Date Published: 01/06/09

Analysing Obong Victor Attah's press interview

There is no doubt the matured interview which former Akwa Ibom Governor; Obong (Arc) Victor Attah granted the media recently was exciting. Some silent issues: 

Political office seeker should first ensure that he had a flourishing profession which to fall back at the end of tenure; just as he has. Expecting financial help from an ex-office holder meant that you expected him to have stolen money while in office. An ex should leave the perks of office as he is leaving; he does not believe otherwise.  

He insists that asking President Yar’Adua to resign is extreme as Yar’Adua could not come back and say that he is withdrawing his resignation “because he is now well”. But at the same time, in order not to grind the nation Vice President Jonathan should be constitutionally allowed to act while Yar’Adua is ‘temporarily’ unavailable as it were. Yar’Adua challenged and nobody accepted to a squash game as a sign that he is healthy. Attah dismissed the insinuation that Obasanjo forced Yar’Adua on PDP as its flag-bearer; Obj had only one vote, he said.  It was a collective decision, he insists. Zoning though not enshrined in our Constitution, it seems to have been recognized. What is permitted but not guaranteed is a second term; he who wants it must work for it.

He was one of the few that promoted Zero Party system in the early elections and thereafter those with identical ideology could come together and preferably see that two strong parties emerged; each standing by to take over from the other in the event of poor performance. This would grow our democracy and promote good governance.  

Attah insisted that Nigeria had traditional boundaries with Cameroun and if that had been accepted, Cross River would not have been shortchanged with the 76 oil wells. He sees the federal government’s amnesty to the Niger Delta militant as a good omen but developmental issues should follow immediately.

He stands by the fact that PDP has no properly recognized party executives (for now) in Akwa Ibom. The question of him working with Akpabio does not arise because he is neither his wife nor his commissioner. He can only work with him on Party platform. Attah’s assessment of Akpabio’s administration is that the governor spends more time on second term pursuit than governance; the governor should concentrate on other areas that would further impact on the populace since he (Attah) provided or laid the basic infrastructures.