Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Yekini Nabena, has become a strong-willed man who built a reputation for his bluntness in appraising political issues.

Speaking to Sunday Sun in Abuja recently, the Bayelsa-born politician took a critical look at political issues in the country, particularly the implications of the recent defections of several state governors to the APC, and warned that the ruling party might implode before the forthcoming 2027 general elections.

In this interview, Nabena explains why President Bola Tinubu’s quest for a second may be affected by the perceived hostility of the North.

Why did go off the political radar?

It is not that I disappeared from the space, but we are only just watching the system to see where it is headed, before we take our own stand. We can all see what is happening in the country. People are complaining everywhere, and there is hunger everywhere.

What are you going to tell the people concerning the situation on ground?

It is even worse now that we are getting close to another election year. We have to study the system so that when we say something, people will also believe that what we are telling them is true.

We are careful not to say things that we cannot defend. We can’t give what we don’t have. That is why we are waiting to get something that we can give out to the people.

Governors and National Assembly members defecting to your party should be something worth of celebrating?

I have asked this question previously: if we emerged victorious in the 2023 election without these joiners, why should we celebrate their defection into our party? What is really the problem with us? Why are we bringing all these people into our party?

Is It that something is pursuing them? Who or what is pursuing them? We can see many of the governors coming, but the question I want to ask is whether we know that the governor is just one person. What about the masses in those states, are they also joining our party with the governors?

Did we even remember that they are the governors who lost their states? In Delta State, the records are there that LP won everywhere, but the party did not have agents at the collation centres. That is why it lost out in all those places the masses voted blindly for the party.

In the same Delta East or West, LP won elections in many places, even where they didn’t field candidates. The same thing happened to the APC against the PDP during Muhammadu Buhari era. It was a one-way thing. Almost all these governors lost in their states. We all know what happened in Rivers State.

The governors are joining with their appointees as if they are the ones to win the elections for our party. Another thing many don’t understand about politics is that our party will be in crisis when those who defected will jostle for the tickets with our main loyal chieftains during the primaries.

Those coming from the PDP believe that they are on ground just like those that are with the APC. At the end of the day, when the factions fight dirty, the opposition parties will be the ones to benefit more.

Are you saying that the exodus into the APC may not translate into tangible results for the APC?

It will definitely not translate into victory in some states. As I asked earlier, we need to verify what is after those governors defecting to the APC. As I said, they are joining our party with their own people from the PDP to meet the APC members already on ground. Now, if a serving PDP member, for instance, from the House of Representatives or House of Assembly, is denied an automatic ticket in favour of the APC aspirant he contested with, do you think the serving member who defected from the PDP will go and sleep?

He will certainly look for an alternative platform, and will also leave with his people, because he believes that he is on ground more than his opponent. The same thing will happen if the reverse is the same. The other person will cry foul of being robbed. In politics, the aggrieved will always look for an alternative platform.

Do you agree with many Nigerians attributing the defection of the governors and others to either a second-term ticket or the APC threatening them over the scandal they committed during their tenure?

If a governor is doing well, he should not be afraid of any of those things. I will give you an example. When Aregbesola was contesting for a second tenure, big political figures like Ayo Fayose and Obanikoro used all the military power to block him.

Government House was even blocked, but the people stood for him because of what he did for them. It was a typical example of certainty for victory when the people stand behind anybody. The small number of elite cannot continue to decide for the generality of the people and insist that it must go their way.

How many are the elite? Their children are all abroad or sitting at home, while they use the children of ordinary persons to perpetrate their evil acts. We have seen what is happening in other countries. So, if we rise up and tell them that it will not be business as usual all the time, everything will change.

One thing that many politicians don’t know is that in politics, nobody is really in control 24 hours before an election and 24 hours after an election, be it the ruling party or the opposition party. The option left for them is just to monitor events through phone calls.

They cannot go beyond their immediate vicinity, maybe two or three polling units or wards around them. They cannot visit even their senatorial or other districts. So, within those 48 hours, anything can happen, including the escalation of insecurity. It could result in houses burning and other physical attacks, which may make it difficult for phone lines to even go through. So, at that point, nobody will really be in control. We have seen cases in this country where sitting governors and even the president lost elections. So it is not about the governor defecting to the APC, the ruling party.

So, you feel that the opposition might benefit more in the forthcoming 2027 general elections?

The big question I will ask the APC, either the party chairman or whoever is running the system, is how they are going to manage party members. Let me give an example. As a married man, you have 10 children and secretly married another woman, who gave you another five children.

If the other 10 children are giving you a headache, then how are you going to manage the 15 children if you decide to bring them under one roof? This is what is going to happen in the APC with the defections we are seeing now. The defection will be the beginning of the problems of the APC because there is likelihood that there will be an internal crisis and implosion if we don’t manage the situation well. This is what is already happening in Delta State.

The governor will tell them that he is talking with the President, and nobody cares to know what is happening to the original APC members. Then they just sat back and watched while others continued with their meetings, which were not yielding any fruit until they realised that the Omo-Agege and the Ibori group are very strong.The governor then remembered that he is from the same senatorial district as these people and that he needs them. So, managing those people joining our party is going to be one of the biggest challenges to confront our party. Do we have what it takes to manage the conflicting interests between the joiners and our loyal party members?

Do we have the reward system to pacify aggrieved members? I was a national officer when we offered automatic ticket to all the National Assembly members after the political coup during the Senator Bukola Saraki era. But those who did not have anything to give left our party to join other parties. Many of them returned to the PDP.

History is about to repeat itself. We must watch it carefully. It is not about the governors joining our party, but how we are going to manage them and defectors. Definitely, the governors cannot throw away their political structure and their own people just like that. These things are reality; the original APC members will not even visit the Government House.

Take, for instance, in Bayelsa, where APC has been in opposition since. We are very strong when it comes to opposition. It is not like Enugu, where there was no strong opposition. It is not the same thing in Bayelsa. In 2015, APC won the election, but Goodluck Jonathan went to plead with Mr. President to give him the state, and Buhari accepted and gave it to him. Timipre Sylva suffered it.

In 2019, David Lyon won; they used the Court to deny him the victory. We suffered all those things because we have a former president from our state. They blamed Lyon’s loss on name discrepancies, even when Buhari has many names, and even when the PDP Deputy Governor also has so many names. Yet we lost because of name discrepancies.

It was a case of wanting to kill a goat and claiming that the goat ate yams, even when they knew that the goat used to eat yams. So, you kill it because of that yam? In 2023, the same people in the Aso Rock Presidential Villa said Timipre will be this or that, and we all saw the level of anti-party.

Now, in Bayelsa, the governor has defected to the APC. Before this, APC was already stronger than the PDP in the state because of what the party is doing a’ the centre. The governor has brought a small number to join our big number. But, if they are not careful, there is going to be a divided house, especially if he wants to join and oppress the original members. Having been used to opposition in that state, we are not afraid again.

What will happen to Jonathan’s interest because the idea of your governor joining APC may be to weaken Jonathan’s support base ahead of the 2027 election? Will you even advise him to re-contest?

One thing people don’t understand is that nobody speaks for the people. We all knew what happened when President Tinubu was contesting, and he made emilokan his popular mantra, meaning that there will always be that feeling of sentiment in our own local politics.

We saw it even from of our APC members who voted for Governor Diri in Bayelsa, claiming that he is their brother. They left APC and voted for the PDP because he Is their brother. So, a lot is going to happen, which will not be under our control.

If Goodluck decides to contest today, the South may say this one, too, is their own. That is why APC should think beyond what they are doing now. It is not going to be about bringing the governors. Why is it that the presidency is so concerned about Goodluck contesting or not? If we are doing the right thing, why must we be afraid?

APC defeated Goodluck as an incumbent president, but it seems that we are not carrying people along, yet we want to win the election. We must open up to touch the lives of the people. Even the big wigs are hungry. That is why there Is a crisis. We have pushed out people even when we know that there is hunger in the land.

We push them out, making them think twice because some of them survive only through politics. They don’t have any other business and cannot be kept in one corner. Look at the situation of the country everywhere. If today, Goodluck wants to contest an election APC should be worried.

APC’s biggest problem today is not from the South; it is the North. We are all seeing it and it is true. I know that there will be problem if the North decides to put their house together.

What is your biggest fear for your party in the 2027 presidential election?

My biggest fear is all these governors defecting to the APC. I am really afraid of all of them wrecking our party because we don’t know the kind of Intention they are coming into the APC with. Some of their loyalists are saying that they followed them due to threats but they may wait for them somewhere during the election despite following them now, especially with the plans to amend the Act so that the elections will be conducted on the same day.

Even the governors are also afraid because they are facing uncertainty over their future. The President can get his ticket, but can those other people get their own in their states? Can the Enugu governor retain his state with what is happening in this country? The easterners don’t really believe in the APC. And whether we like it or not, with what is happening in Lagos, the demolition of the investments belonging to Igbo people, do you think they will vote for the APC? These governors just want to dominate but the angry youths are the ones to do the work. This governor will not be on the field or the General to lead the troop. The youths are the ones that will be the General in the warfront.

Where are the children or families of the governors on the day of election? Are the Igbo youths not the ones sitting at home on Mondays? What efforts did the government put in place to solve the sit-at-home problem? Are they not the same kind of people that will come out to win the election for us in APC? People say nobody should go out on Monday and they all obey them in the states you have APC governors. Why are they deceiving us now?

What do you advise the opposition already in disarray?

If the opposition like let them be in disarray. Let me explain something to you. When Labour Party came, they did not have money, agents or anything. But, the situation is not about the opposition, it is about the masses. People think that we are continuing with the Nigerian system that is all about money. Everything is not about money. No. The situation today is not about money, but about the future.

If you are putting up policies, they might be good for the elites but not for the ordinary man. The dollars may be stable but how does it concern poor men? One of the biggest problems we have in this country is the governors, not even the president. Greater chunk of the subsidy funds are given to the governors. Look at the allocation today and compare it with what they received previously.

If they are taking care of their states, the pressure will be less on the centre, but they are not. So that is why the pressure is more on the Federal Government. Greedy governors are the problems we have in Nigeria. Funds are released to them every month, but what do they use it for? Are they building industry, or manufacturing companies in the state with all the funds they are receiving? If they are using the funds, we will not have all these crises in the country.

How far can the ADC go and what is your advice to them?

Let them try their luck. That is all I can tell them. I don’t know how far they can go because when you plan, other people may have been planning ahead of you too. They should have that in their minds. I have seen situations like that. The worst thing that can happen to you is to have a governor who sits down there and works against you.

It Is better you have your people that can work for you than the governor who is just one person. You can only rig when you have the population and are in control of the area. You cannot rig outside your comfort zone. It is not possible and even if you involve INEC, the commission will warn that it is a no go area.

It will even be worse now that we are planning to use electronic transmission of results from the polling units. It is going to be a big problem to change the results. It is not also going to be a situation where they tell the loser to go to the court.

Another concern is the governors defecting to the APC which we don’t actually need. We already have enough of them that can deliver the needed results for our party. We don’t need all those PDP governors. They don’t even understand the ideologies of the APC yet they are bringing them into our party very close to election.

They will be confused and won’t understand how we win elections because they are used to rigging. These PDP governors should have remained with their party instead of joining APC close to the general elections.

Will you advise Atiku and Obi not to re-contest the presidential election?

No. What I can tell them is that nobody owns this country more than the other. If they say the South should do eight years, the South must also do its eight. Since the North has done its own, the South should also do its own.

Therefore, Atiku contesting will cause more problems, because it will affect the zoning convention. He should not take other people for fools. He should not feel that as a northerner, he is more important than the other people, or that the region has more political edge over others. No, no, no, no, no, no.

We should not forget what Mallam Nasir El-Rufai said during the last presidential primary. He said that since the North just finished its eight years, the South should be allowed to do its own. The North should not dictate to us, because we did not dictate to them.

As part of your constituency, will it be right to say that peace has finally come to stay in Rivers state?

What happened to Rivers, with the state of emergency that the Sole Administrator took the state back by 20 years, which will be very difficult for them to recover from. There are already so many unpleasant stories coming out of the activities of the Sole Administrator.

The people of the state are the worst hit because they are the ones suffering from the situation. Look at the billions of Naira that left the state, and he told us that conducting local government election gulped such a huge amount of money?

Rivers State will not recover from that state of Emergency, and they will all be the losers at the end of the day. They should hold the Sole Administrator responsible. The Rivers people should not forgive that man. They should find a way to arrest him to give an account of every dime he spent.

What is your advice to the new INEC chairman?

He has a very rich credential as a senior advocate. He has also participated in election matters, and even as Dino Melaye’s lawyer. But the 24 hours before and after the election are very’important. Incidentally, the INEC chairman will not even be in control even if he wants to do anything wrong. We all saw what happened to Jonathan in 2015

He was totally in charge, including appointing the INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega. But it did not stop what happened to him from happening. The experience will tell you that Nigeria is bigger than anybody.

Are you going to participate in the APC elective convention coming up next year?

Let me explain something that people don’t understand about this convention. It is not easy for the APC to organise any elective convention because if it is difficult to organise NEC meetings, you can imagine how problematic it could be for the APC to hold an elective convention.

There will be a lot of crises that will trail it. You can now understand why almost all the members of the APC national leadership are appointed and not elected. Any attempt to organise any elective convention will cause more crises for the party. None of them purchased forms to contest the position they are occupying now. We have to continue to manage ourselves until after the 2027 elections.

What are you missing most since leaving the national leadership position of APC party?

I don’t think that I am missing anything because party supremacy is completely dead. What we have now is the presidency taking charge of almost the day-to-day running of the party. Party’s national chairman has turned to Personal Assistance to Mr President on party matters.

The party’s national leadership can never make decisions on any serious issue concerning the party. They are supposed to checkmate the activities of the President, but the reverse is the case. Board appointments were given supposedly to party members who are not even known. It is not that there is any big deal or reward with board appointments, but for honour and recognition. There is totally no reward system.

What happened to Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, former APC national chairman, did it come as a surprise to you?

It did not surprise me In any way. There is a limit to what you can do if you are not elected. Any appointee will definitely be treated as one. His position would have been more stable and or secured if they were elected.

There will always be problems when former governors occupy such a seat because they would treat other members of the NWC as If they are their slaves and like they are their commissioners while serving as state governors. (The Sun, excluding headline)