Before now, APGA used to have as many as 25 seats within the House of Assembly out of 30, however within the final election, you had solely 16. What is your confidence that you’ll carry out higher within the subsequent election?
I’ve confidence that we will do higher. Truly, over the last administration, we received as much as 27 seats at some extent, however this time round, we received 16, earlier than the present speaker joined us. Part of why we misplaced a few of these seats were the issues I had recognized earlier than. The sham primaries we performed. We had quite a lot of inside points. Most of those that were aggrieved didn’t go away the get together, they stayed inside the get together and labored towards the get together. That was how we misplaced. We had conditions the place our members were campaigning for the opposition get together. We are blissful that quite a lot of our members are again. Most members of PDP who were with me once I was the chairman there have come to us, and I can inform you that anybody who continues to be in PDP is just not in any get together in the present day.
Then the Labour Party, a few of them are with us. Most members of that get together have understood that the feelings of the Labour motion doesn’t appear to be one thing that can final lengthy. I can inform you that issues can by no means be worse than they were earlier than. As lengthy as now we have credible primaries, the election in Anambra received’t be an issue for APGA, and I can guarantee you on that.
Anambra is really APGA and the folks of Anambra nonetheless imagine in APGA and we’re getting extra assured day-to-day, and the governor is working way more than we anticipated and generally we are likely to neglect that he’s lower than two years in workplace. His achievements are already competing with these of people who find themselves 4 years. So his achievements will make the election very simple for us to win.
Two former governorship candidates within the final election have rated your governor very low. One is Obiora Okonkwo and the opposite is Ifeanyi Ubah. So what have you ever to say about this?
Let me begin with my brother, Obiora Okonkwo. I’m beginning with him as a result of I do know him too effectively, and I do know with each kindness to him that he must rebuild his political profession. He ran for governorship and misplaced very woefully in my neighborhood. He had 103 votes and APGA received 1,188 votes. Those days we are going to say that he misplaced his deposit in Ogidi, his personal neighborhood. Many folks can say it occurred as a result of he ran below the mistaken get together, which was Zenith Labour Party, however what occurred within the final presidential and nationwide meeting election is what is going to retire any severe politician. He was the DG of PDP presidential candidate, and PDP didn’t win even one polling unit in Ogidi ward one and two, together with his polling unit. After that, he disappeared and abruptly he’s now castigating our governor. I don’t take him severely. He has rather a lot to restore and he has to come back again residence to restore the harm he has achieved to his political profession.
Again, if he is considering governorship, it means he has learnt nothing from the previous errors. Part of the previous mistake was that governorship was zoned to the south, however he insisted on operating, regardless that he’s from the central zone. His get together gave it to the south senatorial zone and he left for Zenith Labour Party. We have a practice of zoning, and it should be sustained. That custom can’t be stopped as a result of now we have the likes of Obiora Okonkwo. He is a younger man, he might be affected person and his time will come. The South will rule for eight years, earlier than it involves the Central and that’s once we will start to take heed to folks like Obiora Okonkwo. For now, it isn’t the flip of Central, we’re ready for the South to finish their tenure.
Back to the South the place the likes of Ifeanyi Ubah is coming from. Still on the idea of zoning, will probably be dishonest for him to say he’s coming in to finish the 4 years of south earlier than the rotation continues. We have a governor from the south already, and he’s doing very effectively. For Anambra folks, we’d moderately he completes his 4 years, in order that the rotation is sustained with out interruption. It could be a threat to provide it to a different particular person from the south, as a result of he would desire a second time period.
But once more, the identical Ubah you talked about was at a city corridor assembly in Abuja and he recommended Soludo, saying that he’s doing very effectively. He even stated he want to be Soludo’s marketing campaign supervisor. I do not forget that by going into APC, Senator Ubah has gotten his debt cleared and his court docket instances eliminated. I respect the transfer, however it’s a private transfer and never for Anambra folks.
Beyond that, the approaching race could be based mostly on the efficiency of Soludo. In two years we’re all actually impressed. We have rather a lot to speak about these tasks the governor is doing when the time comes. Dr Okonkwo doesn’t see the 400 kilometres of roads the governor is doing in numerous elements of Anambra, he didn’t see the employment of 5,000 academics and the second section so as to add further 3,000, he received’t see free natal and antenatal take care of Anambra ladies, he received’t see the free training. You don’t simply sit in your consolation in Abuja and criticise. Let him come residence and reconcile with the folks of Ogidi who’ve rejected him. He is a failed politician.
You have been six months on this saddle because the chairman of APGA in Anambra State. Let us know what you’ve been doing inside this time period?
Thanks for reminding me that I’ve been right here for six months. It has been an attention-grabbing interval and in addition difficult. I’ll inform you why it has been difficult. We got here in at a time when the spirit of APGA members was fairly low. We were battling with many issues. We are simply coming in when the results of the final election can’t be stated to be one of the best for APGA in latest instances. We by no means had it so low. We received solely 16 seats within the House of Assembly, 4 within the House of Representatives, and we were additionally battling with intra-get together grievances arising from the primaries, which had its personal unfavourable impact.
We discovered that fairly numerous our get together members labored towards us, arising from the poor conduct of the primaries. We additionally had challenges arising from the mindset of the get together members, so we wanted to work on the mindset of the get together members, particularly on not opening as much as new members. There were challenges arising from disunity within the operational construction.
So we began rebuilding, rebranding, repositioning the get together to satisfy the imaginative and prescient that the brand new govt wanted. It was not simple. We began by going round and visiting main stakeholders who had deserted us or not displaying curiosity any longer. Some of the issues were from primaries, so we wanted to persuade them that issues could be achieved another way below my watch. So we introduced again the boldness of the folks.
There were additionally the grievances of previous political appointees, of greater than 3,000, consisting of all kinds of individuals. Some were not gainfully employed, some were pals to pals, girlfriends to politicians, some lived in London, US, Abuja and plenty of locations within the diaspora.
But the present regime has a brand new imaginative and prescient for political appointees. The current regime below Governor Soludo believes it’s higher to show folks easy methods to fish moderately than giving them fish. The previous political appointees felt they’d been shortchanged. The promise was that they were going to be re-engaged, and all these were the crises we met and we wanted to carry again their confidence and make them perceive that the coverage drive of Governor Soludo is best than what they used to have earlier than.
We gave them examples that Soludo has employed 5,000 academics and that counted for us electorally. The governor additionally began the one youth two abilities programme. So they noticed that this mannequin is best. People received cheques for N250,000, N500,000 and extra to go and begin their very own commerce. So you see that it’s higher than incomes salaries because the appointees used to and on the finish of that regime, you might be thrown again into the labour market.
So, that’s a part of the rebuilding course of and other people have begun to point out curiosity within the issues of the get together. Again, now we have additionally began inaugurating numerous buildings in a brand new method, and a number of the issues now we have discovered is that it isn’t simply the get together executives that you must belief to ship. We original out a course of the place the grassroot people who find themselves not the everyday get together officers can operate within the affairs of the get together.
We have conditions the place palliatives come, and elements of the issue we had up to now was that those that are the leaders preserve this stuff, so past the executives, now we have damaged wards into kindreds, and when now we have issues to share, we make it possible for each kindred will get it. So these are a number of the issues now we have been doing.
One good factor is that now we have been in a position to carry again self-discipline. We misplaced it up to now, so once we got here in, we determined to instil self-discipline, and that is from the highest. I stated one thing concerning the operational construction, sure. We additionally suffered that earlier than, however now it’s our coverage that individuals who come up as assist teams, a few of them should not members of our get together, however it is vitally essential that they exist. So you have to enable them to run their organisation and maintain their assist.
So, all collectively, we stated we are going to rebrand the operational modus, so that we are going to have higher concord and technique within the operations inside the get together and the assist teams, with the total data the get together stays supreme.
While we’re working to attain the identical aim, the get together should maintain its supremacy. It has not been simple, it has not been what we’re used to. Before, we had assist teams that were stronger than the get together and higher funded than the get together, however now we’re working collectively as a household. I at all times inform them, you’re employed as a assist group, however we don’t need city guerillas, those that simply costume up and are available to Awka and present themselves as assist teams, however haven’t any buildings, right down to the ward stage. So now we have requirements by which we will acknowledge you as a assist group. If there’s something now we have been in a position to do inside this era, it’s the truth that now we have been in a position to carry the get together again to life, make it seen as one political household, working for one objective and imaginative and prescient, below a revered chief.
By subsequent yr, electioneering for the governorship election would start, and with the labour motion, and the Ifeanyi Ubah’s defection to APC, Soludo might have problem in returning as governor. What do you suppose?
By Labour you imply Valentine Ozigbo, is it not? Unfortunately, that identify has grow to be synonymous with dropping elections. If he contests, he might be contesting towards his homeboy from Aguata (Soludo). As for the ‘Obidient’ man (Peter Obi), APGA has crushed him twice. We beat him when he introduced a person from Ogbaru, Oseloka Obaze, and we beat him once more when he introduced Val Ozigbo. What occurred within the final Obidient Movement is a lesson to Ndigbo and shouldn’t repeat itself. It was like what occurred in 1967, once we went into battle with Nigeria with out preparation. It is just not more likely to occur to Ndigbo once more. There might be no Obidient motion within the governorship election as a result of that motion was tied round an emotion to grow to be president of Nigeria. It had nothing to do with Peter Obi as an individual.
At that cut-off date, the Igbos felt it was their flip, rightly or wrongly. It has come and it has gone, and that issue can by no means come into play once more within the subsequent governorship election. Whether Governor Soludo will contest or not, we won’t put him within the radar but, till that point comes. We have additionally advised him as a celebration to please think about his good governance. His authorities is lower than two years, and it isn’t a time to evaluate anyone, however we’re certain from his programmes that when it’s time for campaigning, in the direction of the top of subsequent yr, most of what he has began will crystallise.
When we start to see the community of roads that might transfer from Amansea, come via Okpuno, and a flyover, which might be coming earlier than the election, once we see the dualisation from Amawbia right down to Uga, with a flyover, which turns to Isuofia in the direction of Nnobi, the folks would know who to vote.
Like my governor at all times says, simply wait and see. See what is going on in Onitsha south and the variety of roads developing. We have sat down with him (Soludo) and requested him how he intends to attain sure issues and he has advised us that by this time subsequent yr, no one in APGA may have the boldness to come back out and contest for the ticket towards him.
