Chief Adelabu Ejiroghene Bodjor, is a Delta State-born astute politician who believes in playing the game of politics with fairness and objectivity. He is the chairman of the All Progressive Party (APC) in Delta Central and the Vice chairman of the party at the State level. In this interview with newsmen, he spoke on the preparation of the party towards the October 25, 2014 Local Government Election and the just-concluded governorship election in Ekiti State. Excerpts:

A few months ago, the APC concluded its congress in the state. What position accrued to you from that congress?

By way of introduction, I’m Adelabu Ejiroghene Bodjor. I’m the Vice Chairman of the APC, Delta State and the Chairman of the party in Delta Central Senatorial district.

From what we can see on ground, the ruling party in the state, the PDP, has been organizing rallies across the state of recent, sensitizing its members and the electorate towards the October 25, Local Government Election and by extension, the 2015 election. But we are not seeing any presence of the APC anywhere in the state. Is it that your party is not ready for the election or you have already conceded defeat to the PDP?

The APC will surely take part. If you recall, we just concluded our national convention and the APC is a party that believes in taking its time to do things and doing them well. We don’t belong to the group of people who feel that jumping all over the place, making noise all over the place without delivering the necessary dividends of democracy is worth all the trouble. We are making our plans, the blueprints are there, any moment from now we are going to roll out the plans and everybody will be aware that APC have come, as they have always said, they are poised to take over the reins of power in Delta State.

During the PDP rallies across the state we witnessed a lot of APC members cross-carpeting to the PDP especially in Delta Central. Are you concerned about this development?

It is a criss-cross affair. Just as they are crossing to PDP, so also are PDP members crossing to APC. We are all Nigerians. For anyone who feels he is tired of staying in the dark, he pulls out. For those who want to go back to Egypt, you allow them to go back to Egypt. If they want to continue to wallow in dubious ways of doing things and rendering the masses of Nigeria useless, leave them hungry, no jobs and if that is what they want, let them go back. It is their business. But for those who have seen the light, they are still coming back from the PDP in droves into the APC. We don’t believe in noise-making. And there are very many of them underground pretending they are in PDP, whereas they are with us. I can assure you of that.

For the first time in this political dispensation, Nigerians saw an opposition party, APC, that emerged seemingly prepared to give the PDP a fight for its money. But what happened in the just-concluded governorship election in Ekiti State, a State hitherto reputed to be a strong-hold of the APC, where the PDP turned the table round with a resounding victory must be a source of concern to you I think. This is more so, when the defeated former governor, Mr. Fayemi has conceded, describing the election to be free and fair. What is your take on this?

The development in Ekiti State is a welcome development in Nigeria. Free and fair election is gradually taking its roots. The only thing we need to correct here is the parameters of judging who wins and who loses. The problem we have discovered in Ekiti State is that the former governor, Fayemi was busy building roads and putting infrastructure in place for posterity. But what the electorate wanted was somebody who would give them a bag of rice to eat, five hundred naira to take home, and that is what the PDP saw as a catcher. For now it has worked, but let me tell you, we need a re-orientation, we need to teach our people. The good thing about that Ekiti election is that, yes, the people said this is what they want, so let it be. But let that thing be replicated in Delta State where the PDP has always been rejected but they go through the back door to always claim victory.

But what transpired in Ekiti State appears to be similar to what has been happening in Delta State over the years. Opposition claims the government has done nothing tangible except dolling out bags of rice and salt to the electorate during elections and at the end the party, declares victory. Does it confirm that, that is what the electorate actually want?

The scenario in Delta State has been so far different from what has taken place in Ekiti State. In Delta State it has been sheer open display of brigandage, looting and snatching of ballot boxes and stuffing. That was not the lot of Ekiti State. We must be fair to say, yes, for once, INEC has done a good job. They should replicate the same thing over the nation. And if that is done, Delta State will definitely never remain in the hands of the PDP again.

A few years ago, the incumbent chairman of the PDP in the state, Chief Barr Peter Nwaoboshi made a statement in Ogwashi-Uku telling the Local Government chairman of the Council then that if he likes, he should nylon-tar all the roads in Council area and possibly put air conditioners in them, if the people don’t have food to eat and no money in their pockets, then he (the chairman) has failed. Does this ally with the will of the people of Ekiti state which they expressed in the election? And if so, what does it portend for the future of democracy and the electorate?

Danger! It portends a whole lot of danger for the Nigerian nation. Earlier on, I told you that, yes, we got it right in Ekiti. But certain things were wrong. And those basic things that were wrong must be corrected if we must enjoy the dividends of democracy the way it is done all over the world. Now, a situation where you make people believe that giving fish to people is the in-thing in this 21st century is most appalling. Most appalling, it is shameful and it is unacceptable. We should teach our people how to fish, not allow them to come cap-in-hand to beg for fish and they vote for you. So, we need to teach them that we have a future, and we need to plan for our future and the only way we can plan for our future and lay legacies for our children is to conscientiously vote for those that are working for the betterment of tomorrow, not for the bread and butter of today that cannot stand the test of time.

Let’s talk about your party’s convention which you said has just been held. At the national level, there seems to be some bickering here and there with the youth wing of the party kicking against the party’s choice of a 53 years old man as a national youth leader, etc. At the state level here, your congress was also marred with protests which are yet to be resolved. With all these happening few months to the elections, do you foresee the APC mobilizing strong enough to wrestle power from the PDP?

You will agree with me that there is no house where there are no skirmishes and no quarrels. Even in the PDP, there are quarrels, there are disgruntled people. It is politics. Somebody must get injured because everybody wants to get it. Two persons cannot get just one thing that is there. So, the tendency is for the person who could not get it to protest that he has been shortchanged and all that. It is normal. And that will definitely calm down. It is not a new thing; it is not peculiar to APC. It is all over the world. And even if we have to limit ourselves to Nigeria, PDP is engrossed in such problem, you go to Adamawa and see what is happening there, you go to Oyo, you go to Ogun State, you go to Kwara, anywhere you go to, there are issues here and there. But it is the ability of the leadership of the party to manage them that matters and APC is blessed with an array of hands and brains that can perfectly handle all the issues and at the end of the day, we will create a win-win situation and everybody will be happy, both at the state and at the national level.

Source: http://www.advocateng.com/ekiti-election-result-the-peoples-will-as-expressed-portends-danger-for-nigeria-future-adelabu-bodjor/

Ekiti people are nothing but a big disgrace to their kith and kin, to think that this people prefer bags of rice to an objective government.
These people did not only fall my hand, they fall my leg self. worthless people.