Philip Aivoji, a former Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Tourism in Lagos State, was recently elected the new chairman of the People’s Democratic Party in the state. Aivoji was elected at a state congress held on Sunday, February 27 in Lagos. In a keenly contested congress, Aivoji polled 839 votes to defeat his closest contender, Amos Fawole, who polled 816 votes. Members of the new executive council of the party were eventually inaugurated last Tuesday. In this interview with MAYOWA SAMUEL, Aivoji lays out his plans to unite and reposition the party, as well as his strategy to finally dislodge the ruling All Progressives Congress from the state. Excerpts:
Before assuming this position, crises engulfed the party, just like other top political parties in the country. What’s the present state of things in your party?
Before I got to this position, I was the South West financial secretary. After that congress, there was a change of guard and some other people were elected. I was in my country home when some people did research that they needed someone who was honest, has integrity, experienced, who is in government and in politics, to come and lead the party. So, I looked at it and I thanked them for deeming it fit to consider me, so, I took the form. We had the first congress which was disorganized by hoodlums but we thank God that we did the second one and I was successful. It’s victory to every Lagosian, not victory to PDP or PDP members alone; it’s victory to all bonafide Lagosians because we are going to bring in the vision of our forefathers concerning the center of excellence and aquatic splendour that Lagos State is noted for. I’m going to put in everything to make sure PDP wins the state this time around. I know it’s not an easy task but with the people, the grassroots and everyone with me in my support, we are going to make it by the grace of God. Presently, the atmosphere has been calm, majority of the people are happy that they have me as their state chairman. I relate with everyone, I’m open, I operate an open door policy where anybody can reach me at any time, whether I’m sleeping, I know this is what I have to do. That is why I don’t switch off my phone 24 hours. They call me when I’m sleeping, I wake up and I attend to them. I’m not a type of chairman that will sit down in my comfort zone expecting people to go and work. I’ll be at the forefront working. As I’m speaking to you, I just attended a programme in Ojo, Lagos State University where my representative in Ojo Local Government was empowering hundreds of youths in film making and giving them empowerment money and tablets of phones to work, which gladdens my heart and we are going to get more. I told them there that if you watch what the state governors that belong to the PDP are doing, you will see the difference. PDP is ready to serve the people, we are going to train anyone. Anyone that picks his or her form for election has come to serve. So, I’m not looking at whether some people are not happy because they have elected a chairman that is independent minded, that can relate with everybody. Nobody can cow me down, nobody is in bondage. We have told everyone that my tenure is not going to be a master-servant relationship. We are all co-workers in PDP to achieve success. We are going straight to the point and work assiduously to see that PDP wins in 2023. That is the only goal I have.
“The constitution of the party is very clear, and we have our guidelines, we have a standard that cannot be changed. There’s no one man sitting somewhere saying this is my anointed candidate, it will not happen in the party. Let the people who will defend their mandate vote for the person
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There is hardly a major political party in the country without one form of crisis or aggrieved members, and the PDP is not an exemption. With all these that has happened to your party in the state before your election, how has the peace and reconciliation efforts turned out so far?
The first day I won the election, we had started the process of reconciliation. I reached out to some of the aggrieved members and they are working with me. There are some few areas that I will touch on but I’m also taking it further. I’m going to inaugurate a reconciliation committee that will hear all members out. If they have grievances, we’ll invite them, give them assignments, give them sense of belonging, honour them and appreciate everyone. No one is going to be left out except the person is lazy. There is no dull moment from this time on for PDP members. So, I don’t see any serious disagreement, misunderstanding or misgiving in PDP. It’s only when you have a mind to lead and there are some people behind you, you wouldn’t like to take the other people that you handle as if you are keeping malice that is what is happening. As time goes on, we’ll fuse and work together to achieve success.
One of these aggrieved members was Amos Alabi Fawole. The last time you and I spoke, you said you tried calling him for reconciliation but his number has been unreachable. Have you been able to speak to him and how did the conversion turn out?
I tried when the number was not going and I know he has leaders. He’s been talking to some leaders, and I know he’s still making some efforts to show that he’s not happy. So, I’ll give him time and work with the leaders. I’ll still continue to approach him and even let him know that in the party, I’m his leader in all its terms and purposes. He joined the party in my presence and we have worked together before. He has been aspiring to be the Local Government Chairman of Surulere but it did not work out. So, he’s somebody I know to some extent. I know with time, time will heal the wound and we’ll move on together. There’s no serious disagreement between us because we have not offended each other in any way, it’s just about interest, and when we take our interest below the interest of the party, we’ll all work together. As a state chairman, I’m not going to carry out my individual interest, I consult, and that’s what I do before I take any decision. I consult the leaders, youth, everyone before I take any decision. So, I’m sure within a week or two, I know he’ll get over it and we’ll move together by the grace of God.
From what most members of the party believe, Fawole was Chief Bode George’s preferred candidate. However, with you winning the election, how did you see him take it?
Chief Bode George is a leader. What we are saying is that we are all his children. A father may have interest in one son than the other children but when God says it is the turn of……. If you look at the Bible very well, you know the history of David.
David was in the farm taking care of the sheep when Samuel represented the elders but the Lord told Samuel that no one should sit until David comes around, the youngest of all. So, that’s how God works. He should accept as fate what God has given us and to rally round me to achieve this set goal that we have put forward for ourselves to win an election. There’s no point leading the party without winning for over 30 years. So, we are going to put it right. It will be a thing of joy for everyone and all the leaders when we win the state. They are the major beneficiaries because the glory will all go to God and to the leaders and everybody will be part of the government by the grace of God.
Now that the state congress has been done and dusted, the next focus should be the governorship election in Lagos. What is the PDP bringing to the table in respect to this?
We are bringing in the best. Anybody that wins the primaries in PDP is a sure winner of the gubernatorial election in Lagos State, and that is why we are going to take the pains to screen all the aspirants to prepare them for election and to win. I’m managing the party, so I’m going to train and retrain the field workers, the foot soldiers to assist our candidate to win the Governorship, House of Representatives, House of Assembly, Senate and Presidency elections. So, we are good to go.
What mode will be adopted to elect the PDP’s candidate for the governorship election?
The constitution of the party is very clear, and we have our guideline, we have a standard that cannot be changed. There’s no one man sitting somewhere saying this is my anointed candidate, it will not happen in the party. Let the people who will defend their mandate vote for the person. If you look at the PDP since 1999, even if they agree on consensus, people will vote, whether yes or no for that consensus that’s how it was done. If you have been observing politics since the days of the Unity Party of Nigeria, even without consensus, if you do shadow election, at the end of the day, you will confirm that shadow election during the congress. So, we are going to adopt so many strategies to make it rancour free and problem free. It’s going to be the freest and the best that we are hoping for.
So, you are confirming that it’s going to be direct primary?
There’s going to be a congress, that’s what I’m telling you, that is the constitution of our party, whether direct or indirect, that does not matter, but there’s going to be a congress. You know, I’m leading so many people, so we are looking at the constitution and the guideline first, and then, we’ll consult, we are going to give the best. To me, congress is the best option because you prepare your people for war because this family exercise of congress is a preparation for them to face greater challenges. I see that because we’ve not had good congresses at the party level for a long time, some party members have had a lazy mindset. They just sit down, you know, it’s not right. You want to beat foot soldiers to win an election, you have to prepare them for a good congress and you have to let them know that whoever wins a congress shouldn’t take it all for himself.
Every member of those who are contesting is a winner because there are other things that other people can do at different times.
The reason for this question is because a former Ekiti Governor, Ayo Fayose, alleged that some of the presidential aspirants were calling other aspirants to discuss choosing consensus candidate from amongst them. He, however, said since he has bought the presidential nomination form, nobody can ask him to step down. If the issue of consensus candidacy is already spreading for your party’s upcoming presidential primary, then one can’t rule out consensus being adopted for Lagos governorship primary in PDP. That’s why I’m asking again, will the PDP governorship primary be held, using consensus mode?
As far as I’m concerned, there’s no clandestine plan for anybody, for any position, even in national position or state. So, let’s not preempt what we are planning. Politics, they say, is global. If they have consensus at the national, that does not mean all states will have consensus. If they have consensus in Oyo State for instance, they have the governor in their hand, they can do it because they have the power but we in Lagos State, we want to do what is best for the people that will encourage them to win.
You can see that it’s the aspirants that are moving together asking for consensus, not any leader anywhere, that is how it is done. If you obtain form, and you want to work together with co-aspirants, it’s allowed, nobody is forcing consensus on anybody.
If all the aspirants that took forms for governorship in Lagos State can come together and say they want consensus, why not? It’s better for us, but not for me to impose a consensus arrangement. What I’m confident about is that I’m not going to support one against the other. I’ll be fair, make sure they do the right thing and the party does the right thing and whoever emerges is my candidate.
“What’s the population of the South East? What’s the population of South South? What’s the population of the South West? If we all come together, and we all vote against the North, can we be able to overrun them?
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How do you see your party by 2023?
I see the party waxing stronger, I see the party winning all the constituencies in Lagos State, and I see the party winning the Presidential, Senatorial and the Representatives elections. I know we are going to win because we are going to work hard to win.
I’ve told everyone, I don’t know about rigging, I just work and know how to win election. If election is very free and transparent, nobody will complain. My own contest was very free and transparent. The very day we had the congress, all other aspirants were moving together while one was very adamant, writing petitions because the leaders that were behind him were the ones dictating the pace for him. It was a very free and fair election; I don’t think it is worth making noise about. If you cast your mind back, the one we did at the zonal level, though there were little discrepancies where there was little over-voting, we said okay, you people have decided, that is what you want. We appreciated it, it’s a congress and we move on. That’s how it should be, not a do or die affair. After four years, I don’t pray to be a state chairman for so many years; I just want to win an election and get out of the thing and find something else to do. If you look at my antecedent when I was a local government chairman, we were given nine months to work, I gave them my goals, I completed my goals within six months. They extended it to a year and I did two times what I promised the people, and when they asked me, do I want to continue, I said no, I don’t want to repeat a class, later, I became commissioner. The moment I win the governorship seat, I will not see myself as remaining the state chairman, I’ll move on to something else.
Zoning is not in the Nigerian constitution. However, we can’t deny that zoning plays a very crucial role in Nigeria’s politics, since 1999. What are your thoughts on zoning in Nigeria’s politics?
People are not getting it right. Because zoning is not in the constitution, it doesn’t mean we cannot have an understanding between ourselves in order to win elections. When you talk of zoning, it’s based on strategy to win an election, that’s the reason for zoning. You can say you don’t like zoning, you can say you like zoning because it’s not in the constitution of the party but my own understanding of zoning is a strategy to win an election. For instance, in Lagos State, like where I’m coming from, Badagry Division, they’ve been yearning for governorship seat for several years, we’ve not had the opportunity. If our strategy is to cry out for zoning, it’s a strategy to win election because we know that zone will produce 100 percent when they zone it to that area, and other aspirants will support the zone. I’m not vast in national politics, I want to lean myself to Lagos State now because I know Lagos State inside out better than the national. So, I leave the national to the national officers and national leaders, provided we win, that is my own interest.
Since you say zoning is a strategy to win an election, are you aligning yourself with those clamouring that the South East should be next in line for the presidency, since they’ve not had the opportunity to?
When I talk of strategies to win elections, we have to consider the population at that time. What’s the population of the South East? What’s the population of South South? What’s the population of the South West? If we all come together, and we all vote against the North, can we be able to overrun them? Or is the North looking towards us and supporting us? Those are strategies that people will not understand. So many people will go underground, you’ll just be hearing noise. I know that our people are working, at the end of the day we are going to take the best candidate that can deliver. All we are after is to win and to take the people in the country out of poverty, out of this misrule, misgovernance of killing, maiming and evil that has pervaded the entire country. So, my take is I’m in support of my people. The South is saying they should look towards the North because what is fair is fair. I will not abandon my people, I’m people- oriented, people put me in that position, so I’m going to liaise with them. I’m going to speak out for them. So, whatever the direction the PDP in Lagos State is going is where I will go. That is why in Lagos State, we allow all presidential aspirants to come and visit us, tell us what they have and the delegates will have their free mind, their free will to vote for whoever they want.
Do you think the clamour of the Igbos is justified?
No clamour that is not justified because they have reason for clamouring for it. They have the right to clamour but the party is supreme. Whatever the party decides, we are going to toe the line of the party. It’s good to clamour, but like the saying, they will not remember you when the food is done and the cake is baked. There comes a time that every party will look towards the East. East has the easiest way for the Eastern bloc to make it because candidly speaking, politics is a game of numbers and we know the easterners are everywhere in the country, even in the world. So, we have to work seriously to show the country that we have the population to win elections and convincing people also matters. To me, I have so many friends that are presidential aspirants from different parts of the country and as a state chairman, I’ve promised everyone that I’ll be neutral but that doesn’t mean I will not support my people. That is it.
