Chief Dan Ulasi is a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the party’s former chairman of Anambra State. He discusses the party’s current restructuring in this interview, as well as the reasons it is appropriate to back efforts to persuade Peter Obi to rejoin the main opposition party. Among other things, the PDP chairman criticizes people who have switched to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Joy Anibogu provides the following excerpts:
After Mr. Peter announced that he would only be returning to the PDP once, many Nigerians were skeptical of his assurances because they seemed flimsy. The truth changes when you see the other side. The second issue I would like you to respond to is Minister Nyesom Wike’s conditions to the PDP regarding whether Chief Dan Orbih remains the National Vice Chairman, South-South, and whether or not another event involving another person in the South-South can go forward. He also stated that the November convention will not take place if no one pays attention. Is this not unequivocal proof that the PDP we are discussing is in the intensive care unit, as Senator Suswan once declared?
Our nation’s constitution guarantees what we refer to as free expression. As long as you don’t mistreat or extort somebody, you are free to say what and how you want. But I must begin by stating that democracy depends on a number of doses of civility. They emphasize the definition of civility, which is something that most people, including those in politics, do not comprehend, and as a result, they display a self-preservation instinct of some kind. This introspective inclination leads to self-preservation, which might lead to paranoia, which is quite harmful. The nation hasn’t changed because of those who swear allegiance to duty but, in reality, swear allegiance to money theft. In response to your query, the majority of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s elites and so-called educated people tend to overlook the constitution’s mention of a four-year tenure. You are granted a four-year term by the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s constitution. According to the constitution, you should be able to leave a lasting influence on your society in four years. It identifies your strong points, and if you request a second term, it grants it. “Just for four years,” it says, but if you have a decent idea and someone else takes over, it will complete it. We have one of the best governors in the Federal Republic of Nigeria if you visit Enugu today. Most of the initiatives that were put on hold for the last 16 to 20 years have now been finished. Entering Enugu is similar to entering London. You can observe how the governor is completing all of the projects and restoring the area. Therefore, I believe Peter’s statement that he will serve four years is infallible. By all measures, he is a good Christian and a highly honest person in Nigerian politics. I believe he will achieve it in four years since he doesn’t speak from both sides of his mouth. You will observe and think that he will do everything he wants to do in four years, even if he doesn’t complete it all. The constitution assumes that. They would have stated that they were giving it five or six years if they had believed that you could complete it given your four-year commitment. Peter hasn’t mentioned anything irrelevant. According to him, you ought to be able to perform adequate research within a year, even before you take office. Analyze your vision and how you plan to achieve it. The main problem is that people constantly think about ways to steal money because they have a vision of doing so.
Nothing that will affect the average person.
What about the suggestion that Mr. Peter Obi rejoin Wike’s PDP?
The issue with Wike is that, in my opinion, it is not appropriate to reach the conclusion without first examining the origin of the experiment. All 17 southern governors, including those from the PDP and APC, convened in Asaba a few years ago and agreed that the candidates for president from the two major parties had to be from the south. APC followed suit. The PDP didn’t do it. The committee for zoning party offices was led by former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, who zoned chairperson to the north and secretary to the south, as was obeyed. Ortom’s team was expected to zone elective offices, and his silence upon becoming president was seen as sabotage. Since his party didn’t zone anything to anywhere, Atiku Abubakar was able to run thanks to that silence. Sadly, he lost when he ran. The crisis has continued ever since. Wike took advantage of that crisis since he and a few others ran in that election and thought he would have won and might even be the current president of Nigeria if he hadn’t had Atiku Abubakar’s meddling. The relationship between Wike and the PDP has not been normal since. Two months prior to the 2023 election, I really traveled to Port Harcourt and spent hours meeting with him before returning to Enugu to make the case that our party is superior and that we should attempt to win the election. However, he did not fully agree with my request. As I previously stated, he is entitled to free speech, free association, and free behavior patterns under the constitution. He therefore concluded that there was no longer any foundation for trust in the PDP because of what they had done.
What about the idea of enticing Peter Obi to rejoin the PDP? There is a growing momentum to this discourse. But I want to set apart a few remarks made by Senator Olujimi, who recently switched from the PDP to the APC. She claimed that the PDP had nothing to offer anyone, which is why she had departed. Thus, it’s interesting that there is discussion about enticing Peter Obi to join the PDP in public. Do you believe that he would be a suitable PDP flag bearer? Would the PDP help or hurt his chances as he moves near 2027, in your opinion?
I’m glad Olujimi was brought up. What has he given the PDP, you would have asked her? People are constantly searching for a place to distribute money because the federal government no longer exists and there is no money to give. Doesn’t it seem regrettable that a prominent figure in Nigerian politics is abandoning the PDP because they have nothing to offer? What has she contributed to improve PDP? We held a meeting with the founders and stakeholders two weeks ago. I was present. Nearly all of our governors attended the NEC meeting the following day, where they formed committees to try to increase the party’s productivity in order to prepare for the upcoming 2027 election. Some people depart due to a single interest, which could be financial or something else. Many years ago, when we were founding the PDP, I supported the Ekwueme. And if I must leave PDP today, I must have a strong argument for why my new location is preferable than my old one. Can someone in this country tell me if the APC is superior to the PDP, even when they are in opposition? They even speak as if they are the opposition party, aware that they are in power. So what will entice me to visit APC? Nothin’. There is nothing fascinating about the party because of all its governors. Therefore, there must be a reason other than a political process for someone to leave the PDP and move there. As I mentioned earlier, Wike’s remark stems from the issue that arose in 2023, and the party as a whole has not been happy ever then.
How about Peter Obi’s problem?
Peter is now essentially a national political figure, if the party wishes to run a meaningful campaign in this election. The party is organizing a committee to investigate this subject. This is 2025; we still have plenty of time. The party will begin making judgments and exploring options between now and the end of the year. In one way or another, we’re working to rehabilitate our issues. The next significant step will be our convention, which I am a part of and will take place in November. After that, we’ll begin as soon as we have new chairman, secretary, permanent party officers, and everyone else. Talking about 2027 is the next step. Thus, before we discuss public officials, we want to reconstruct the party, the National Working Committee, and the NEC. Before counting one, we don’t want to count two. As I mentioned before, Peter Obi is a good product, and any party that possesses him will benefit in some way. Without a doubt, it serves as a benchmark for this nation. I’ll be in favor of the PDP approaching him if they want to.
Do you think Peter Obi should be included in the debate since Wike currently controls the PDP? What about Goodluck Jonathan’s remarks being brought up in some PDP circles as well? To put it another way, you ask why people are attending the APC. Because the APC is in power, they are going there. It’s been more than ten years since your party last held the reins. APC offers them stability, which is why they are going there. Your party isn’t owned by anyone. APC has managed to overcome their obstacles. Since the APC has the president, they believe they are in a stronger position right now, thus they are joining the party. As we speak now, they are therefore pursuing a better alternative. The APC is far superior to your chaotic party. that you have no idea what the future or the following thing will bring. You would likely want to go to certainty as well if the APC addressed folks like you today.
Does APC lack certainty? What do you say about PDP not being uncertain?
I greatly appreciate your analysis. However, human conduct is not determined by numbers, you know. Usually, in politics, one plus one does not equal two. It may even be 100, and if it is accepted by the public, it becomes the official number. The fact that people are defecting from the PDP to the APC does not imply that the APC is superior to the PDP. It demonstrates the lack of morals among humans. That is why the country is not moving. Look at the president of the Senate, for instance. He was an 8th year governor of Akwa Ibun State. Recently, the whole Delta State moved to APC. Akwa Ibom just moved to APC. Can you tell me as a journalist, what is it they will find in APC that they couldn’t do in Delta state or Akwa Ibom State, where as PDP governor they were performing and doing very well? So people don’t have values and when they don’t have values, they’re given to accepting anything that comes before them. I have been in PDP since the inception of the party. I haven’t been a commissioner, not a director of anything. But most of the sensitive things they do, they invite me. I was chairman of the screening panel for Northeast in 2003. In 2010, I screened the whole Northeast. Most of our governors today passed through me. These are the kind of resolve you have as a party member to make a contribution. A lot of people come into this business because they want to make money. And that’s why the country is not moving. We must have to have honor and values that you cherish. From the time of Buhari, as far as I’m concerned, that was eight years of no governance. Nothing happened. And then President Tinubu came up. I said, anybody else coming into that office after Buhari would have had the same problem Tinubu is having. The only thing is that he might have a different methodology to be able to iron out things. The country has slumped so much that there is no magic. You only need some level of determination to do something. And if people desire that Peter Obi, from his record as governor of Anambra State, his integrity, his honesty, should be supported, good. He’s the one governor nobody has ever pointed an accusing finger on him, negatively. Every reference made of Peter Obi is positive. And this country requires somebody like him at least to give hope. Governance is not just about constructing roads and doing that. You give hope. Because politics depends on doses of stability. And this stability we haven’t seen.
You spoke against Peter Obi as of 2017, that he divided Anambra
Why don’t you put me in proper perspective? I said in that interview that we were with him in a meeting. We had a meeting in Enugu and went to Awka. And he told her that he was desirous of being a presidential candidate. And thereafter he left the PDP and went to Labour Party. And I condemned it. I didn’t like that behaviour. And I told him, he came to my house, I said what you did was unfortunate. But still, even though he did that and I didn’t like it, he had the right to do it. He had the constitutional right to do it. That is how he wanted to exhibit his interest in political leadership. But I didn’t support that. So, what I’m saying is not in contradiction to what I said in the past. And since then, have I left PDP myself? We have 10 governors. And these 10 governors can come together honestly and sincerely to see a committee that can reorganise this party. And the sky will be our limit. We are challenging government effectively.
You had condemned that you are constantly being at loggerheads against Obi about his tenure in Anambra. What changed?
What you’re saying is fallacy of generalisation. I’ve never condemned Peter Obi governorship in Anambra. I’ve never condemned Peter Obi.
Professor Jerry Gana said that Peter Obi will be happily received back into the fold of the PDP. Now, Nyesom Wike very well. Wike, who gives conditions in the PDP, will he be willing to receive Obi back into the fold? And you’re talking about November Convention. Wike has said there are conditions on the basis of which that convention can hold. Why are you so sure?
I’m not somebody who talks from both sides of my mouth. What I have in my mind, I say it and I defend it. I’ve never played the second fiddle. I gave you a background why I find it difficult to condemn Wike. Because of the antecedents of what happened in 2023. I have said this and I don’t see why it should be confusing to anybody. He felt that he was short-changed and therefore he had to react the way. Maybe I wouldn’t have reacted the same way up to now. And the party lost out.
Part of the committee we set up in Abuja in PDP now is to see how most of our governors will take up certain responsibilities. Wike is not a magician. Politics is not magic. The party took a decision on a number of items without Wike’s input. He wasn’t in the meeting. And seven of our ten governors were there. Effectively discussing how this party can move forward. In this country, people only come to a party when there’s an election, unfortunately. But people who regularly foot the bills are there. Especially we have only ten states now. We’re paying staff salaries in all the states. Somebody has to do that. Somebody has to assist. And people are not interested until the election comes. They’ll run and pay 50 million, 30 million to want to be president or governor. That is not party management.
That’s why the country is not moving forward. There must be loyal members of the party seen to be working for the survival of that party. Not just about the election.
Ultimately, if the election comes and the party is organised, they’ll win. But if the party is not organised, there’s no magic about their winning. Why Wike behaved the way he did. I’m not justifying it. But he has a right to do what he did. Because if Atiku didn’t run and Wike or somebody else appeared in the south, just like Tinubu appeared in the south, may be we would have had a Wike or some presidency from the south. But unfortunately, Tinubu had a chance and became president. And he’s running for second term. So I don’t see what I’ve said is any contradictory.
