Despite our G-5 governors, PDP remains the party to beat, says Nnaji

Obi will be relevant after 2023, if he doesn't quit Labor

A lawyer and former national auditor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), leader Ray Nnaji, in this interview with LAWRENCE NJOKU in Enugu, explained why his party could win the 2023 general election, despite the internal opposition.

It looks like your party, the PDP, will run for president without the support of the G-5 governors? One thing you will understand in politics is that you cannot be afraid that criticism or opposition from opponents will lead to failure. The mere fact that the G-5 governors insist that they have to do what they want and given the limited time the party has to consider their grievances, which we know are not objective , is very unfortunate. It is unfortunate in the sense that the party lately is not strong enough to control such negative action. If the party is strong, I believe it would have lined them up by now. It's a delicate situation and that's why the party is silent. But I must add that it is only trees that bear good fruit that normally cause people to throw stones at it. You cannot start throwing stones at a tree that has no fruit. The simple fact that we are going through this crisis shows that we are a party to beat and that is why people are afraid.

That's why G-5 governors who have nothing serious to lay their hands on try to destroy the party. They are just destroyers. But let me also tell you that these are single people and on Election Day they will be restricted to their polling places and will not be able to move around despite being governors. They had made their point initially and people were happy with that, but now the same people have realized they were doing what they were doing in bad faith.

It is God who gives power. The PDP will win this presidential election despite opposition from G-5 governors and others. I say this because the APC has failed the people, despite having more governors and more states. APC came to power with several promises but today Nigerians can tell you that the leadership of APC is a disaster and no one wants this ruling party anymore. You heard Olusegun Obasanjo when he supported Peter Obi saying that the country is in a total mess; that if we allow the APC to return to power, it will spell the end of the country.

So you're saying that the PDP doesn't care about the activities of these governors? The DPP doesn't care because they (the G-5 governors) have lost public sympathy. There was a time when people agreed with them, but now the same people have understood that their demands are not about fairness, justice and justice. The people realized that Nyesom Wike was championing the blood feud cause, having lost the party primary. Those of us in the Southeast aren't interested in what he's doing. This is why I am disappointed with Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Okezie Ikpeazu, who have decided to follow a man who has no interest in the Southeast at heart; a man who never spoke for a single day in favor of the Southeast. The PDP shouldn't be worried at all. They said they were nominating their favorite candidate for president and anyone they supported would win the presidency. We are waiting to see them do it. We can accept that the role they play affects the party and its presidential candidate. For example, in Enugu, we don't have the kind of activism we expect for our party's presidential candidate because the governor doesn't show enthusiasm for him. The same governor who is the senatorial candidate for the party in northern Enugu has tried to play down the effectiveness of presidential campaigns here, but that is a difficult thing for him to achieve as Enugu is a PDP state. He even has trouble convincing his people to elect him to the Senate.

The problem is that the party did everything to bring them back to the fold in vain. They say without the national president resigning, that they will not sheathe their sword. I want to tell you that there will be a lot more problems for the party if Ayu quits. Much more of a problem for the DPP than the one created by the G-5 governors. They know that giving in to their demand will bring down an entire executive and lead the party back to more crises in the short time between us and the general election. That's why I described them as destroyers.

Why has it become difficult for the party to impose sanctions on these governors in order to control further hostilities by other members? It's not like the party can't impose sanctions on those governors. But we want to see how effective their opposition is on the party in the 2023 presidential election. When you start playing God; He will tell you that He is God. The G-5 governors are playing God. W...