Deputy National Organising Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Ighoyota Amori, who is from Delta Central Senatorial District, speaks on the alleged rift between Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, and an erstwhile governor of the state, Chief James Ibori, on political developments in the state, among other sundry issues, in this interview with BEN OGBEMUDIA

You have been a Senator before and you have been a Special Adviser on Political Matters to the Delta State governor, why do you intend to go back to the Senate?

Well, it is funny, but first I believe that I still can serve my people, the nation and I have all it takes to be at the Senate to join others in the country to serve Nigeria better. I believe that the idea is to do more as a legislator of the Red Chamber, we have robust ideas to contribute to the development of this country, so the will is there, the capability is there, the ability is there, and the readiness is there. I am very willing to serve this country. I have my people behind me to actualise my dreams, I was there before, and I believe that I have not completed my assignment. My people want me to go back and give them quality representation. I will do all that is in me to protect their interest and offer service to this country.

You are in the same Senatorial district with the current Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege. What are your chances against him?

We belong to the same political family and we have been together in the PDP. We have also been together in government, we know ourselves. I was with him in government in Delta State. I don’t have anything against him as a person, he too does not have anything against me as a person and he is also aspiring for another office, so it is not a matter of contesting with him, it is my party versus his party. So, it is not a problem at all.

Currently, there seems to be tension in your senatorial district between Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and the former governor, James Ibori, who is seen in Delta as a political godfather, over your ambition, how true is this?

I think you are getting it wrong. I don’t see any problem between the former governor and the current governor. We all belong to the same political family. In the family, people can have small issues but between the two governors, they have no issues at all. You don’t expect in an election year where you have so many people who are capable, who are interested in a particular office, that everybody will immediately say you are the one going, people must have their different interests. It happens so sometimes. In politics, people must have interests. For now, I don’t see any problem between the two governors, the former governor, and the present governor have no problem at all. They are very much together and if there is no preference for a particular aspirant amongst all other aspirants by anybody, it means it is not politics but at the end of it all, the two preferences will be collapsed into one and of course, the interest of the party is paramount, so don’t ever believe that there is a war between them.

Of course, it is not about me, or my ambition because we are together, there cannot be any problems because of ambition, two of them are one, I don’t see any sentiment about it, but as I said, this is an election period from the House of Assembly, to House of Representatives, Senate to governorship and the Presidency. Of course, in an election, you don’t expect that everybody will agree on one candidate for all the elections. I can agree with you on senatorial, I can also disagree with you on the governorship, I can agree with you when it comes to the House of Representatives or House of Assembly, same thing with councillorship or chairmanship. So, it is difficult for everybody to take a party position, people disagree, if it doesn’t happen then please that is not politics people must disagree but at the end of it all, they will agree.

You seek to return to the Senate. What would you do differently from Omo Agege?

Well, everybody has his priority. I am not in a position to compare myself with the Senator. He has his preferences; he has his tendencies. It is politics, remember he belongs to a political party, and I belong to another party. Before him, I was there, before me, there were people there, so this is Delta Central that belongs to Delta State. In the same position, I was formerly there and there was the late Felix Ibru and many others. We have different callings and different priorities but the summary of it all is that we all want to serve Delta state and we all want to serve our senatorial districts. Probably, his priority may be different from mine, I am not saying he is not doing well, he too is aspiring to a bigger position so I am not going to tie my aspiration to his, my style may be different. Of course, he came to take over from me through the court. My priority was different from his but somehow, we don’t have any disagreement at all.

2023: Ndigbo, in quest for Biafra Republic or Nigeria’s president?

Nigeria is crawling if not totally on its knees, as a politician how do you rate the Buhari government?

You see the average man in Nigeria today knows that there is no government in Nigeria unless the person just wants to pretend. I believe also that the children yet unborn are reluctant to come to this country. So many of the abortions we are having now are not because there is a medical problem, it is the fear of coming into the unknown. The children have seen, and their spirits died not agreeing with present Nigeria. In what department of life in Nigeria today will you say you are comfortable, that you can give this government 30 or 40 per cent? Unless you were born today, and you did not have the experience of the past years. Just in any area? A government that told us that in six months, it would fix electricity, seven years later, have you seen the light? The exchange rate they said they were going to stabilise to make one dollar equal one naira. The fuel situation, do we have fuel in Nigeria today? All the lies that we were told that it was bad fuel. In a civilized society, this government should not exist for one day. You know how many months we have been experiencing fuel shortage because of bad fuel, but who imported the bad fuel? We have bought one trillion litres of fuel but where are the litres of fuel? For the last two weeks, we have been looking for diesel to buy, but we cannot get diesel to buy. There is nothing you can do, the cost of transportation is skyrocketing, unlike what people used to pay before… insecurity is the order of the day in Nigeria today. It is now one report of killings to another, banditry has taken over the nation and in all parts of this country whether it is in the north or south or the home state of the President. You heard some time that Aso rock was burgled, just name it and some people are still pretending that all is well, and you say we have a government. Have you seen the exchange rate? Is it the price of food items you want to talk about or the health sector?

Of course, the President has made it clear to us that the health sector is just there because you know he just came back now from London where he went for a medical check-up. Where, tell me in this world, how many Presidents of countries in the world, even in the worst country, have left their country to come to Nigeria for a medical check-up? Yes, anybody can be sick but because they don’t have faith in all the billions budgeted for the Aso Rock Clinic, the man cannot stay, and he cannot even take analgesics in Aso Rock. So, there is no part of this country today, no department of life where anybody can say he or she is comfortable.

You are a serving executive member of the PDP, what do you think the party will do differently in 2023 if the party can win the elections?

You see, concerning the ladies, if you don’t marry two husbands, you may not know the better one. This country has been fortunate to marry two wives or two husbands. The six years of Jonathan of PDP, the eight years of Olusegun Obasanjo and the two years of Umaru Yar’Adua is one wife, the seven years plus of Buhari APC is another wife, look at the two wives or the two husbands, where has this country fared better in all that I have mentioned? What is exciting is that you can take to the bank that this government has done, just name one thing. You as a Journalist can attest to this fact, you have been in this country, you were here from the time of Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, and up to Jonathan. You have been here in the years of Buhari. In comparison, sincerely which of these governments do you prefer? We said that you talk of change, fine then make a change. Today, we are begging Buhari, if you cannot take us to the Promised Land, please return us to where we were before.