As electioneering campaigns narrow from open air to consultations and contacts with concentric socio-cultural circles, party faithful are busy strategising. In this chat with UKANDI ODEY, member representing Pankshin/Kanke/kanam Federal constituency of Plateau state, Honourable Emmanuel Goar, dismisses certain sentiments in the state as bunkum, and remains upbeat that the PDP will win in the state.
What would you say about the impression in certain quarters that the PDP is not well rooted in the central zone generally, because some PDP elders in the zone are even working against PDP?
I don’t share in the sentiments being canvassed. If you wish to understand the real issues, you have to do your analysis LGA by LGA. Of the five LGAs in the central zone, I represent three: Pankshin, Kanke and Kanam. And since I aspired recently for the Senate which covers the five LGAs, I can by extension speak for all the five LGAs, which include Bokkos and Mangu. In discussing the zone, I will be frank so that leaders of the PDP will see if there is work to be done somewhere. In Kanam, PDP is in the ratio of 60-40 to other parties. Kanke which is almost 100 percent Ngas will vote PDP; forget all the talk going round in Jos. The elders making the noise are from three of the 10 federal wards in Kanke. And what is the political strength of such people in the three wards? I respect elders; but I should state the truth. Even when they were having the glory, some of us were the ones doing the work. And as far as the Ngas nation is concerned, I’m today the highest political office holder. So, I speak with a sense of responsibility and authority. Having said all that, I can say with confidence that the PDP will win 85 to 90 percent in Kanke.
What is your position over zoning of the governorship seat, because it is the main reason for the rancour within the PDP?
If you are talking about democracy in its real sense, is it constitutional? When we come to Plateau State, have we ever deliberately practiced zoning? I know from the media that some people call themselves Equity and Justice Forum. Professor Dakum Shown who is its chairman is from Pankshin. His kinsmen in Pankshin – his tribe, Mopun, have dominated commissionership positions for 16 years. Yet, he is champion of equity and justice. When people don’t get what they want, they coin a platform to attack other people.
Still on the central zone, the PDP campaign is having a problem because a prominent person in Bokkos is said to be campaigning against PDP. What about that?
The ‘prominent person’ had lost grip of Bokkos before we came to this era. Secondly, if you want to work for another party to win, why don’t you as a person contest election on the platform of that party? Why would you force yourself into PDP and begin to work against it?
Overall, what is your evaluation of your party in the southern and central zones?
I’m taking it bit by bit. The only LGA in the central zone where we have serious challenge is Mangu. We are telling Mangu not to behave like in the Second Republic NPN days when Mangu was going in a different direction when the rest of the state was together. PDP will win Kanam. Pankshin, my LGA, will vote PDP 90 percent. It is only in Mangu that we have some homework to do. PDP will win Bokkos with or without the ‘prominent’ person’. Down in the south, there are local issues that have been playing out. On the talk about zoning, which zoning formular would you have such that only the Tarok have been going to the Senate since the beginning of this democracy in 1999, except once. Is that zoning or domination? And if all is well in the southern zone among the people complaining, why couldn’t the several people who came out as governorship aspirants come up with one as southern Plateau’s consensus aspirant? Self-centredness is why we are where we are. If they couldn’t agree among themselves towards the governorship primary, how will they agree during the general elections?
So, there will be no problem for PDP in the southern zone?
Even the opposition APC (whose candidate comes from the zone, from Shendam) will not have it easy the way people are thinking. I don’t know where he (Simon Lalong) will get any bulk votes from. Is it just on the premise that he is from the southern zone? The talk that southern zone won’t vote PDP because its candidate is not from there is just a sentiment being peddled by a few people. But we want people to hold such belief as we are doing our campaign to win. Look at Qua’an Pan, come to Shendam, go to Mikang, Wase, if you know the places as I know them, you will see in the atmosphere a strong co-relation with what happened at the Rwang Pam Stadium (on December 8, 2014) when the primary election was conducted and what will happen in the general elections. You saw at the stadium how the aspirants were raising non-issues just to disorganize the primary and were urging other people to walk out. These were people from the southern zone who said southern zone would not vote Pwajok; yet the primary was conducted successfully and Pwajok got over 400 votes.
What is your preview of the northern zone against the coming governorship election?
The Northern zone is our stronghold. Six LGAs are involved. There istalk about Jos East, which I may not be competent to comment on. But from our campaign, you could see a people with enthusiasm. Jos North people see the candidate (Pwajok) as their own; and they are serious about it. Religion apart, tribe apart, and all those issues that don’t work in democracy are out of it. So, out of the six LGAs in Plateau North, I can say that PDP will win five.
Do you see GNS as a Berom candidate?
I started working for GNS because of his qualities. When you have a Plateau Project, you forget all the sentiments and look at the real issues. We have an array of candidates. They are our sons. We know them. If you objectively look at them, you will know whom to pick. It is not a Berom agenda. We are talking about Plateau.
