Mr Lola Ashiru, an architect, is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State and senatorial candidate under the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) in 2011. He speaks on PDP in the state and and national issues. BIOLA AZEEZ brings excerpts:

What is the state of affairs of the PDP in Kwara State presently?
Against insinuations in some quarters that the state is a uni-political environment, there is dynamism in the political situation of the state. There is cross movement of party members from the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP, likewise from the PDP to the ruling party in the state. What we have today, to be very honest, is a balance situation. Very successfully, we had our congresses and all party structures are now in place. These are structures borne out of a robust political process from wards to the state level, as against the form of democracy there is in the rival party, APC.

Talking about the PDP congresses, some people pointed at cases of violence recorded during these congresses and that there petitions form left right and centre about the exercises.
Criticisms for the sake of criticism can be misleading at times. I can say confidently that most of the congresses were done without violence. There were issues in one two wards in Ilorin, but it was all peaceful in the Kwara North and South. And in most wards in Ilorin too, there were peaceful processes which produced the best of people you can imagine. It was a democratic process, where you go through disagreement, agitations, appeal and these have been resolved amicably. When you allow people to determine what they want, there are bound to be differences.

What's your take on the ongoing national conference and what do you think Nigerians should expect as outcome?
Talking is good. The ongoing national conference is a good and positive thing. Nigeria is a large country. There are multiple problems. So, you need solutions to myriad of problems we have. This conference is a necessity. I don't see it dividing Nigeria; rather I see it biding us together.

How do you see the calls for creation of additional states in the country?
I want to talk like a Nigerian that believes in the general well-being of the nation and that of all Nigerians. The presidential system of government we have in place is very expensive, cumbersome. Unfortunately, what we have is a direct importation of the American system of government and we don't have the same quantum of economy. US is running about 50 or so states, and we are running 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with 774 local governments. I would want us to shrink the system because the money we are spending in running these states is too much. 
So, to now say we should have another state in Nigeria is unthinkable. Yes, there is serious imbalance somewhere. For instance, when you look at the geo- political zones, maybe South-East, for the sake of balancing, deserves to have one more state, but definitely not in Kwara. Here, we must learn to live together and appreciate one another; to learn to bear our difficulties together. For now, with the state of our economy, we should learn to live together as one state.

What is the way out of the incessant security problem in OmuAran-Offa axis of the state, to the extent that banks are not opening for business?
Kwara is not supposed to have that level of insecurity due to our small economy, particularly in these areas. So, the question is what are the stakeholders doing about it? There should be better security around these places. There should be more of infusion of brain power, intelligence and intellectual resources. They should do more. Other states are doing it and we should do it here too. There is no trace of those armed robbers that invaded the town till date.

On national security challenges, in which areas does the government need to focus on to arrive at a lasting solution?
Specifically, I will not call what we have in the three states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, state of emergency. It's an abridged state of emergency in existence. The effect of the state of emergency can never be felt. What we have today is where the Federal Government is trying all its best to solve the problem, risking lives of military, police and everybody to tackle the issue. On the other hand, a lot of politicians and government organisations with links with democratic structures are surreptitiously paying protective fees to Boko Haram to survive and to be able to continue to cause havoc. It's like a negative consequence of an abridged state of emergency we have now.