PDP is Dead, says Akpeki

(Last November, Chief Paulinus Akpeki, immediate past Chief of staff, Government House, and former commissioner for Housing, Delta state, and now a chieftain of the All Peoples Congress (APC), spoke to journalists shortly after a goodwill visit to his former colleague, Chief Funkekeme Solomon, as the later hosted well wishers to a lavish party to mark the inauguration of the board of Ozoro Polytechnic of which Solomon is chairman. Emerging from the house, journalists accosted Chief Akpeki and fielded the following questions and responses from him. Below are details of the interview with Akpeki as recorded by CHUKWUDI ABIANDU).

Chief Paulinus Akpeki

Q: The great Ugo, Chief Paulinus P.D.O. Akpeki, the Ugo 1 of the universe. Ugo, it’s good to see you sir.

Ans: Thank you.

Q: There has been a lot of things flying around, that Ugo has done one or two things; Ugo has done that, Ugo has done this. We know that Ugo has suddenly changed his political platform. Ugo sir, what informed you to change your political platform?

Ans: In the life of a man, he will have to sum up courage to take certain decisions. Like I said the other time, I don’t want to live up to how many years, and I will come back and tell people that I regret I didn’t take this decision. My elder statesman that I respect and love, and will continue to love, Dr. Osaigbovo Ogbemudia at the age of 83 was asked a question in all that you have done even in PDP, do you have any regret. He said he had his regret, and what was it? His being able not to sum up courage to quit PDP at a time he was supposed to quit. He said he saw it coming but he could not sum up the courage to do it. But I have always seen it coming, and I have always advised even this same Solomon (Funkekeme) that I came to his house now. I kept telling him, even if anybody will not do it, I will sum up the courage to do it. But what I know I have done now, I am trying to pull all of you in Delta out of slavery. I don’t want to live and say I regret, and that I regretted not taking that decision that time. I don’t regret leaving PDP.

Q: You said you want to pull all the people in Delta out of slavery. What do you mean by slavery?

Ans: Because Delta Stat has come to a stage today where it has become like a family estate, where you share your estate to family and friends. You have a right when you own a property, when you are getting older you are going, you will say this goes to this, this to that, this to that. You have a right. But Delta State is not a personal family estate. It is the estate of every stake holder. Today, if anybody has a right to bring people into Delta state, I think some of us also have the right to do just that. So, what I have done today with time to come, people will say at so, so, so time people did like this. Is it not me here now? An APC chieftain coming to congratulate my brother Solomon (Funkekeme). He is in PDP, but I am in APC. And I say play politics without bitterness.

Q: Ugo, people are saying that this was a house you help to build. The governor today, you sacrificed a lot to also contribute in making him governor of the State, and you were even at a time chairman of a campaign council. Now that you have helped to build the house…

Ans: (cuts in) I was Director General of a campaign council. A council that was in place from December 2010 to December 2014. I financed it with my money in running the place under Uduaghan. When people like Uzor, Enuesoke and others did not know how we managed the place. He was there. (Pointing to a journalist who was among his interviewers). Today, few persons who did not know how we managed PDP now claim they own PDP because they can blackmail; because they can’t sit down and mount a campaign of calumny. I will not be party to that. When you advise and your advice falls on deaf ears you go away. He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day. But I am poised to take over power from PDP in this State come 2019.

I am not talking of tribunal. It is wrong if anybody is thinking of tribunal, re-run. It is not my cup of tea. I am not thinking of that. I am thinking ahead of 2019. And PDP in this state in 2019, when the time comes, Deltans will determine and decide whether we should vote for PDP or vote for APC.  At that time people like you (journalists) will sit down and do the analysis and take a decision then.

Q: Are you saying that PDP will be dead in Delta state in 2019?

Ans: PDP is already a dead party. When the chips are down, I challenge Uzor to a television debate. I challenge Enuesoke and others to a television debate. Let us sit down, we are all friends. Let them analyse their own and I will analyse my own. It’s not about Okowa. Okowa is a good man, but Okowa is saddled with a set of people that don’t allow the man to see beyond his nose. And that was what happened to Jonathan. And that was why he presided over his own liquidation. I will not want that to happen to Okowa as my friend. Okowa is an experienced administrator, an experienced politician, but as a governor he might not be able to move from his house to speak the outside world.

Today, Okowa does not know what is happening outside. It is what the charlatans tell him that he believes. I challenge them in PDP to television debate, so that we analyse PDP as a party. PDP has no programme; PDP has no political ideology. Let them come and let’s debate it. Invite me to a conference. Let them be seated, let Uzor be seated and I sit so that we can debate it.

Q: What is going to be your advice to the founding men of PDP who were with you but who are still there?

Ans: My advice to them now is that let not what happened to Jonathan happen to them. Let them sit back and x-ray what is in PDP now. It might send a very strong signal of what to do. So that the good people in APC and the good people in PDP will meet and decide what happens to Delta State. It is not about Akpeki; it is not about Okowa; It’s not about anybody. It is about Delta state.

We talk of job creation; you are bringing 600, 600,000 people to Songhai. Isn’t it? That is job creation. We will discuss it at the appropriate time. Let them tell us what they have spent so far on job creation. They have spent two hundred and something billion. Let them tell us how it came about. Edevbie was commissioner for finance from 1999to 2003. He was in charge of the funds of Delta state from 2007 to 2015. The Accountant General of this state is the accountant general from 1999 up till today. Let them publish the financial transactions of Delta state from 1999 to 2003, and publish from 2007 to 2015, and publish from May 2015 to now. Let them tell us the financial standing of this state. We shall come to that.

We are ready in APC. We shall give you a formidable team come 2019. God bless you all.

The shouts of Ugo rented the air as Akpeki took his leave. In his light brown flowing gown, agbada.