeting was scantily attended because the mainstream of the party and members are not aware. That is what happened across the 20 local government areas in the state. To start with, how can a governorship candidate unilaterally chose a running mate without consultation with the party? He was working with his friends many of whom are not members of the party. So, based on his attitude, the mainstream of the party did not go with him. They were all angry with him. Right now, many of the party members are disgruntled and aggrieved because of the attitude of the governorship candidate which greatly affected the party’s chances.

What about the area of finances, were you hampered due to shortage of cash?

We are not in government. We don’t have much money. The little we have we would have spent and maximized it judiciously with careful planning if the governorship candidate had cooperated with the party and we would have had enough to spend for the governorship elections. So, it was a disaster we brought on ourselves and because the governorship and house of assembly elections were going on together, it impacted negatively on our votes in the House of Assembly. Those who are supposed to thumbprint for our logo, the umbrella, were angry with Jimi Agbaje and so they decided not to vote or voted or in some cases voted against us.

You also accused him of congratulating the winner, Babajide Sanwo- Olu, don’t you think that is an act of sportsmanship on his part?

That is another indication that there might be some agenda that we in the mainstream of the party are not aware of. We were not consulted before he made the call to Sanwo-Olu, the winner. We just heard it on the airwaves that our candidate has congratulated APC. Such circumstances make one to suspect that he probably may have sold out even before the elections. Jimi Agbaje would not have needed to be struggling so hard to prove that he is not an APC mole in the PDP if he had not been seen to be undermining the interests of the party in his acts of commission and omission. Our candidate almost could not wait for the APC to be declared winner before congratulating Sanwoolu. What further evidence do we need to prove the lack of commitment to our party’s cause by our own candidate? But we are going to go back to the drawing board and rejig the party. We will also instill discipline because if we don’t do that, these things will repeat itself again.

In the statement issued by Agbaje, he said you admitted at an open meeting that you supported the governorship candidate of another party against him. What was your reason for not supporting him?

That is not true! Because he was looking for some excuses to cover up for the shame that he has brought on the party, Agbaje alleged at that meeting that I, as the state chairman of the party was sponsoring and adopted another governorship candidate against him. He also said that he has evidence to back his claim. At that meeting, I expressly said his claim was false and that there was nowhere that I sat with anybody to adopt any other candidate. In spite of the urging and pressures from a large number of members and leaders that we should find an alternative candidate to Jimi Agbaje, I refused and I stood my ground that he is our candidate and we won’t replace him with any other person. So, if that to Agbaje amounts to supporting another candidate; that is a very unintelligent interpretation.

He got the party’s ticket in 2015 and 2019. If he decides to contest in 2023 under your party, do you think he will succeed in getting the ticket?

No. it is certainly not possible for him to get our ticket again. That is why we are reorganising the party now. We will ensure that the party is supreme and takes control. We will also ensure discipline because if there was discipline in the party, Agbaje wouldn’t have gotten the ticket in 2019. We will also stop the influence of outsiders in the party. Agbaje got the ticket in 2019 because of the influence of forces outside Lagos state. Going forward, we will prevent such things from happening again. Lagos state PDP must be in control of Lagos state, not people outside who do not even know what is happening in the party. You cannot know the ways inside a building except you are inside the building or reside there.
https://www.independent.ng/it-will-be-impossible-for-agbaje-to-get-pdp-ticket-again-dominic/

Why he keeps picking up the ticket when it's very obvious his defeat is imminent still baffles me, the party better find someone new to give the ticket...

It's because PDP is dead in Lagos. Aside Agbaje and Bode George, which other popular person is in the party?

Larryfest:
Why he keeps picking up the ticket when it's very obvious his defeat is imminent still baffles me, the party better find someone new to give the ticket...

Pray Tinubu doesn't take him in APC

.

Another chance with all these atrocities stated here?

Sakamaje:
That is not fair. Agbaje should be given at least one more chance by PDP.

Ooooo!! Why na?? Please sell to customer dada..

We don't know Agbaje here in Jigawa

nairavsdollars:
Dr. Adegbola Dominic, Lagos State chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in this exclusive interview with TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI speaks on the outcome of the 2019 general elections, brickbats between the party leadership and its governorship candidate, Jimi Agbaje
The 2019 elections have come and gone. Do you think it is an improvement on the 2015 elections....
........

You cannot know the ways inside a building except you are inside the building

DIDN'T ANYONE SEE THIS??

Who know dis man for Lagos...

Abeg, shred all his information

who cares... PDP will never win Lagos in the next 40 years

And you think APC will survive next 10 years?

babyfaceafrica:
who cares... PDP will never win Lagos in the next 40 years

hisexcellency34:
Another chance with all these atrocities stated here?

Maybe he will succeed under PDP if the party gives him the ticket a third time.

He can get the Abia state PDP Ticket very easily. His name is now JimiShukwu AgbajeNze

Agbaje should just go and rule his slaves and piglets

Those ones lick his black Afonja yansh for free anyways

Sakamaje:
That is not fair. Agbaje should be given at least one more chance by PDP.

Nonsense. Is he the only person that can contest in the party. He has failed on 3 separate occasions already. Abgaje O to ge!

post=77014556:
He fought a good fight, it is not easy!!

Kudos to Mr Jimi!

Stop acting nice and normal

We know the tactics

deji17:
He can get the Abia state PDP Ticket very easily. His name is now JimiShukwu AgbajeNze

Alias Oba Awon Okoro.

Only If HIS IPOB BROTHERS Advise him.
They might compensate him with appointment in Douglas House

the loss of PDP is not really Jim's fault even though jimi plays nonchalant attitude towards PDP victory. jimi is a mere political instrument to weakening PDP even if PDP don't pick jimi they can't win again as too much of defeat had reduced the political reputation of PDP as a party


I wonder who else PDP will settle with? they better merge with other parties and be consistent with tough critics of the incumbent. Lagos PDP is the only party that would be acknowledging the works of the opposition/incumbent party

hisexcellency34:
It's because PDP is dead in Lagos. Aside Agbaje and Bode George, which other popular person is in the party?

THEY'RE THREE-FOLD :

JIMI AGBAJE
BODE GEORGE
IPOB BOYS

Even if they give the ticket to oyedepo, it will still be rigged in favour of APC.

if they even give him, he should know that they are trying to make him a specimen for a political insanity analysis in Yaba.

So agbaje was basically imposed on Lagos PDP by people outside Lagos probably Wike of Rivers state or Atiku from adamawa and these people will be busy abusing Tinubu of imposition.

Never say NEVER!

Abi ooo. Wike sponsored him after the plot to make him national chairman failed

kayzat:
So agbaje was basically imposed on Lagos PDP by people outside Lagos probably Wike of Rivers state or Atiku from adamawa and these people will be busy abusing Tinubu of imposition.

Jimi = customer dada

afroniger:


Nonsense. Is he the only person that can contest in the party. He has failed on 3 separate occasions already. Abgaje O to ge!

Buhari tried 4x also Atiku will try for the 4th time also never say never