Felix Obuah is the chairman of Rivers State chapter of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. He spoke on the proposed National conference, politics in the state and the PDP. Excerpts.

WEEKLY TRUST: Most segments of Nigeria have misgivings about the national dialogue announced by President Goodluck Jonathan recently, for which he proceeded to inaugurate the committee on it. What is your perception of this?

Hon. Felix Obuah:

I commend the President for mustering the political will to initiate the national dialogue. This is a very important issue that previous administrations had avoided, but the present administration has the boldness to initiate the national dialogue which I believe has been the yearning of majority of Nigerians. There is nothing wrong when people from different ethnic groups of a country meet to discuss issues that affect their well being. The proposed national dialogue has gone a long way to prove that the President has listening ears.

The conference will help in no small measure to shape the country.

Each ethnic group in Nigerian will have the opportunity to present issues as it affects them. A conference of this very nature has been the yearning of Nigerians. The national conference is very important for our well being as a nation and it is very needful.

But many Nigerians still have doubts about the genuine intention of the conference. Some people have insinuated that the conference is aimed at nurturing President Jonathan’s 2015 presidential bid. Nigerians are also afraid that the conference will affect the 2015 general elections. What is your take on this?

I think the intention of the conference is very genuine.

President Jonathan means well for every Nigerian. The national dialogue has no political undertone and is not meant to nurture anybody’s political ambition. It is the genuine intention of the present administration to accord different ethnic nationalities and groups in Nigerian an ample opportunity to discuss various problems facing them and proffer amicable solutions. The agenda of the conference has been set up and it will not in any way affect the election. Nigerians will stand to benefit from the conference, because it provides an opportunity to present their matters as it affects them. Take for instance I am from Ogba/ Egbema/ Ndoni local Government Area of Rivers State. The area I come from produce about 45 per cent of oil and gas and this area has not witnessed any meaningful development. The area is bereft of basic infrastructures. The area has been neglected and nobody borders to develop it despite its contribution in sustaining the Nigerian economy. So, a conference of this nature will afford us the opportunity to present our matter as it affects us and if possible propose for the control of our resources. This is the benefit of national dialogue. It will give people the opportunity to present matters as it affects them.

Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi is one of those who do not see anything good in this conference. He said recently that the conference will not achieve any result given the experience of previousconferences did not yield any result. What is your reaction?

I don’t want to join issues with Governor Amaechi. The comments of Governor Amaechi are the ranting of a drowning man. How can he say that a conference Nigerians are yearning to discuss issues that affects them will not The national dialogue has no political undertone and is not meant to nurture anybody’s political ambition. It is the genuine intention of the present administration to accord different ethnic nationalities and groups in Nigerian an ample opportunity to discuss various problems facing them and proffer amicable solutions yield any result? It is a shame that a sitting governor should make this type of comment. I see political connotation in this comment. He made this comment to discredit the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. Whether he likes it or not, the conference will hold. Nigerians have been yearning for it and nobody will stop it.

The PDP crisis appears to have no end with the new PDP still flexing muscles. How worried are you over this?

The PDP is a very big family and when you have a big family; it is bound to have little misunderstandings and challenges. The national leadership of our party has set up a reconciliation committee to identify our aggrieved members, find out their grievances and bring them back to the fold of the party. I am very confident that the committee will do a very good job. For the group you call New PDP, it died on arrival. We know those behind them. We don’t need any prophet to tell us that the mission of those behind the so- called New PDP is to run down the President and destroy the party before they leave. It is selfishness that is behind their motives. Some of them are serving their last tenure and are afraid that they may lose out after the expiration of their tenure.

So, for them to be relevant they came up with what you call the New PDP to seek relevance. They instigated the implosion in the PDP, because of their personal interest and not for the masses.

As part of the reconciliation process, when is the Rivers State chapter recalling both the expelled and suspended members, such as the 27 Assembly members and some expelled members of Rivers State executive council?

Both the expelled and suspended members of the party like the suspended Assembly members and the cabinet members expelled from the Party did not just occur. A disciplinary committee was set up to look into their matter and the committee recommended that those who should be suspended be suspended and the same thing is applicable to the expelled members. There are procedures to follow before we can lift the suspension.

Rivers State House of Assembly members are not able to reconvene for months now. Their functions have been taken over by the National Assembly. As the chairman of the party in the state, are you not worried about this development?

Honestly, it worries me that for months now the State House of Assembly has not sat. That is the problem caused for us by Governor Amaechi. The Assembly cannot sit because of a governor who does not wish this state well. Everything in this state has been crippled. The executive is not functioning; the legislative arm of the government is the same thing. Nothing is happening as far as I am concerned in Rivers State. The governor has crippled the state, because he does not have the leadership charisma to galvanize the various interest groups in the state to move forward. It’s a pity.

Rivers State governor recently appeared before National Human Rights Commission ( NHRC) where he chronicled the human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated by the state Commissioner of Police. What is your comment on this?

This allegation against the police boss is false. His problem with Rivers State Commissioner of Police is the refusal of the Police boss to do his bidding. We have a Police Commissioner who came to Rivers State and said he is not going to be used by anybody to harass and intimidate others. Before now, the governor has been using the police to harass and intimidate the opposition. The governor ordered the arrest of some politicians who had gathered for a political event. They were arrested under the directives of the governor and were charged for cultism. So this was what the governor was using the police to do until the present Commissioner came and said ‘ nobody will use me to intimidate anybody’. I heard he said the wife of the President, Dame Patience Jonathan influenced the transfer of the former Commissioner of Police and brought Mbu. It is a lie. Dame Jonathan did not do anything.

Governor Amaechi should stop insulting the wife of the president. Dame Jonathan does not influence any police posting rather it is the governor who is not happy that the Commissioner of Police is not doing his biddings.

Your party lost a member, late Hon. Tonye Harry, a former Speaker of the State Assembly. How do you intend to replace himespecially now that the Assembly is not functioning?

What is important now is how to give him a befitting burial, which is very paramount in our hearts now. After that, the normal process of replacement will follow. I can assure you that the process of electing a flag bearer for our Party in the Degema constituency where Harry comes from will be very transparent. There will be no fraud in the selection process. We will be very transparent with the process. The days of imposition of candidates in our Party are gone.