Senior special assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe argues in this interview with LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPERthat the All Progressives Congress (APC) was the first to raise issues about the use of card readers before other political parties joined them. Explaining, however, why the ruling party is opposed to the use of card readers, the presidential aide also bares his mind on other issues about the president’s 2015 reelection bid.
Recently, the opposition alleged that there are plans by the presidency to manipulate elections, beginning from certain moves to implicate their leaders, freeze their accounts and ground their aircraft…
(Cuts in) You know, I can wake up and say that Lai Mohammed is planning to rape my wife, kidnap my children, he wants to destroy my car; you can say anything. Any human being can say anything. But most sensible people will see things that are factual and if somebody who is not sensible is talking gibberish, a sensible person will ask him “all this stories that you are saying, what are the evidences?”
They said we want to put money in Attahiru Jega’s account and then come and say that it is Bola Tinubu that puts it. When money goes to people’s accounts, are there no ways of tracing such accounts? And there are certain laws now in this country that limits what you can pay into an account. These are just funny characters, aimless political wayfarers who will achieve nothing but who will stop at nothing in bad-mouthing people. Honestly speaking, I am just praying for this March 28 to come and go so that we can win and shut them up once and for all.
But if no plans to manipulate the forthcoming polls why does the PDP keep insisting that it does not want card readers for the forthcoming polls?
It is an interesting country. The first person to raise objection to the usage of card reader was Femi Gbajabiamila on the floor of the House of Representatives. Gbajabiamila, who is the House minority leader is an opposition member and that objection was taken into a motion and a resolution of the House of Reps. And the House of Reps actually made a resolution against the use of the card reader. The opposition was the first to raise issues about card readers. These are facts, verifiable facts. I have told you, these are despicable characters, liars and people without shame or honour. It is a pity and it is unfortunate that one is on this side. I wish I were a neutral observer.
So, if they had said so, they must have seen something at that time that made them to feel that card readers should not be used. Other people now looked at it and said these guys have a point. They now said we think you have a point. They are now turning around to say “no, no, no; you people are thieves; why are you saying that INEC should not use card readers.” But they are the ones who started it!
In all fairness, let us look at the story properly and objectively. You are conducting an election in over a 120,000 polling booths of the federation. So, there will be a card reader in each one of them. Now INEC said they want to do a mock this Saturday (last Saturday). If there was no extension of the polls, would they have been able to do a mock exercise? Remember that Jega also imported certain machines that were abandoned. We could not use them for election after government had paid billions of naira for them. Those machines were imported, they were found to be defective and they themselves did not use them.
So, why are we using these card readers for this type of much tensed consideration which is the most competitive elections we are holding in the history of this country and you are going with a gadget that you cannot vouch for? Is INEC itself not creating a platform for crisis? So, the talk about not using the card reader has substance in it and there is no need for INEC to be belligerent about this matter. We are all looking for the best for this country.
We have held elections before in 2011, we didn’t use it and the world acclaimed that election as one of the best. Why are we now doing test run on this all very important thing. And if Jega knew he wants to use it like this, he should have used it for those governorship elections we held. He should have tried them and we would have seen the faults. All those people who are going to use them are also going to use them for the first time. And it took them time to get it together. I am also told that they cannot work where there is no network. In this my office in Abuja here, I do experience lack of network for ten hours. So, how can you bring such unpredictability to a very sensitive process and you are saying that nobody can stop you from doing that? Does Jega himself have an ulterior motive? Does he have other plans apart from the one that we know? All of us should be working together to ensure the success of these elections.
It has been alleged that you, the president’s men, are the ones prevailing on him to sack the INEC chairman. Why do you want the INEC boss removed before the 2015 polls?
I don’t think the president’s men are putting any pressure on the president to sack the INEC chairman. Even up till this moment, Mr President has said repeatedly that such a thing is not under his consideration. These are rumours and fabrications and imaginations of the opposition. This opposition is a dead wood. It is no longer capable of moving or carrying on. Like they said, a sinking person would grab anything, even the head of a snake. And I think Nigerians are actually beginning to get fed up with this type of discussions.
Also, there is nobody that is discussing interim government except the opposition, they are saying that it is government that is planning it. The discussion is not placed anywhere except in the courts of the opposition. So, this opposition is confused, this opposition is totally clueless and I think they have become overtly disturbed at the realization that they are actually not going to win this election.
The opposition has made series of allegations that portrays President Jonathan as unfit to come back for a second term. But the president’s men like you have insisted that they are not tenable. Why do you think the president should come back for a second term?
If anybody says he does not like Goodluck Jonathan, I will forgive him. If you say I am not going to vote for him, it is your prerogative. But if you say he is not fit to come back, that is a very nonsensical statement. Among those who are competing now, there is no better candidate than Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. Besides that, among those who have ruled Nigeria to date there is no better president, in all ramifications, whether it is morally, whether it is a matter of performance, humanness and humility; whatever way you want to put it, he will come top.
A sitting president must, in all fairness, be judged majorly by his performance. And if we are to employ such yardstick, then I will give you the following points on what he has done. Number one, he has given absolute freedom and liberty to people to go about their businesses, to whatever they like and without any encumbrance or hindrance or harassment from government. People tend to take that for granted but recently, you saw a man- a leader of opposition in almighty Russia- who stood against the government and said he had certain things against it. In the presence of the whole world, the man has been killed and nothing will happen. That is supposed to be an advanced country.
Here in a developing nation, we have a head of state that you can say whatever you like against him and you will go to bed without locking your door, you will.
