Ray Nnaji is a lawyer and former National Auditor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In this interview with LAWRENCE NJOKU, he bemoaned the ruling party’s alleged plot to cripple those parties that challenged President Bola Tinubu in 2023 elections, and opposition politicians who are cross carpeting, paving the path for a one-party State agenda.

What can you make of the ambassadors announced by President Bola Tinubu recently?
It is the president’s prerogative to appoint people of credibility into positions. Some of the names he appointed are good; some are not. But what I can say is that they were based on political considerations. So, the excuse before now had been that some foreign missions were being owed and debts were being incurred in regard to payment of foreign missions, and as a result, he now believed that appointing ambassadors would increase the financial burden of the country.

What, however, gives me worry is that even when we want the people to believe that kind of story, we have not stopped borrowing. The people are suffering, and these came from wrong decisions that were taken in a hurry when this administration took off, especially the removal of fuel subsidy.

Now, in appointing the ambassadors, he has compensated those who worked for him. Most members of the G-5, who ensured that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was brought to its knees, have been compensated. The likes of Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Okezie Ikpeazu, who constantly sabotaged the PDP, have been compensated. He has compensated Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, whose role in the last general elections has remained questionable. That appointment of Yakubu has actually manifested what happened in that election. Nobody is quarreling with the discretion of the president to appoint, but the credibility of the people he appointed is where the matter lies. I also wonder what the name of Jimoh Ibrahim, a serving senator, is doing on the list.

I know that the president is trying to mend a very bad situation. People have been blaming the president for the push backs we are receiving at the moment. It has taken President Donald Trump’s outburst for ambassadors to be appointed. I am asking, since they didn’t have money to pay debts incurred by foreign missions, are those being appointed now going to be paid? Is the Federal Government going into further borrowing to sustain these missions? Our level of borrowing is disturbing. That is why the president crippled the opposition, knowing full well that if you allow the opposition to thrive, it would be a very big problem for him in 2027. That’s why he wants everybody to join the APC.

Can the appointment impact the country with the scale of insecurity we are facing?
Tinubu is trying to patch a bad situation with the ambassadorial appointments. You may wish to know that after the outbursts of President Trump, the level of insecurity increased. That situation is giving the president some worry to the extent that he cancelled most of his foreign trips. The other day, his Chief of Defense Staff resigned. So, his advisers may have told him that it is better to owe and solve some problems than not to owe and carry burdens. I believe this is the point. Those suffering it are the masses, and if the masses are not given any opportunity for their voices to be heard, it is going to be bad, notwithstanding the destruction of the opposition. It is, however, going to be business as usual.

For me, I will insist that the list should be reviewed. The action of politicians is not helping matters, and until we begin to own responsibility for our actions, we will not take this country to any height. I have always said that having a one-party system in Nigeria is not the best. Killing the opposition was the worst thing that can happen to any government.

Unfortunately, the president was part of the people that was against a one-party system. He criticised former Military Head of State, late Gen. Sanni Abacha. In 1997, I was part of the people that went for the one-million-man march where everybody was singing praises of Abacha, but Tinubu was against it vehemently. At the end of the day, he was among the people that formed the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO).
Now, when God has given him the opportunity to be the president, he has turned around to do those things he had condemned. It is not the best.

Is it that Tinubu’s administration killed opposition or opposition politicians’ insatiability?
All the political parties that gave the APC a run for their money in 2023 are having issues at the moment. The PDP, the Labour Party, all have leadership issues. So, the administration has made sure that they are kept on the ground. With what is happening in the PDP, it might be difficult for the party to produce a presidential candidate in 2027. This is because the judgment of the court that said the national convention should not hold is a very serious issue that anywhere you take it, the court will not see it lightly. That is the reason the people in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) are insisting that they are the only opposition party that is available, but because of some personal interest of some people, there will still be problems in the ADC.

Are we saying the problem in PDP is beyond redemption?
The problem in the party was created by the members. The leadership failed to nip it in the bud. If they had confronted the former governor of Rivers, Nyesom Wike, early enough, we would not be here. If they had ensured that Umar Damagum was removed, it would have helped the party. The solution to the problem is not one man’s solution. It can be solved collectively. It can be solved by the court. Somebody can also mediate and bring the two parties to a round table for a discussion. Wike believes in court. He has been holding the court tenaciously, and that was why they got the judgment before the convention. Governor Seyi Makinde believes in the order of the Ibadan State High Court. It is only the court that will analyse the two judgments and know the one to take. With this, you are sure a part to restore the party is being laid.

So, which side of the PDP are you? There are two headships at the moment?
I don’t believe in factions. Damagum was the national chairman and he left after the convention because he realised late that he was incapable of running the party. Wike has his own group. I am a member of the PDP, but I don’t belong to any camp for now, not until I find a course to do so. All I am saying is that those who ignited the problem should not have left the party to any other party. They should have stayed behind to solve the problem. The likes of former Senate President,David Mark, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Governor of Kaduna State, Ahmed Makarafi, among others. Running away from problems does not show you a good politician.

There are two groups claiming authenticity of the PDP in Enugu State. One said the convention of PDP threw them up, the other is continuing from the last executive?
I believe that the Steve Oruruo executive, which took over after Martin Chukwunwike (former chairman) left for the APC, is an appendage of the governor. He was just dropped there for a game, and if you allow them to continue, it is the governor that is continuing. So, if I am to have anything to do with the state PDP, I will deal with the one that has nothing to do with the governor. If I am to choose, I will belong to the camp that has nothing to do with the governor.

So, anybody taking the Oruruo group seriously is making a big mistake, because the governor cannot be in the APC and the PDP at the same time. It is not possible. If he says he is the governor and capable of playing politics, he should remain in APC and allow us to stay in PDP, so that we can meet in 2027. He should remain in APC and allow the PDP in the state, and when we meet in 2027, we shall see how he will handle the situation as a governor. So, if there is any group I should belong to, it is the one that has nothing to do with the governor.

However, there is still hope for the PDP. Everything happening now is about narrow interests. The PDP remains the party for Nigeria. APC said they were coming with a change but have succeeded in impoverishing Nigerians. If the APC is doing well, politicians will not be jumping ship. APC is playing God, and we are waiting to see what it will lead to.

Whatever APC is doing now is affecting the South-East politically. The South-East does not have a direction yet, even with these defections. It is after 2027 that we will know where the South-East is headed. A lot will still happen before 2027, but until it happens, the direction of the South-East is still very uncertain. I say this because this movement into APC is not in good faith. A lot of people are not happy with the situation of the country, and people are crying to God. I believe that God will hear them someday. How did Trump wake up and start talking about Nigeria? It is God that is at work. Did anybody predict it? So, we are waiting and watching.

How do you see Governor Mbah’s switch to APC?
It is political suicide. It is a question of time before these will manifest. As a sitting governor, he is going to fight more than he fought in 2023 to return as governor in 2027. He has not done well. You can’t assess your governor; you can’t see him. All that he has done so far are for the elites, not the poor people. I am in court with him over the land he acquired in Ugwuafor to build his new Enugu. There are so many issues surrounding land in the state created by his administration.

Those saying he is doing well are sycophants. Look at the multiple tax system that has taken rents beyond the ordinary person in the state. It is going to be a herculean task for the governor in 2027. You will be here to see what will happen in 2027. Jumping to the APC will not save him. He has not reciprocated the support being shown by his government. He is the easiest person to beat in an election because he gave himself out, believing his money will save him. But we shall wait for him to survive his internal challenges in APC before we face him.

When we were crying that the last administration didn’t do well, the administration in place now uses scorpions to chastise the people of the state. It is not about quoting figures but the reality on the ground to measure some of the things his government claims it has done. We saw how he managed the PDP until he moved to the APC. I do not see anything good happening in the state APC. It is unfortunate.