National Legal Adviser, All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Muiz Banire, has advised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to stop ranting over recent losses suffered by the party through electoral verdicts by Election Petitions Tribunals in Rivers State and other parts of the country.
Banire blasted the PDP for complaining not only about the losses at the tribunals, but for also making uncomplimentary remarks about the judiciary.
“Judiciary is still the last hope of common man. It is an institution we must all protect at all times. If PDP loses at the tribunals, the options of appeals is still there, we must be careful not to desecrate judiciary which is more or less a sacred institution,” he declared.
Banire, who spoke shortly after being conferred with Lifetime Achievement Award by Change Monitors, a non-governmental organization based in Mushin, Lagos, also spoke on other national issues including imposition of candidates and godfatherism, developments in APC in Lagos State, clamour for Lagos State to be accorded special status, and leadership, among others.
Excerpts (from The Sun):
There have been rumours of crack within APC especially few months before the general elections largely as a result of attempts by some leaders of the party to impose candidates, what is the situation now?
APC still remains as the leading party not only in Lagos but throughout Nigeria.
In Lagos State, we are still waxing stronger, and we see ourselves as members of the same family.
It is true that there were attempts to impose or foist candidates on the party before the elections, and this was one of the reasons some of us had issues with the party.
I kicked against imposition because I believed it will not serve the party’s interest. Imposition is against the tenets of democracy. I believe in having people freely choosing their own leaders without interference or saying the truth or fear fellow human beings.
It is those politicians that don’t have second or alternative address that will not be able to look up into the party leaders’ eyeball to eyeball and tell them the truth. It is when you don’t have an alternative job that you will sit in the APC office 24/7. I fear only God. I will always speak the truth and do whatever my conscience says is right. I’m beyond caging.
Some people are afraid of saying the truth because they don’t have alternative address. I’m a professional. I don’t live on politics. I have my own work, so why should I be afraid? It was one of the reasons some people and I insisted that we must conduct primaries for all the elective positions.
It is not that I was being antagonistic of the party, but I did so because I wanted the best for APC.
Some members of APC labelled some of us but I didn’t care. Nobody can cage me, and I fear nobody. How can you be in executive council meetings with the governor and you will not be able to tell him the truth?
Is everything now okay?
Thank God that we insisted on having primaries, and the party eventually agreed. But we still have one or two cases of imposition, and that was one of the reason APC lost ground in some areas in Lagos State which were hitherto considered as APC strongholds.
Again, one important factor that can affect unity of any association is where you have cases of injustices. APC must also address this issue in Lagos State.
For example, in Mushin where I come from, our people voted massively for APC during the election. But what happened later? When it was time for composition of cabinet in Lagos State, Mushin was given only one slot, Oshodi-Isolo where APC lost to PDP was given three slots. You can see injustice. Where people voted for the national, they were not adequately compensated, but where the party lost, the people there were amply rewarded.
Unfortunately, I’m now operating at the national level, but that not withstanding, I’ve protested against the injustice and we are waiting for the party to do the needful – we want redress.
Some people have been canvassing that Lagos State should be accorded special status because of the ovewhelming pressure on infrastructural facilities and the population explosion, what is your take on this?
It is very unfortunate that the Federal Government has abandoned Lagos which was once the seat of government.
Since the capital was moved to Abuja, La¬gos State has virtually been abandoned. When democracy returned in 1999 and we thought there would be a change, PDP-led Federal Government introduced politics into it.
Not only was Lagos State abandoned, its statutory allocations was also seized making things more difficult for the state government. But thank God, Lagos State has always been surviving.
What these leaders who introduced politics into Lagos issue failed to realise is that Lagos is mini-Nigeria. Every family is represented in Lagos whether you or your relations belong to PDP, APC, Labour or whichever party.
The pressure on Lagos is too much, the state requires Federal Government’s support. It should be accorded a special status – Lagos caters for everybody irrespective of ethnic or religious affiliations. You know the number of people that enters Lagos State daily in their hundreds from different parts of the country – there are times when we have to pause, then reflect and think deeply on some issues instead of being parochial or sentimental.
I implore President Muhammadu Buhari to look into this Lagos issue, and do justice in the matter.
PDP has lately been complaining about judgements by the election tribunals which resulted in electoral defeat for the party in some states, how do you see the party’s reaction?
PDP should not behave like bad losers. The party should stop complaining or issuing statements which may portray judiciary in bad light. The verdicts by the election tribunals are not the final.
The options of the appeal is still there. The party can still go to Appeal Court and the Supreme Court. We should all protect the judiciary because it is the last hope for everybody.
We should not desecrate the judiciary. Rule of law is in place, and let’s all try to abide by the rule of law. PDP should try to be a good loser, and where the party is dissatisfied you can appeal. I believe that we must at all times try to protect the judiciary.
How would you describe our political leaders attitude towards governance?
To me, a political leader ought to be a role model. He or she must at all times try to live above board. A genuine political leader must never abuse public trust.
But surprisingly in Nigeria, most of our political leaders are caricatures of what a genuine political leader should be. Our so-called leaders, most of them are self-serving. They are not reliable – most politicians today don’t want to crawl before they start walking. We have a long way to go in this country.
But do we even have to blame the leaders? No. Our leaders are taking people for a ride because Nigerians are docile. They don’t ask their leaders questions, and this is why these leaders feel that they are not accountable to anybody.
That is why they abuse positions of trust, but the day Nigerians can rise and start asking their leaders questions, things will start changing.
The day leaders are made to realise that they are accountable to the electorate then we will start having change. We can’t continue this way. There is need for a change on the part of the leaders and the led. Public office should no longer be seen as an avenue to amass ill-gotten wealth but as an avenue to serve the people.
To attain this new desirable era, we need to strengthen our institutions. These institutions including anti-corruption agencies need to be strengthened in order to be efficient. We should stop worshipping individuals, but now strive to build institutions that will endure.