…Instead Of GBADEBO RHODES VIVOUR
•Chief BODE GEORGE Gives Details
Recently, the former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olabode Goerge in an interview with News Central stated what transpired between himself, Jandor and Gbadebo before the PDP Governorship Primaries. Below are extracts of the interview.
You have mentioned lagos state so lets talk about the PDP Governorship candidate and of course, you have mentioned many times that you need the people to trust you and be able to trust your words, so lets look at the
sort of relationship between the PDP and the people. The Governorship candidate, Olajide Adeniran popularly known as Jandor emerged the party flag bearer just months after he left the Apc and we have also seen a lot of decamping and some are even saying recamping if you will, so for many Nigerians, that simply proves that there is no difference between any of the political parties that are available, that 6 and the half or 6 is the same as half a dozen. Chief Judge, you are laughing but that what we sense and the sentiments we get from many Nigerians what do you say to them when they Say there is no difference.
I don’t blame them because where are the ideological difference between the political parties. If you remember, I defined APC as a contraption, a party of strangebed fellows. Our party, when it was established carried the national flag from the swampy forest to the savannah regions. In the north, I have canvassed, I have campaigned, I have been all over the states of this country and I have seen the spread of our party. Now, true, no ideological differences all we have been saying is that we want to prove to Nigerians that we can manage their resources for their betterment. But Nigerians are saying PDP had 16 years to prove true. Compare those 16 years with the 8 years of APC. Where is the rate of the dollar to naira today. Where is the rate of the stealing of the crude oil today? Where is our income, all the money borrowed. What have we used them for? You know If you borrow money from the bank, they expect you to have good returns so you can pay back your loans.
All those resources that should be distributed to support the State, you know some of these states are almost bankrupt now. They can’t pay salaries. They can’t pay pension. Everybody is scared. What is the rate of the dollar to naira and suddenly from nowhere we heard that the governor of central bank who should be advising the government on the fiscal and monetary policies suddenly wanted to be presidential candidate or aspirant for the party. That’s a big joke isn’t it? look at the police, the population is absolutely inadequate to manage the security outfit of the county. people will be talking, let’s have a state police, the state would have to pay their salaries not the federalist government right? But they said no, we wouldn’t do that. The number of men in the Police is absolutely inadequate to meet our needs. They are in their 8th year now and all you hear is that they are in a town hall meeting. Restructuring is important for this country. This nation is not working
There is too much concentration. It is like a millitary organization with the hierarchy at the top and equilate down to the bottom.
Chief George, I want to bring you back to Lagos State because I want to get your idea on this. Do you think the PDP has solid chances in Lagos?
You know we have a saying also in my part of the world. if you go to the forest and you have trees falling on trees, you don’t remove the bottom first you start with the top. Let’s resolve the national crisis in which we are and if we are able to resolve that all those little ones down below will not be a major problem but if we are not able to, it would affect everybody. look at the human being, the human body. If the brain is faulty, which other part will function?
And then just a few months to the election, at this point, 24 hours in politics is a very long time. We have been talking and talking and talking about this current issues. If we want to win, we must get everybody’s hand on deck. They call our candidate the Unifier. We must see him get above this area and resolve this crisis bringing about Justice, Fairness and Equity. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. We can do it, the issue of Lagos we will resolve it. mistakes were made. The young man that is there, infact, when I hear stories like oh, Chief Bode George is supporting the labor fellow candidate, it’s like a joke. Right here in my office, we all met. That is our responsibility as elders. We met all of them, all those who are aspirants and to have a seamless Congress, the primary for the governorship. I asked Jandor how old he was, he told me his age. I asked the other young man, Vivour how old he was, 44-39. After their presentation here , we saw that this were the best two we could have and I asked him pointedly here “if you will work with this man as your deputy” . He said yes sir, and having paid for the price of the form twenty one point something millions. We said okay. For us to have a seamless primaries would you take him to be your running mate? Yes sir. Brilliant don’t go there and start fighting. He had contested before from Lagos West which is 10 local governments. We elders met here and unanimously we said okay, the two of you should partner. Please drop. Gbadebo accepted to drop. On the day of the Congress, they even called me from there, in my office and said sir, is that agreement still holding? I said hold on a second, I picked my phone and called Jandor, Jide what we discussed, are you still in consonance with that decision? Yes sir. And so Gbadebo was asked to drop so that it could be seamless.
And it was after that, he then came and said Sir, you know, my mentor Derele Ogunsanya advised me that I should choose a deputy from Ikorodu, a woman and all that. I said why didn’t you tell me at that time. You know I am saying this now for history because that was what transpired. I have been hearing all kinds of rumours, that I am the one sponsoring Gbadebo. Gbadebo’s father is my friend in my age group. Is he my son? Don’t I have my children? He paid his forms, non refundable. Haven’t you seen that he Jandor reneged on the agreement. I had to call Wale,that’s Gbadebo’s father here and say I beg you, this is getting a bit too dangerous. If he told me twice that Yes Sir, he’s in agreement and now backed off. Why did he lie to me?
Would that not make you question his character?
Let’s leave that to the pages of history. I am just giving you exactly what transpired and I am saying it now because I have been hearing a lot. Infact, you know Politics not politricks, spinning manipulations and I don’t belong to that school of thought because eventually it will end up into
the dustbin of history. So I am saying that now to put the record straight.
We, as leaders did our utmost to ensure that we had a very seamless primaries, having asked that young man to step down so that he can run as partners. But then, later on he said, no, this is the young lady he wanted. She came here i prayed for her, infact all the elders also prayed for the young woman. If its not going to work it didn’t work and you know the other part of it was that somebody now wrote a petition when they were going to screen them for deputy governorship. They wrote a petition against these young man. He has his life to live. He is not my direct son, he is the son of my classmate and would I deny that? You think I have that kind of money to have paid twenty one point something million to collect form in PDP. He headed out to the Labour Party to pay another. Don’t I have my own children, you think my children, would they not say daddy, what are you doing. He is not from a very poor family. The decision is his family. My fear was, we, not only me, the elders, we looked at it, we got involved and told him to step down so that we could have peace and have a unified front to fight that battle with Bola Tinubu. Because now the result is going to be electonically transmitted, unlike before. So whatever Gbadebo has done to himself is between him and his family. I wasn’t even in the country, I was outside the Country. After I begged Wale here he looked for me to forget about the issue of deputy or no deputy, if they could write petition against him again to the Party Secretariat. Enough is enough.
