Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode was the Director of Media and Publicity of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation, (PDPPCO) in the just concluded general elections.  His Directorate has been the butt of criticisms in recent times, for the defeat suffered by the party in the presidential and governorship elections.  The national publicity secretary of the party, Olisa Metuh had accused certain members of the PDPPCO of hate campaigns, which he claimed alienated the electorate from the party.

But in this interview with newsmen in Abuja, Fani Kayode pointed fingers of scorn at certain members of the party’s national working committee as he alleged that they were moles for the All Progressives Congress, (APC) ‘’I do not want to rock the boat out  of respect for our President and our party elders, otherwise I would say a lot more that will shock the nation and the party faithful about the atrocities that these people have committed over the last few years. I have a whole file on it which we compiled during the campaign. Two members of the NWC specifically were actually working for the APC and were on their payroll. Their job was to destroy our fortunes, pass on our secrets, create discord in our ranks and undermine the efforts of the PCO in the media campaign. That is just one shocker and there are plenty more.

‘’The time to talk is not now though that time will come. You will be shocked by what we know about these people and their sordid efforts to stop Jonathan and betray their own party. We do not have to say too much publicly at this point but at the appropriate time we shall do so.’’

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC), recently blamed the party’s defeat in the March 28, Presidential election on what they called  the hate campaigns by members of  the Presidential Campaign Organisation. How would you react to this?

I am sorry that you asked me this question because this is an assertion that I have refused to comment on since the allegation was made. Ever since the conclusion of the Presidential election I have been asked the question you have just asked me more than any other and I believe that, for posterity’s sake, it is time to set the record straight.

Everywhere I go, this question of hate campaign is raised and frankly I am tired of it. Worse still, some people are beginning to believe the rubbish because we have refused to clear the air.

We cannot be expected to remain silent forever when faced with such a grave allegation. This is all the more so because it is my Directorate (the Directorate of Media and Publicity) and  team that they sought to target, malign and discredit more than anyone else even though they did not mention my name or my Directorate. The truth is that I have no hate in me and neither did anyone in the PDPPCO or in my Directorate.

We are serious-minded, patriotic, loyal, faithful, responsible and hard-working party leaders, many of whom have either been Federal Ministers, Senators or state Governors in the past, who chose to answer a call to duty by our President and who made massive sacrifices in terms of time, energy, commitment and risk and stood up for our President when asked to do so. They stood up for the President and fought for him when he was faced with the most vicious, malicious and hateful gunfire that this country has ever known.

They fought for him gallantly when he was faced with the most effective and ruthless campaign of calumny that this country has ever known from an opposition that was ruthlessly efficient in all its ways and that was not prepared to spare him or take any prisoners. The truth is that the APC media machine was awesome, yet we engaged them fire for fire and bullet for bullet and I do not regret that. If we had not done so we would have lost the election by at least 10 million more votes than we did. We spoke the truth, we engaged the enemy on all fronts and we not only fought them to a stand still but for the first time since the establishment of the APC they were put on the defensive.

This was a great achievement for which we ought to be thanked and not one for which we should be maligned, misrepresented and insulted. If one or two members of the NWC are so ignorant that they cannot make a distinction between virile political banter and a hate campaign that is their problem. After they take power on May 29 the APC will begin a formidable onslaught against the PDP, President Goodluck Jonathan, his entire cabinet and those of us that are his political associates. They will try to discredit us and to destroy every remaining vestige of our party and his legacy. They will persecute us and they will malign us in every way. Despite all their promises of peace and harmony,  they will try to destroy each and every one of us.  That is their nature and that is their way and we must all be battle-ready to take them on and resist that.

We must remain free of acrimony, united and focused and we must throw out the bad eggs in the NWC and prepare for a long drawn out war of attrition with the new incoming government. In order to survive over the next four years as a party we must make the necessary changes at the top otherwise we will be utterly decimated. The present leadership of the party, particularly its information organs, have no chance of standing against an  APC Federal Government because they are weak and they lack understanding and courage. They will be savaged beyond belief and torn apart if they try it because they don’t  have the stomach, the grit, the appetite or the wherewithal for a long drawn fight. They are simply incapable of defending the President and his legacies after he has left office and neither are the majority of them even ready to do so. Instead of focusing on their numerous inadequacies and trying to fix them these very same people are hurling bricks at others. Instead of preparing to defend the party faithful and enhance the fortunes of the party members over the next four years they are making childish and nonsensical allegations, alienating upsetting many party leaders.

They are indeed the enemy within. The truth is that their allegation is not only baseless, but it is also unadulterated rubbish and those who made them are nothing but ingrates, cowards and traitors who know nothing about politics, political campaigns, intellectual discourse or political engagement. They are simply trying to revise and re-write history in order to cover up their treachery, weaknesses and inadequacies. They are fueled by hate and envy and worse of all, right from the start, they had no interest in fighting for our leader and presidential candidate President Goodluck Jonathan or in ensuring that he won the election. From day one, all they did was sulk about the fact that a Presidential Campaign Organisation had been set up and that they would not be able to have control of the campaign themselves or have access to the resources that we were given. At every point they tried to undermine our efforts and sabotage us, but we ignored them and remained focused on doing our job despite their provocations.

From day one all they were interested in was in controlling others and telling them what to do. They were not in the fray, they refused to enter the heat of battle and all they did was moan and bicker from the side walk like little children. What we were doing and attempting to do was lost on them because they had never taken anything seriously and they found it hard to comprehend the logic and style of those of us that did. Their arrogance was insufferable, they were an unmitigated disaster and their leadership style was abysmal. It still is. If any group of people were responsible for our loss, it was them. They were envious of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation and its high profile and they are nothing but a bunch of bitter and treacherous ingrates who have no business leading a political party. It is important to note that not all of them were bad. Some of them like Uche Secondus, Kema Chikwe, Barrister Jalo, Wale Oladipo, the National Youth Leader and a few others did their very best and supported the President as best as they could, but the majority of them were terrible.

It was an honour to work for President Jonathan and he provided us with all the support, inspiration and encouragement that we needed. If he has not complained about the Presidential Campaign Organisation and all that we did, who are those that are now complaining? He appointed us and we are accountable to him and no-one else. He did not complain about any hate campaign and neither did he insult us after we finished our work. So why on earth should we lose any sleep over the utterances of one or two frustrated NWC members who have no respect for themselves or their party members, who have no intellectual stamina and who lack credibility. The President commended our efforts and thanked us for all we did after the conclusion of the election. That is the right and proper thing to do and we are more than happy with that. We are very grateful to him for that gesture. Nothing else matters to us. However, what the NWC said about us is undoubtedly the unkindest cut of all. It is like Brutus’ betrayal of Julius Caesar. It is wicked, uncharitable and unacceptable and some of us will not take it.  What they need to understand and appreciate is that we will not sit by idly and allow them re-write history or make us the fall guys.

The only reason we have not opened up on them is out of respect for President Jonathan and because we want to ensure that our party remains united.  That does not however mean that we are fools or that we will allow ourselves to be turned into sitting ducks or someone’s punching bag.  That does not mean that we will allow them to treat us as soft targets or  that we are incapable of hitting back. The lies, falsehood, innuendos and terrible stories that they are bandying around about us are just despicable and if they do not stop, they will divide the party and utterly destroy it. That is the sad and bitter truth. In playing this blame game and pointing fingers at others, they are biting off far more than they can chew. The fact is that the Presidential Campaign Organisation not only did an excellent job but we also fought a damn good fight. We fought a better fight than any other organ of the party had fought over the last two or three years against a relentless, well-funded, well-motivated and well organised opposition. Before the Presidential Campaign Orgaisation came into being, the PDP had virtually lost its voice and those that do not recognise this have obviously lost touch with reality. Those that attack us and cast aspersion on our character and blame us for the failure of our party and our president to win the election are not seeing things clearly.

They are hopelessly confused and they have no idea how political campaigns are conducted in the civilised world. Their accusations are not only baseless, but they are also self- serving.

The personal attack by governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti on Gen. Muhammadu  Buhari, the President-elect before the election was noted as one of the things that worked against the PDP at the March 28, presidential election. Do you believe that?

That is arrant nonsense and those in the NWC that have said so are liars, cowards and turncoats. They are traitors and they are working for the enemy. Did these so-called party leaders complain when Jonathan was attacked by the APC and Lai Mohammed every day? I find it strange that they are prepared to accept the personal attacks on their own candidate as being acceptable yet they complain when we attack the candidate of the other side. Whose side are these people really on? Fayose was not the only one that focused his attention on Buhari. Many of us did because Buhari was the issue for us and everything about him became relevant. In the same vein, for the APC, Jonathan was the issue and they focused their guns on him. We did not complain and cry about it like little children but instead we returned fire and responded forcefully. We have no apology for that and we believe that we spoke nothing but the truth and we backed up our assertions with facts and figures. We didn’t just talk but we did our research.

We were effective and devastating and that is all that matters to me. We have nothing against Buhari but we had a job to do and we did it as best as we could.  Those that lacked the guts, the finesse and the capacity to do the job should stop whining and instead they should try and learn from those of us that are capable of doing it and that are prepared to do it for the sake of our President, our party and our country. I think it is unfortunate that some members of the NWC should be pointing fingers and making accusations and counter allegations against senior party leaders after we lost the elections. They are more to blame for our defeat than anyone else. After losing the elections,  the right and proper thing to do is for us to do some serious soul-searching, look within, indulge in a period of sober reflection and serious introspection, maintain some sense of self-respect and dignity, refuse to defect to the other side and desist from giving the other side ammunition to fight us with in the future. This is something that those voices in the NWC that are making noise and looking for trouble need to learn before it is too late. It is because they refuse to learn these lessons and because they seek to silence every voice of dissent so that they can remain in office for another two years that so many people despise them and want them out. I think it is all the more worrisome when those few voices in the NWC make very serious allegations against key senior party members in the PDPPCO and against a few of the governors, the Ministers and the President’s aides all of whom had risked their lives and everything for the campaign and who worked so hard for the President. That is my view about that.

There is also this allegation that the first Lady in the course of her campaign across the country, did more harm than good to the party do you agree with this?

Again,  this is arrant nonsense. It is nothing but rubbish. It is the same identifiable individuals in the NWC that are spreading that repulsive falsehood and we all know who they are. Those that say so are nothing but ingrates, traitors and malcontents who are not worthy of holding their positions in the NWC. The truth is that the First Lady was one of the most forceful and credible voices in the course of the campaign and she did an excellent job for her husband and our candidate. She did not hide in the kitchen but instead, like the true and loyal wife that she is, she jumped into the fray and fought for her husband. Why should anyone complain about that?

This was especially important because the President was under serious hostile fire from the enemy. She did very well indeed and I take this opportunity to commend her courage. That woman is a lioness and I honestly believe that she enhanced the fortunes of the President during the course of what was the most bitter and keenly contested election in the history of Nigeria. Without her strong contributions and without her lending her strong voice to our cause things would have been far worse. Those that say otherwise do not know what they are talking about. I know  because I was one of those that was deep in the trenches and in the fray. When things looked bad it was the First Lady that encouraged us and inspired us more than anyone else. Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti was another person that worked so hard for the party and the President. The same can be said about governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, Theodore Orji of Abia State, Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, the late Oronto Douglas, Dr. Doyin Okupe and a number of others. I commend them all and I wish them well.

Chief Tony Anenih, Senator Ahmadu Ali, Nenadi Usman, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, ex-governor Peter Obi, Honourable  Minister Turaki, Aliyu Modibbo, Senator Amanga, and so many other key members of the Presidential Campaign Organisation were other powerful and credible voices that worked so hard for the President during the campaign.