Victor Ndoma-Egba is a former Senate Leader and exChairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). In this interview, he explains the reasons for the parallel congresses witnessed in some state chapters of the All Progressives Congress (APC). CLEMENT JAMES reports
What is your comment on the recent state congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the reported cases of parallel congresses in some states?
It went well generally. For a human event, particularly a political one, there are bound to be disagreements here and there but in the instant case, the disagreements are not enough o vitiate the overall integrity of the congresses nationwide.
What is the implication of the exercise for the party going into elections in less than two years now?
The party looks good to retain power at the centre and in many more states than it currently controls. It remains the most attractive political platform. You have more traffic into it than out of it. It is resilient and fully mobilized. So, it will survive its national convention.
Many people have insisted that President Muhammadu Buhari is the only glue that is holding the party together, and that after the party may disintegrate by the time he leaves office. Do you hold the same view?
President Muhammad’s Buhari has been the biggest and most important factor in the party but the APC has since been welded into a cohesive and coherent party that will survive President Buhari and beyond.
With what happened during the state congresses, do you think APC will do well in Anambra State?
The party should do well in Anambra State. In Cross River State, there is this murmuring that the “original” APC members did not become chairman.
Do you think this goes well with the party in the state?
That is not true. The main concern after the exodus from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led by Governor Ben Ayade was the integration of all shades in the party and the dismantling of the dichotomy of old and new members and of all tendencies whatsoever. I believe that has been achieved to a large extent.
You cannot but have murmurs here and there but nothing to worry about. If there are dissensions now, however mild, what do you think will happen during the party primaries?
You must have dissensions amongst humans, more so, when the gathering is political. This is normal. The primaries will go well. The governor last week returned from France with a retinue of state officials, including all 18 local government chairmen.
What economic benefits do you think the state will derive from this trip, even as organized labour in the state is on strike?
I have not had the opportunity of discussing the trip to France, the purpose and the outcome with the governor, so I am not in a position to make any comment