Attah Opens up on PDP Reconciliation

· I don't recognize whatever happened at Ibom Hall
· Uwem Ita Etuk is not the PDP chairman in the state
· The apologies tendered that day were unnecessary
· The insistence on removing the present exco has nothing to do with 2011
That night when Gov. Godswill Akpabio led members of the PDP elders' reconciliation committee into the Ibom hall, the anxiety knew no bounds. The expectant party members that had waited all day were eager to hear what the outcome of the meeting between the committee and the two factions of the party in Akwa Ibom state. Sen Ike Nwachukwu declared to the crowd that normalcy had been restored into the party and that everything is now OK. The crowd rose in jubilation when the committee secretary asked Prince Uwen Ita Etuk to move a vote of thanks as the state PDP chairman. That to the people, made up of predominantly Akpabio supporters, w as a confirmation of the prince as the party chairman. To keen observers, however, key players in the dispute like Obong Victor Attah, the immediate past governor of the state was conspicuously missing. That Set the stage for Weekly Insight's effort to get to the root of the matter. In this interview conducted in the Shelter Afrique estate home of Former Gov. Attah, the duo David Augustine and Franklyn Isong, provides fresh insights to the crisis. Excerpts:
Your Excellency, the reconciliation committee said at the Ibom hall that they have reconciled all the issues in conflict and that the party in the state is now one. But we observed that you were not at Ibom hall. Can you tell us exactly what transpired at the reconciliation meeting?Let me tell you very clearly that I have a very high respect for my party, the PDP. You must know that the elders' reconciliation committee was set up at the instance of the president. Therefore, your interviewing me today is not the appropriate thing at all, because the committee has come, they have met the people and they have not yet submitted their report. So don't want to be seen like I am jumping the gun or preempting the report of the committee or anticipate anything. I honestly will prefer that we wait until we have a report from the committee. But since you based your question on the issues of what happened at in Ibom hall, you noticed that I was not there because there was an earlier meeting with a small select number of the committee members with Gov Akpabio and myself alone. Certain decisions were agreed on and the committee came to implement those things that were agreed, and there was no mention of Ibom Hall. So, I am not aware of the Ibom Hall arrangement that is why I was not at Ibom Hall. So as far as I am concerned, I really don't know what happened at Ibom Hall, and I won't know until the committee tells me what happened at Ibom Hall.
Can you let us know what was agreed at the meeting between you, the committee and Governor Akpabio in Abuja? No! The committee will let you know what was agreed and how they are going to implement it. Politics you know is a process. So they have definitely started the process of implementation. As far as I am aware what happened yesterday was that the designated…Uwem Ita Etuk, let me just say Uwem Ita Etuk, along with other members of the so called party exco, apologized for certain things they did, which was the in-appropriate action they took, suggesting that they could send me out of the party or bring me back into the party. Well may be the press had been asked to leave before I made my statement, but my statement was very clear and so, I can repeat it because this cannot go contrary to any thing that the committee might report. I made a point that there was specific apology for a specific action which had to do with my being asked to leave the party and come back to the party and that I accept even though, I still insisted it was not necessary; unnecessary because it is the party at the national level which has the power to discipline any erring junior officer. So, the question of the apology didn't arise. But since they have chosen to make this apology, I accepted. But, it has nothing to do with how Uwem Ita Etuk came to be declared the chairman of the party, that matter the committee will certainly address and not for me to address it.
Which means for now the issue of who is the authentic chairman of the party has not been resolved by the committee? As far as we are concerned the committee is still in the process of resolving the matter.
But, sir, in Ibom Hall we were told by the reconciliation committee that the leadership crisis rocking the party in the state has been resolved with Uwem Ita Etuk as the party chairman. I will not discourse Ibom hall. And I will not accept anything that happened in Ibom hall, until I hear from the committee. It was not part of the agreement reached in Abuja between myself, Governor Akpabio and a select number of the committee before they (committee) visited the state. So, I will not accept anything that happened in Ibom Hall until I hear from the committee. Because, it was organized without my knowledge as you noticed I was not there.
Okay sir, what are the critical issues in dispute in the state PDP crises? The critical issue is how was the present Exco of the PDP in the state come into being? And we are not satisfied in the manner the executive came in to be and I won't go beyond saying that, I believe the committee is fully aware of what our arguments are and they are in the process of correcting them.
Which means I could say it was wrong for the chairman to say that all issues had been resolved? That is the conclusion you are drawing about what is right and what is wrong. I say, I do not even accept the fact of Ibom Hall because as I am concerned it didn't happen, because it was not what we agreed in Abuja, they will come and implementation or that they will do. So until they tell you and me and the whole world what Ibom Hall was about, I don't know and I don't want to refer to Ibom hall again.
Sir we also saw the warm embraced between you and Governor Akpabio and we were told that it was a sign of reconciliation? Excuse me, did I ever quarrel with Godswill Akpabio as a Governor? You see the press has been very imprecise in reporting certain situation, because they make certain assumption that I don't even think they have the right to. I have, and there is no denying it, disagreed in principle with certain ways in which Godswill Akpabio as Governor as done certain things. That does not suggest a quarrel between us. That is why I used the word “Apology”, was not necessary. All they needed to do was to correct certain things and that is all. But I have never shown him disrespect or indicated that I am quarrelling with him but I have always said that I disagreed with certain things, very few things for that matter. So I really don't want to be drawn deeper into this issue. Have you ever seen me in public with Godswill Akpabio other than in that sort of thing you call a warm embrace? Did you see me at Ibom Airport, the day the aircraft landed here with him, was there any form of hostility between us or what ever. So the press has been quite imprecise in reporting my relationship with Godswill Akpabio. They have never been as far as am concerned being a quarrel not to talk about reconciliation. But there has been a disagreement about the way certain things are done in the state, including the way, the party executives in the state, from the chapters down to the wards were brought in to be. And I brought that to the attention of my party and, that is why the asked the committee to come and I don't know about Ibom Hall, but I know what happened here (his residence) and, what happened here was that I restated that position that Uwem Ita Etuk is not considered by us as they chairman of the party and I want to believe that the committee in making their recommendation to the party's headquarters will include that as well.
Sir this morning, I spoke with some party men, and I am made to understand that there is a parallel executive? I don't know about that either. I don't know about any parallel executive of the party. It is claimed that this executive came in by consensus and I am saying it couldn't have been because if there was to be consensus, then certain people indeed must have had to be there. And as I didn't notice that those people were there, so I don't know who reached this consensus. And I did not attend any other congress of the party to bring out a parallel executive, or whatever, in the State. So I don't know. You should discuss that with whoever told you.
That PDP State caucus came out recently to say that there was no crisis in the party in the state?Alright, and they came up with that stand and yet the party at the National decided to send in the reconciliation committee so, who is fooling who? (General Laughter) the fact is that there is problem that is why a committee had to be sent here to solve the problem. So, we are not talking about whether speculation here. You saw that a committee came to solve problems in the party and somebody tells you there is no problem. What does that mean? Who is fooling who?
Uwem Ita Etuk is from your Local Government why don't you want to adopt him as the PDP chairman in the state?Did I say, I don't want to adopt him? I am saying that he has to emerge properly and democratically. If he is to be accepted do you know his antecedents? Do you know that he was the man of my Local Government (Ibesikpo Asutan). Have you asked how he became the chairman of my Local Government Area? Therefore there are certain we must not compromise, even in the name of politics. Were you there when talked about Uwem Ita Etuk, how I met him in the lobby of Protea Hotel in Abuja and hugged him? That is Uwem Ita Etuk and that is me. But that does not make him chairman of the party (PDP). Again, this imprecise thing of believing that there is enemy here; there is quarrel there. No, but if something has not been done properly I will insist that it must be done correctly.
It is said that the move to remove Uwem Ita Etuk has to do with the 2011 governorship election in the state and the second term ambition of Governor Akpabio. How true is this?Listen, a chairman of the party has to be seen to have remained as a chairman of the party and have the ability to provide the governor and anybody else that may aspire a level playing field. Think back to 2003, how many PDP governorship contestants were for the governorship position? In 2003 they were at least four people from the PDP that contesting against me. And they were all PDP members, so, when you asked me what is my take on the fact that Uwem Ita Etuk has to do with the 2011 governorship election, I say, the chairman should have nothing to do with who wants to be governor or doesn't want to be governor; he should be concerned with making sure that the party candidate wins; you know what I mean? And by making sure that whosoever is coming there, at least, can say to the people of Akwa Ibom State, if he is an incumbent I delivered. And the party can back him and say he delivered so, we want him back or some body else comes and say no! He didn't deliver sufficiently, I think, I can do better and if the people decide that they want to try him and the party backs him up; you know what I mean? So, it has nothing to do with 2011 election as it had nothing to do with 2003. Whoever was the chairman, who was not chairman, it was the people that made the final decision that they would like to see me go back to office. And that may very well happen for Godswill Akpabio. And that's not to say that it is the chairman that is coming to say who is coming back. So how can you say it has anything to do with 2011. But if whoever put him there says he put him there for 2011, then the party will resist it because the party chairman should not be compromised even before he takes office; he should come there to turn the office for every member to enjoy the fact that they are all party members. In fact, for me the only issue about Uwem Ita Etuk, is how did he become the chairman of the party? How did others become members of his executive? Period!