2 weeks Ago By Biyi Adegoroye
Chief Okwezilieze Nwodo is a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and one-time governor of Enugu State. In this interview with BIYI ADEGOROYE, he reviews the leadership crisis in the party and possibility of mergers ahead of the 2027 elections How do you see the current fortunes of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)? We have come a long way as a party but the current government does not want peace in the PDP. We were the biggest political party in Africa and our grassroot support is still there, it’s just that the government is making sure that we don’t get it right at the leadership level.
So, what is the way out? Are the elders looking at it in the National Working Committee, the BOT and all the rest to sort it out? We are doing our best, you must have heard of the communication from the Board of Trustees and recently, you must have heard that 14 out of the 17 members of the NWC are now on the same page with the Board of Trustees. I’m aware, yes sir. So, we just have three people that are not working with us, but we’ll get there.
The formidable alignment within the party is getting stronger every day because wherever we go, Nigerians are asking us what we are doing and we have a lot of hope that the PDP gets it right, they’ll be hope for Nigeria, So, we are not sleeping, we are doing our best. There are moves and talks about the possibility of a merger with other political parties as Nigeria prepares for 2027 elections. Is the PDP likely to consider that? That is very important because as it is.
If Bola Tinubu was able to win this election when he was not President, now as he’s President, we’ll need all hands on deck from every part of Nigeria to wrestle him down. So, our doors in the PDP are wide open, we want mergers, alignment and what have you, so, we’ll get politics and democratic good numbers. The more we are, the more likely we can wrestle them down.
What would you say about the 2024 budget implemented for last year? It is said that only about 15 per cent of the capital expenditure was released. So, would you say that was enough to stir development even as inflation bites harder? You see, it’s not a question of reading a budget when you haven’t even convinced us of where you’ll realise the revenue projected in the budget. Last year, so much money was borrowed but we didn’t pay for capital expenditure even, we only used it to pay salary and then we were utilising almost 93 per cent of our generated revenue to service our debt, not even to repay it, but just to service.
You know. Right now, where have we increased our productivity? We are going to go and borrow again? And when they borrow, they won’t deploy it into something that will create wealth so that we can be free of this debt. So, I’m not one of those who are excited about the budget they read until they tell us where they have increased productivity.
Then the presidency, the administration claimed to have a strong economic team and all the rest. What does the state of the economy say about the efficiency of the team? Where is the economic team and are you satisfied with the economic team? We have not seen anything. You and I are ordinary Nigerians, it’s not by telling us you have an economic team, let’s see the result Let’s look at this issue of the Tax Reform Bill.
How do you see it? Various tax bills, of about being rolled into one tax bill and there have been controversies about it. What is your view? I have nothing against the tax reforms. What I’m saying is that, nobody should try to legislate people to pay for it.
Put it on the table, let people debate it. It’s not a situation where one person has all the answers to the tax issues, people from across the country should be allowed to air their views and let this argument leave the day which will be okay for all of us Ndigbo has just elected a new leader for the Ohanaeze. What is your prayer in this regard and how do you see development in the South-East? We have confidence in the emergence of Senator Mbata because he’s a reliable person.
We are going to give him all the support we can and we hope he’ll make a mark bringing progress. ..
.and development in the South-East with security, economy, industrial development? As long as we are working together, all these things are no issues and what we need is somebody to unite us and I think he has the capacity to do this. I almost forgot to mention this: President Donald Trump has just returned to the White House.
What do you think his second coming portends for Africa and Nigeria in particular? I’m not looking forward to anything. I mean how can somebody make an inaugural speech that is so undiplomatic? It’s like it was a riot act for the whole world. He took on China; he took on Mexico; he took on Panama, he took on Europe; he’ll take up everybody.
That’s not the America we know. America is a country that has allies all over the world and in the whole speech, nothing was said about Africa. For him, we don’t even exist.
So, what can you be looking forward to? How do you see the fact that he signed 20 Executive Orders on the same day? That’s crazy. He has changed American democracy to dictatorship where he can sit down and give orders that are contrary to the American Constitution. But as you are aware some US judges have raised issues over some of the orders.
You can be sure legal fireworks are in the offing in the United States of America..
