APC govt has not delivered on change promises —LP national chairman

Dr Mike Omotosho the newly elected National Chairman of Labour Party (LP). Omotosho, was the governorship candidate of the party in Kwara State in the 2015 elections, speaks with BOLA BADMUS on plans to reposition the party ahead of 2019 elections and other issues. Excerpts:

LP has just passed through another crisis with your emergence as its national chairman. Could you share with us what led to this development?

My emergence is an intervention to restore peace and dignity to a party that hitherto has been consumed by disunity, mismanagement, mediocrity and that is the reason why we followed due process, conducted a proper election that was monitored by INEC where I emerged as national chairman. INEC monitored the process at the national convention and it was all captured on camera in the presence of the media. It was a transparent process, all through.

But the former chairman is still insisting that he remains in that position and that it’s only the party’s national convention that can remove him.

Yes, that is exactly what happened. The party’s national convention removed him. A national convention of the Labour Party was held at the Stonehedge Hotel in Abuja on October 3rd, 2017. I was elected the new national chairman of the Labour Party in accordance with the party’s constitution and where there is a new chairman, the predecessor is usually addressed as former.

Let me explain this process. First, I was invited to the National Working Committee meeting where I discussed my vision for the party and my willingness to serve. Then we moved to the National Executive Council meeting; the same thing applied and lastly we had a national convention, due process was followed. INEC was duly notified for 21-days, and INEC was present to monitor. Security agencies were also present and it was a very peaceful special convention.

Now  that you claimed the issue has been settled, what plans do you have for the party ahead 2019 general election?

First, we must give people the opportunity to know that this is their party and become part of us. Gone are the days when moneybags can hijack the party and the true owners are relegated to the background. Sincerely, governance is for the people and they deserve to take ownership. So, you can say that Labour Party is back in the true sense of the word and the interest of the common man will reign supreme in all our philosophy as we unveil our vision and work plan in a few weeks and we hope that the media will give us the crucial support to get the word out.

Look at the UK, US, France and more recently Austria, the unexpected can be a pleasant surprise and that is my aspiration for 2019, because the people are now socially aware and politically conscious. They know that it is time for them to demand what they truly deserve which is equal opportunity and social justice; a platform offered by Labour Party.

But before then, what are your preparations for Anambra governorship poll and also the Ekiti election coming in 2018?

We have a candidate in Anambra State and in spite of his entering the race late, we are working hard to make sure he succeeds or we team up with a viable candidate that supports the ideals of the party should this become a viable option after a critical analysis of the situation.

As for Ekiti State, we are optimistic that the LP is repositioned to produce the next governor of the state; we are already devising strategies to seek out persons of impeccable character that are genuinely interested in the welfare of the masses and ready to entrench democratic processes. We shall seek out people who will work with us, build the party and not just use the platform and then dump it.

The APC- led Federal Government has been in power for over two years now. What can you say about its performance in office?

Even though it has been over two years into inauguration of this administration, it is frustrating that the country is yet to experience the change that was promised, especially in the economy and other critical sectors. The opposition has scored this administration very low on performance. However, the irony here is that even loyalists, fans and party members are beginning to grumble too and that is worth paying attention to.

People want things to happen faster than its happening. We cannot continue to hear good intentions alone. The frustration and fear is real; there is job insecurity, poor or non-existent public services in some communities, salary delays in some states. People now want to see the dividends of democracy. The masses want food security. People want industrialisation and SME development. People want macro and micro economic stability. People want energy sufficiency in the power and petroleum sector. People want ease of and safe transportation. People want more. These were all promises made and yet to be delivered by the current administration. We in the Labour Party are listening and we are working to deliver these needs.

The government’s excuse is that the PDP left the country in a shambles and, therefore, their inability to deliver on their promises, but that despite that, they are still doing their best?

Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but, sometimes, playing a poor hand well. Understandably, the PDP might have left them sour lemon, however, the expectation of Nigerians is that of a lemonade! The role of leadership is to create a path in a jungle and not to make excuses. We patiently waited for the president to constitute his cabinet for several months, only to discover that these carefully chosen ones were made up of old politicians and tired hands, many of who contributed to the current dismal state of our country. There are, however, some trusted and competent professionals in the team, which gave Nigerians some hope. They may be putting in their best, but people are saying that their best is not good enough.

President Muhammadu Buhari is warming up for a second term in office as group and individuals are calling on him to declare. What is your reaction and will your party eventually throw its weight behind his candidature comein 2019?

I have always noted that the many challenges of the country, including our economic challenge, is lack of good, visionary, proactive leadership with innovative ideas to exploit the abundant human and material resources already available to confront our economic challenge. Labour Party will source such men and women both home-grown and in diaspora, bring them on board and harness the vast potential of the country. It is time to begin to put round pegs in round holes and explore the creativity of youths.

What is your take on clamour for restructuring of the country?

To restructure or not may not be our problem as a nation. If we do not circumvent self-centered and accidental leadership to seek out focused and purposeful leadership, nation building will continue to elude us. Nation building presupposes that there will be fragmentation before integration. Meaning, there will be resistance to the contextual deconstruction processes prior to reconstruction. However, it is in this diversity that you find strength after unity. We must learn to appreciate what makes us different and unique as a community, and then we can sit in the comity of nations. I remember my secondary school classmates who I know by name only. Their religions or ethnicity did not matter. We were united by the need to study and pass exams; we need to begin to trust each other again so I agree that what we need is the restructuring of our minds.