Senator James Akpanudoedehe, who recently defected from the ruling party and is now the governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party in Akwa Ibom State, tells OLUWAFEMI MORGAN why he left the ruling party and his chances in his new party.
Why did you leave the All Progressives Congress, where you were a high-ranking member and the secretary of the party’s caretaker committee for nearly two years?
It’s due to the way I was treated, but I accepted it on the basis of good faith. I’m not making a big deal about it because, as the party’s immediate past national secretary, I expect modesty and fairness from them. In the party, there is a problem that keeps coming up. Some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) joined the campaign in 2015, and the party gave them the (governorship) nomination. I didn’t get anything. People came from the PDP and were given the ticket despite the fact that I built the structure and movement. The same thing happened in both 2019 and 2022. I had no choice but to leave because the party’s leaders did not extend me that hand of friendship. I am not a communist but rather a capitalist.
Many people were surprised by your defection from the party you helped build in the state; was it solely because you lost the APC governorship ticket, or were there other issues with which you were unhappy?
It’s excruciating because I didn’t have a choice, and I’m getting on in years. It’s the right time for my zone to run for that office, and if they miss out, it’ll be almost impossible for them to run again. They (APC) kept doing this thing where they would push me to the edge of my comfort zone. If people keep pushing you and you don’t act, the deadline will pass you by and you will be powerless to stop it. As a result, in order for me to be on the ballot, I needed to opt out as soon as possible.
How easy was it for you to switch parties after being an APC member all your life?
It was simple because my new party and the APC share a lot of common ground. Progressives exist in the APC, and we are a political party.
Many people have said that most of our political parties are similar; are you saying that the NNPP and the APC are similar in many ways?
They, too, have a leader in the form of President (Muhammadu) Buhari, as well as a large and loyal following.
Isn’t it possible that the APC treatment you received could repeat itself because they’re so similar?
It cannot repeat itself because I have the ticket. In the state of Akwa-Ibom, I am the party’s governorship candidate.
You were the APC’s secretary prior to the formation of the party’s new National Working Committee, and many people expected you to be in charge, at least in your state. What went wrong that things didn’t go your way?
I’m not sure because it seemed like they (the new NWC members) were angry with the caretaker committee when they arrived. One cannot explain all of the issues, but the National Chairman (Abdullahi Adamu) stated that when he was the head of the reconciliation committee, he “ignored their committee and did not appear,” and that “when they went to Calabar and extended their invitation to me,” I “ignored their committee and did not appear.” They even claimed that my chairman showed up three times, but I refused. But I recall that trip to Calabar; I had planned and purchased my ticket in advance, but it had to be rescheduled. They postponed it and then rescheduled it. The tripartite committee meeting took place for the third time. I was a member of both the merger and constitution-drafting committees. This party was on the verge of collapsing until we (caretaker committee) intervened. Perhaps this national chairman would not be chairman today if we allowed what was about to occur. It is in the spirit of comradeship that I have departed. Some courtesy should be shown to me, but what can you do when you see an environment that is toxic, hostile, and unforgiving? I wanted to see the President, but he was very busy. I spoke with the vice-president as well as the Chief of Staff (to the President). Everyone had spoken to him (Adamu), including the chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum and the chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, but he refused to budge.
What is your relationship with Senator Godswill Akpabio, the former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and former governor of the state?
Since 2009, Akpabio has irritated me. He passed legislation to imprison me, as you are aware. He accused me of murdering and treasoning. He doesn’t seem to want to let go of me. It was because of him that I left the PDP, and I thought I’d found a safe haven and wouldn’t see him again, but he thrives on money politics. He has managed to convince Nigerians that he is a performer thanks to his wealth. Akwa Ibom received over N1.3 trillion in federal funds while he was governor. There is a report, and to quote former Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the state did not use one percent of the money it received for development. When a man like Akpabio misuses money and blindfolds people, he will be referred to as unusual. Some believe he controls Akwa Ibom State, but this is not the case. He did not leave the PDP with the party’s organisational structure. I started the APC in my state with 250,000 people, but people sometimes believe in those who have a lot of money rather than those who have a lot of money.
How do you plan to win the election, given that the PDP has had a firm grip on your state since 1999, and the APC is the next most popular party in your state after the PDP?
It is not a new party after the PDP.
What about Governor Udom Emmanuel’s and the governor’s choice, PDP governorship candidate Umo Eno?
Udom will not be running against me in the election. We’ll have to deal with this candidate. We’re not going to discuss the governor in office right now.
Do you have a bigger following than the candidate he chose?
God, according to the Bible, opposes the proud and favours the humble. I don’t boast because I’m a pastor. Everything is in God’s hands, and I trust Him completely. I don’t discuss my strategy for victory. God is the sole possessor of all abilities. He endows the humble with power and grace. I have a good understanding of the Bible; it says that some people trust horses, while others trust chariots. You will win if God chooses to support you. At the age of 32, I was elected chairman of my local government; at 35, I became a senator. I was re-elected as a senator at the age of 37 after (late Gen Sani) Abacha died. Where were the people you mentioned in the political landscape in 1999, if you wanted to evaluate them? We don’t compete with each other, and we don’t go after individuals. We just have faith in ourselves. They did everything they could to stop me when I first ran for office in Akwa Ibom State, but I won. All of the people who were abusing us later became party members.
You were a founding member of the Action Congress of Nigeria in your state before it morphed into the APC, but it appears that the structure has been taken over by your friend Akpabio. When did the party’s structure become a problem for you?
There hasn’t been any interference with my system. It is usually the fault of ‘Abuja,’ which is biassed against us. Akpabio, I believe, has a leadership problem. As a minister, he wasn’t putting money into the party. We were the ones who footed the bill for salaries, rent, and everything else we did. He had nothing to do with the situation. ‘I’ll see how you handle it,’ I’m sure he thought. Even though I was the one who spent the money, I’m sure he was surprised. He realised later that we had travelled a long distance.
In Akwa Ibom State, how strong is the NNPP’s structure and popularity?
The NNPP will become the state’s number one party now that I’m a member. That is all I have to say on the subject.
If you are elected governor, what are your plans for the state’s citizens?
I want to help them get out of their plight. The country has a 61 percent unemployment rate; there is serious poverty in the midst of plenty, so I will lead them out of poverty.
Given that you are Ibibio and the incumbent governor is also an Ibibio, what are your thoughts on the state’s zoning issue?
I’m Ibibio from the senatorial district of Eket, and I’m from the senatorial district of Uyo.
Is this to imply that other ethnic groups are unconcerned about the Ibibio’s dominance?
There are no other sub-groups in the Uyo senatorial district; it is primarily made up of Ibibio people from various local governments.
Was the Ibibio’s dominance a factor in your decision to run with him?
Ibibio is the first son, Anang is the second, and Oron is the third son in Akwa-Ibom State. That’s the way we see things.
How does your party hope to replicate the success of its presidential candidate (Rabiu Kwankwaso) in other parts of the country?
He will astound Nigerians if he can gather all of his supporters and persuade them to obtain permanent voter cards. He is moving in a way that is unheard of.
However, some claim that the movement is primarily centred in Kano and northern Nigeria.
He will mobilise the rest of the country once we begin our campaigns. That is not an issue because we have eight months to campaign. As you may have noticed, because it is a national party, the party held its special convention in Abuja.
Could you tell us about some of the people you’re courting, particularly from the South?
Many people are expected to attend. I’m not going to rip it open with my bare hands. They’ll announce it at the appropriate time. We don’t have a problem because we have a window to realign.
When you were in the APC, there were rumours that the caretaker committee, on which you served as secretary, didn’t want to leave office, which they claimed was why you stayed in office for more than six months instead of two. What would your reaction be if you were faced with such a situation?
COVID-19, #EndSARS insecurity, and other events have been forgotten by you. If we could finish in a week or two, that would be fantastic (we would have done it). You seem to forget that membership registration took nearly three months, with approximately 40 million people signing up. The ward congress and the national convention had to be organised as well. In the interim, we had bye-elections to contend with, as well as the governors, who control the party’s structure in their respective states. What matters is that we were both eligible and party members. We would have stayed for four years if it had been possible, as long as we had met our objectives. There’s no need to be concerned.
Why did the caretaker committee fail to resolve the crisis in the party’s state chapters?
It’s a human issue; no one can solve all human issues; all you can do is manage them.
Because the stakes were so high, many people predicted a crisis following the APC presidential primary. Do you believe the party is going well?
Because I am no longer a member of the APC and have given up all of my rights and privileges, I can now only speak about the NNPP.
What would you say the Kwankwaso movement’s strength is like?
He is not to be taken lightly. His supporters are far too young to be dismissed or undervalued. He’s an unstoppable force.
Will the NNPP be able to win the upcoming elections against the APC?
What we can do is sell Nigerians on our programmes. We’ve devised a winning strategy, and APC will devise its own. We thank God, however, that the votes will be counted. Everyone is counting on INEC’s technology to ensure that one man, one vote is cast. Nigerians will elect the president of their country. When you use the word ‘force,’ you’re implying that you’re larger than Nigeria.
Do you think Adamu can survive as chairman now that Tinubu is the candidate, given the drama that unfolded in the APC shortly before the primary, in which the chairman attempted to impose Senate President Ahmad Lawan as the consensus candidate?
I’d rather not discuss APC. When it came to the national chairman, he was a hard man to work with. In his quest for the presidency, he was ruthless. He was a tyrant with a toxic personality. I couldn’t understand why a senior citizen would be so irrational. I’m not sure what forces compel him to move. When it came to unforgiveness, he was in a league of his own. What other crime are you talking about if President Buhari could forgive Godswill Akpabio for abusing him during every campaign and then appointing him as a minister? What did I do wrong for President Buhari to forgive Akpabio? Nothing.
Could you give an example of a time when he treated you unfairly?
I recall him keeping me in his office from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on one occasion. He later instructed one of his secretaries to contact me, despite the fact that he had previously stated that he did not wish to see me. When I finally saw him, he simply dismissed me, as if I had said nothing significant. He was telling party leaders that I told him his handover file as chairman of the APC National Reconciliation Committee was empty at the time. I never said anything like that, but as the party’s secretary at the time, I felt compelled to defend myself. More than that, I’d rather not say.
