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A leading chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Niger State and aspirant for the House of Representatives in the 2027 general elections, Hon. Alfa Nma, has declared that Niger remains a PDP state despite current control by the All Progressives Congress (APC), stating unequivocally that the PDP maintains deep-rooted grassroots support in the state.

In a wide-ranging interview, Hon. Nma, who is also the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nupe Property Consultants Limited, National President of the North Central Youth Leaders Forum, and a former AMAC chairman of the Labour Party, spoke passionately about his political journey, his reasons for seeking a seat in the National Assembly, and his assessment of both his party and the national political landscape.

Explaining his defection from the Labour Party, Nma said his move to the PDP was strategic and necessary due to the Labour Party’s weak presence in Niger State. “I moved to PDP at that time because the Labour Party was not on ground in Niger state. That was the reason why I moved to PDP. I defected immediately from Labour Party and I moved to PDP and today I’m a bonafide member of PDP in my state,” he stated.

Responding to speculation about his political ambition, he confirmed his interest in contesting a seat in the House of Representatives in 2027. “Yes, actually it’s not a rumour. It’s not a rumour that I’m aspiring for member of House of Representatives. I’m contesting, and the reason why I’m contesting for the position is because for over 25 years I’ve been following the terrain of leadership in my state, and I looked at it that if people like us will not come to fight for this kind of position, to see how we will support and help our constituency, it will be very disastrous,” he said.

He decried the chronic lack of development and poor representation that has plagued his constituency for decades. “Because for these 25 years, I have never seen any good representation in my own constituency,” he said. “In Niger State, you will agree with me that we are the best groundnut oil producing state. We have groundnut oil. If you are talking of the best groundnut oil, we have it. And if you talk of even cassava, we’re farming cassava; we have the best cassava in our place.”

He highlighted how the absence of value-adding industries has left his people economically disadvantaged. “Our people farm this cassava and after some months you see people coming from various states to purchase them right in the farms. They purchase an hectare of cassava and at the end of the day they uproot them and take the cassavas to another state for processing. Even the groundnut oil that we are producing in our place, we produce it locally because there is no processing company in my constituency. Setting up groundnut oil processing plants in my area will create more job opportunities for my people.”

Nma expressed frustration that elected representatives from the area have historically prioritized short-term and superficial projects over sustainable development. “What we see is that whenever our representatives get there as members of House of Reps or Senators, they only think of bringing solar street lights to my people. And I look at it and said no, this is not what we want.”

On basic infrastructure, he lamented the disappearance of amenities that once defined his childhood. “Today when you go to my constituency, I’m sorry to say this, you cannot see portable pipe-borne water in my place any longer. I remember when I was growing up in my own place, whenever we come back from our daily activities, we meet water flowing, even having good fragrance. But nowadays we don’t see that anymore. The only thing we see is that people are digging boreholes, boreholes, boreholes everywhere. They should equally understand and note the long-term effect of these boreholes. And as far as I’m concerned, I don’t think I will accept the kind of leadership we have today. I can never, I can never accept that.”

Asked whether PDP still has strong political footing in the state, Nma was emphatic. “Go and look at the history of Niger State. Niger State as we know is a PDP state. When you look at the history of the state, you would agree with me that Niger State is a PDP state,” he declared. “In just few years past, it was the way the PDP in my state relaxed themselves that made the APC to take over. The PDP leaders couldn’t see it from far. If they saw it from afar, I think they wouldn’t have had this kind of political calamity in my state.”

He alleged electoral malpractice in the last governorship election, especially in areas where voting was officially suspended due to insecurity. “Even the last election that was held, if you look at the way the present governor got elected, you will agree with me that it was like a political violence because some places that they said there were going to be no elections because of insecurity, they submitted results from those areas. You can now see how politics was played in the state. PDP agents were not there because they released a circular that the election will not be held in those areas because of insecurity but the result from there was submitted by the people who conducted the election to favour APC. We were all there and we are on the streets. We saw what happened.”

On the PDP’s ability to survive its internal crisis ahead of 2027, he dismissed suggestions that the party is in disarray. “Anybody that tells you that our party cannot stand for elections come 2027 is a joker. Let me tell you, I don’t believe in social media talks. I believe in facts. When you go to the grassroots level, you will know that the people, the electorates are not happy with the present administration. You will agree with me that people are complaining bitterly.”

He argued that the people fared far better under previous PDP administrations. “There is hunger everywhere and at the grassroots people are suffering compared to the days of the PDP administration. When PDP was in power, people were eating three meals a day. But today, nobody at the grassroots eats three square meals in a day. The people at the grassroots level are feeling the heat right now as I speak. There is a problem. There is hunger everywhere. There is nobody that will come and say ‘I’m going to vote or work for APC come 2027.’ It’s not possible. It’s only a person who doesn’t know what is happening at the grassroots level that will go on election day to cast a vote for APC.”

Responding to concerns about the leadership crisis within PDP, Nma said the party is intact despite selfishness among some top leaders. “If you ask me, I will tell you we don’t have any crisis in the PDP. The only thing we have in PDP is the selfishness of some of our leaders who are on top. People will come and say we can’t do this. How can one person overpower a political party? Is it possible? That is the question. It’s not possible. Whether we like it or not, the party is superior to individuals. It’s superior to any other individuals. We can never destroy PDP.”

He blamed the failure to initiate reconciliation after the 2023 presidential election, especially in relation to Barr. Nyesom Wike, for some of the internal problems. “If our leaders on top foresaw the calamity that was about to befall them, they would have set up a committee to reconcile members after the 2023 Presidential election because of the politics they played against Barr. Nyesom Wike.”

On the increasing defection of PDP members to other political parties, especially APC, Nma claimed such moves are driven by fear and personal ambition, not public interest. “Anyone you see moving to APC is just going there for their personal interest. And let me tell you two things responsible for that: Anybody you see moving to APC either has an EFCC case with this present administration or past administration and he doesn’t want his files to be dogged out. That is number one. Two, anybody that is moving to APC has been promised a ticket to run come 2027 election. These two are responsible for people defecting to APC under this present administration.”

He accused the ruling APC of weaponizing the anti-corruption agency for political gain. “Somebody will just wake up because they have threatened him that your file will be dusted and you’ll be investigated by EFCC, the following day you hear that he has defected to APC. Remember Adams Oshiomhole said that the moment you come to our party, your sin will be forgiven. And that is what is happening today in APC.”

Assessing President Tinubu’s administration, Nma claimed the regime is oppressive and hostile to dissent. “During President Buhari’s administration, we could hold rallies round in FCT, in Jos, even in Benue, in Niger State, in Minna. We protested over many things that were going wrong. But today, I have not seen my colleagues, my comrades, who are coming out to agitate for anything.”

He said the fear of repression has silenced public protest. “When you want to come out to protest under this regime, one of two things will come to your mind: whether they will arrest you and keep you illegally in detention, or they target you and kill you. And they will kill you under this administration and nothing will happen. Compared to before… Buhari never allowed security personnel to kill anybody or to arrest anybody and detain the person for protesting. But now… you must put it at the back of your mind that the prisons are waiting, or they kill you and nothing will happen.”

Addressing the prospects of an opposition coalition ahead of 2027, he welcomed the idea and urged political unity to challenge the APC. “Anybody that is moving to coalition is a good move. I will never distract them. But they should equally understand that this coalition is just for 2027.”

He affirmed his commitment to the PDP but indicated flexibility if the party decides to align with others. “If tomorrow the PDP comes to tell us that we should move to the coalition, we don’t have anything to say, we’ll move. But presently, our party has not told us to move to the coalition. We are still bona fide members of the PDP, and we will remain as PDP members until we get the circular from the national down to our state, to the local government to say move to the coalition.”

He concluded with a warning to the opposition: “All political parties must leave their ego. Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar and co, everybody that has ambition to contest for president must come together to see how they can defeat Tinubu in 2027. Otherwise, I don’t see any way any of them can do the magic to defeat Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu alone.”