‘In North East, Shettima is best fit for PDP chair’

Written by Suleiman M. Bisalla Wednesday, 22 June 2011 11:11

Iliya Stephen Mshelizah, was secretary of many political parties including the defunct UNC, the AD and ANPP in Borno State. He was also chairman of the ANPP under Governor Mala Kachalla administration. He served as chief returning officer of the PDP in 2007 and the April 2011 general election in the state. In this interview, he speaks on the ongoing race for the chairmanship position of the PDP, which has been zoned to the North East and related matters. Excerpts:

The race for national chairman of the PDP, which has been zoned to the North eas appears the race is dividing the ranks of politicians in the zone. Is there anything you are doing to ensure it does not cause further division?

The allocation of the office of national chairman of the PDP is consistent with the principle of fair distribution of offices across the country. It is one of the principal political offices that are considered key to go round the six geo political zones of the federation.  Therefore if a position like this is given to the North East, it means that stakeholders of the party in the zone will sit down and  consider, fairly, which of the six states in the zone the chairman should come from. So I believe that if they can put their heads together, the position will not be a dividing factor but a uniting factor.

But the media has reported that the presidency is touting a particular candidate from Adamawa State. Does this augur well with the thinking of stakeholders in the zone?

To my understanding, the position of chairmanship of our party is not an appointive position, so I believe that all the publications that we read about the presidency giving preference to some people are just meant to condition the minds of the public. I know that the presidency is bound to have interest in who becomes chairman of our great party but I don’t believe that somebody will just come out and say this person should be chairman now. We know that the convention to produce the chairman will come up next year but names have been mentioned in the media, of people from Bauchi, Adamawa, Borno, Taraba as well as Yobe states, and those people have shown interest too. But stakeholders in the zone have never sat down to deliberate on the matter.

And we believe that the President, being a fair minded person; a person who has promoted fairness in the recent election and is being heralded as the most credible leader since the beginning of this political dispensation in 1999, will observe the norms of the game so that we can produce an acceptable and credible national chairman for our great party. I believe there are credible people in each of the states of the North East, and very soon I believe that leaders of the party in the zone will sit down and take a decision. You know the North East consists of Bauchi and Gombe as one bloc, Adamawa and Taraba as one bloc and Borno and Yobe as one bloc. Of course each of the blocs was a single state before it was divided into two. But I can tell you that those of us from Borno and Yobe State believe that this time, we deserve this slot for every conceivable reason.

How soon will the stakeholders sit over this issue?

Certainly it will come. Paul Wampana is the leader of the party in the zone, being the national vice chairman north east. At a time not far from now, I know we will have to call a stakeholders meeting to look at the three blocs as I mentioned and decide which should be given the slot. We know that the Adamawa-Taraba bloc and Bauchi-Gombe bloc have benefitted from the major political offices of the country in the past, under the PDP. As we know, recently, Atiku Abubakar from the Adamawa-Taraba bloc was vice president, representing the north east zone. We also had Bayaro Nafada from the Bauchi- Gombe bloc as deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, representing the north east. So I think those two zone have had a fair share in the recent past should concede to the Borno-Yobe bloc this time.

You spoke of a leader who will make the north east proud when he clinches the seat; are you comfortable with those who have been touted to replace Dr Bello Haliru as chairman of the PDP?

We will not discount any of them. All those being touted are our sons and I will say that they are credible. Once we are able to sort out the allocation to any of these zones, and it happens that it is zoned to the Borno-Yobe zone, it will be easy for me to tell you who is best suited and who will be a source of pride to the north east, the PDP and Nigeria in general. It’s not as if I don’t have anyone in mind. I am from Borno State. Yobe also has people who are contending for the position, particularly Gen. Alwali Kazir. In Borno State, we have eminent persons too. You are aware that we have very eminent and qualified persons like Dr. Shettima Mustafa, former defence minister, Ibrahim Bunu, former minister of FCT and Habu Lawal. These are people that are credible and I know that if they are given the position they can perform. But the wake up opinion at the moment is tilting towards Dr. Shettima Mustafa because of his rich CV in political and public service. As you know he was one of the founding fathers of the party. He was also the pioneer treasurer of the party. He is also a member of the party’s BOT at the moment. Dr Shettima has served the party meritoriously; you will recall that he was the chairman of the national convention committee that elected the party’s presidential candidate. He was also the chairman of the governorship screening committee for the North West. Even after the congresses had been concluded, he was one of those who went round to reconcile members and bring about peace in order for the country to forge ahead after the emergence of Jonathan as candidate.

With all the permutations making the round as well the purported anointment of a particular candidate, how would you advise the presidency on the chairmanship issue so that in the end, everything would be seen to have done democratically?

As I said earlier, President Goodluck Jonathan is a democrat to the core and he has demonstrated that in all his actions and utterances. You can see that he allowed a level playing ground; he did not bulldoze himself into office. He knew the weight of opposition around him but never cared to bend the rules to achieve advantage over anyone. I know that he is one person that, time will come, and I believe soon, will ask the stakeholders in the zone to sit down and take a decision. This is our prayer, considering his antecedent; we believe that he will do that.

What kind of chairman do you expect the north east to produce for the party?

The PDP has gone through some trying periods, some tumultuous times, especially when it comes to…you know the party is full to the brim in terms of personalities and interests which sometimes tend to smear the character and image of the party. But the party has often stood firm and come out of such winds stronger. Wherever we make loses, we have regrets because we don’t want to lose anybody but we have also made substantial gains in some areas. Therefore I expect that whoever we will select as chairman from the north east should be a man with enormous experience and wisdom; a man whose has a pedigree of achievements and record of service to the party and Nigeria will enable him command respect from party the entire membership of the party.

.