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The Convener Ihe Abia, Dr. Emeka Okpara, an organisation committed to upholding transparency and accountability in government, has called on the political stakeholders in Abia North to ensure that power rotates to zone in 2027 for fairness and equity.
Okpara who spoke to journalists at his Enugu residence at the weekend said that those who are speculating that coalition would not work would be shocked at the end of the end. He also addressed other national issues.
Let’s start from the national scene where Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai and other big wigs are in coalition talks to form a coalition to wrest power from the APC. How do you see the coalition working since the two top promoters of this idea have presidential ambitions?
It is important to recognise and understand the inalienable rights of Nigerians to freedom of association and movement to which there are international treaties which Nigeria is a signatory to. On the basis of that, the coming together of Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, El-Rufai and others is good development and one that would strengthen our democracy. This is not the first time this is happening in our recent history. In 2014, different groups joined hands for form the All Progressives Congress that battled the PDP to the ground. So when we hear that these people are gathering, it should give Nigerians joy because they are coming to provide an alternative platform for governance.
Some are of the opinion that the coalition would not work. Do you agree with them?
I clearly don’t agree with those who think that the coalition won’t work. I understand that there are difficulties, especially where interests overlap and intersect, but this is normal in political construction and reengineering. It would take a time for the rough edges to be cut off to make a round whole. If you recall, you will understand that it was not a smooth sail for the APC during the merger talks. At the right time, I’m sure they would come out with a workable formula that takes care of all the interests that are converging. This is politics, and a lot of things can and do change in less than 24 hours.
Do you see Peter Obi accepting to run as vice presidential candidate to any candidate?
While I do not pretend to speak for Peter Obi, I see that as a tall order for him, and it is most likely not to work. But as I just said, a lot can change in 24 hours in the turf of politics. Obi has said several times that he is not desperate to become President of Nigeria, but is more interested on seeing Nigeria work by fighting poverty, economic decline, Insecurity, out of school children and other ills. If he feels that he can achieve that by taking up the vice presidential position, the choice is entirely his. He knows what he angling for. I may not know all that he wants. But for the optics, it would not look very good for him to do that because it is going to put the South East at a disadvantage in the long run. But most importantly, that situation would not arise because, just a few days ago, he reaffirmed his readiness to contest the Presidency on the platform of the Labour Party. So the big question is, would Atiku move over to the Labour Party and be the flag bearer while Obi runs as vice presidential candidate. So you see that all the speculation about his position may actually be mere political talk show.
You talked about the South East being disadvantaged if Obi accepts to run as vice presidential candidate to Atiku Abubakar but the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, recently said that the five South East governors have endorsed the 2027 ambition of President Tinubu. What is your take?
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Umahi is Tinubu’s Minister and he is working to ensure his principal returns to office in 2027. That said, is he a member of the South East Governors Forum, the answer is no. Should he speak for them, again, the answer is no. Have the governors told the people of South East that they have collectively adopted Tinubu, not to my knowledge, but the bigger question is since Umahi said that, have the governors refuted it, as individuals or as a collective, I’ve not heard. But in all of these, the people of South East have a very peculiar pattern of voting. No one, not Umahi, not the governors would tell them who to vote for. 2027 will tell.
Let’s talk about Abia State. 2027 is coming soon, what are your expectations?
I am not sure Alex Otti would want to limit himself to one term. Governors don’t normally do that except they are shoved aside by powers beyond them. For me, the most important thing in Abia for 2027 is that power must rotate back to Abia North where it is supposed to be. It’s a long story that I have to cut short here. There is an Abia Charter of Equity drafted, agreed to and signed by the founding fathers of Abia State. Everything worked well until the last PDP administration of Okezie Ikpeazu came and upset the balance, and the party paid dearly for it. Abia North started in 1999-2007 by Orji Uzor Kalu, he handed over to Theodore Orji from Abia Central 2007-2015 and he in turn handed over to Okezie Ikpeazu from Abia South who did 2015-2023. In the lead up to the 2023 governorship election, Ikpeazu zoned the ticket to Abia Central and Abia North but for there to be peace in Abia, we must go back to that Charter of Equity where Abia North is supposed to take its turn.
People would disagree with you when you say that power should go back to Abia North, because according to them, Alex Otti is an Aro man from Isiala Ngwa
Otti might be an Aro man but he is from Isiala Ngwa. He filed his papers with INEC as someone from Isiala Ngwa North, and that is where he is from and that is Abia Central. We want somebody from Abia North comprising Arochukwu, Ohafia, Bende, Ummunneochi and Isuikwuato to be governor, not an Aro man from Central or South. Abia North was shortchanged in 2023, and that error must be corrected before it becomes too late.
Can we have your thoughts on the performance of the current class of South East governors?
I must admit that there’s been an improvement in governance, but there’s still much room for improvement. I understand that the governors now receive triple the federation allocation they used to, so much is expected from them.
As the leader of an organisation involved in transparency accountability, can you assess the intentionality of the present government in fighting corruption?
We have made backward steps in the last 10 years. One good example is where $1.5b was spent to revive the Port Harcourt refinery, and it has been shut down for 30 days and the people who spent the money are working the streets freely.
