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By Dickson Okafor
Honourable Ernest Elochukwu, an aspirant to the House of Representatives for Nnewi North/South/Ekwusigo Federal Constituency of Anambra State, has affirmed that, whether Labour Party candidate in 2023 Peter Obi clinches African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential ticket in 2027 or not, the people of the South-East geopolitical zone won’t mind voting for Atiku/Obi ticket if it turns out to be so.
The former president of the Association of Nigeria Customs License Agents (ANLCA) and chairman/CEO, Nestello Gateways Group, said Peter Obi’s defection to ADC with the Obidient Movement that believe in his vision of a presidential possibility, is part of fulfillment of Peter Obi succeeding President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.
He also condemned the huge amount approved for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the 2026 budget just to conduct the 2027 general election.
Excerpts:
The All Progressives Congress (APC) and those in opposition parties are already channelling their efforts to retain power or defeat the ruling party in 2027, do you foresee a repeat of what happened in 2023 or should we expect an upset?
Politicians had started talking, plotting and realigning for 2027 as soon as 2023 election was over. Unfortunately, in Nigeria people see politics as an end unto itself instead of being a channel of service through which governance can be delivered. They have brought Nigerians into thinking the same way and that is why immediately an administration takes off, somebody has started talking about the next election. For me, it is not that this year is going to be politically charged; rather we see politics as a business.
Surprisingly, factional leaders of Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman and Julius Abure are back to court few weeks after the presidential candidate of the party in 2023, Peter Obi and other South-East lawmakers formally joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC), do you think he will be able to attract the Obidient Movement to ADC?
Peter Obi’s defection to ADC is only part of fulfillment of what is known. Before he formally defected to ADC, he has been part of the coalition because the coalition of opposition parties decided to have a platform through which they hope to contest the 2027 general election in order to be able to give good contest against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). So, to me, it makes sense that the opposition decided to come together to wrestle power from the APC. It is not after Peter Obi defected to ADC that he became part of ADC, rather he has been part of it before he formally joined the party with the Obidient Movement. Obidient Movement is those that believe in the vision of Peter Obi as a presidential possibility, who believe that the new Nigeria is possible. They believe that Nigeria can be redeemed from those who have held it hostage. So, I think that most of the Obidient Movement who are not yet encouraged by the scandals in Nigeria in terms of what they experienced in 2023 presidential election will try again. So, my advice to the Obidient Movement is to pick courage because what happened in 2023 should be a kind of motivation this time around to ensure the right thing is done in 2027.
Talking about how to strengthen the independence of INEC, the sum of N1.3 trillion was allocated to the electoral umpire in the 2026 budget to conduct the 2027 general election, isn’t this a clear indication that INEC is still under the control of the ruling party and may not be truly independent?
I can’t see the reason Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is being given such huge amount of money just to conduct election because we all know that it is not about cost of conducting general election, but the problem we have in Nigeria is tendency to compromise. The tendency to do the wrong thing and at the end of the day we start pretending that we didn’t know what they have done. For instance, in 2023 we saw everything that we already know that was agreed to be a standard, but was jettisoned. For example, the number of states the candidate must win and 25 percent in the Federal Capital Territory was all swept under the carpet. The funniest of it all, two elections were held at the same time, same day all over the federation. And that of National Assembly went on smoothly, but the presidential election had issues. To me, it is not the amount of money INEC is given that matters, but Nigerians must realise that those in government may not suffer but a generation will suffer if the money is not properly utilised. Therefore, until those who are in position to do the right in Nigeria understand that they are doing the wrong thing either out of fear or whatever and that what they do is like bringing a curse to their generation yet to come.
With the recent defection of Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State to the ruling party, the APC is fully determined to capture the votes of the South-East in 2027. Looking at everything on the ground, what thoughts come to you in this regard with South-East seen as the political engine room of Peter Obi?
I don’t think that the defection of critical stakeholders in South-East to the ruling party will affect Peter Obi’s chances in 2027 because his acceptance and followership cut across all the regions in country. Let’s forget about manipulation because Peter Obi’s preaching resonated with a lot of people and that is why I can tell you that the Obidient Movement component is rooted in the six geopolitical zones and this may outnumber the entire South-East. Also, that a governor has defected to any party will not mean much because it is only what the people say that matters. As it is in Nigeria, the governors have the instrumentality and power to rig election and if that is the case we have every reason to worry. But if elections will be held freely and fairly and if all governors defect there should be nothing to worry about because power belong to the people. That governors in the three states of the South-East have defected to the ruling APC or to any party will not mean much because the people will decide who governs them. So, if they fail to defend their votes then we have every reason to worry. But if the election should be held as it ought to be freely and fairly that all the governors in the federation defected to one party will not guarantee victory for the ruling party in 2027 because the contest will be between the ruling APC and Nigerians.
Atiku has vowed that he will never step down for any person and that the ADC must conduct primaries to elect its presidential candidate in 2027 and many have expressed fear that Peter Obi may not get the ticket, rather, he may end up being the running mate to Atiku, do you think Igbos will vote Atiku/Obi ticket should that turned out to be so in 2027?
I will start answering this question with another question which is in typical Nigeria way, when Peter Obi was Atiku’s running mate in 2019, did Igbos vote for that ticket or not? Yes, they voted. So, why would they not vote for the same ticket in 2027 should it turn out to be so? I want everybody to know one thing, from my understanding of the coalition in ADC, it was supposed to be that everybody comes in to join hands. First and foremost, there is a consensus that the present party in power is not getting things right at all in many ways. And from the little I know from the people who are in the coalition, they are democrat. In ADC, no one man is seen as supreme leader. I don’t think that is what the coalition stands for. So, Atiku was not vowing, but he was trying to express the fact that there would be primaries. And if there is a primary, who says that Atiku must win the primary? I think for the Obidient Movement or whosoever that is called loyalists of Peter Obi, their concern should be for Nigerians to be given good governance. And if anybody is telling me that it is only one man that has the key to good governance, I won’t believe it. But I may feel that one man may do it better from what is going on. Sometimes, when I listen to the spokesperson of the government commenting on Peter Obi holding government accountable based on what President Tinubu promised to do during campaign which he has not done, I wonder. That does not mean that Peter Obi is saying that he is the only one that can do better. So, if tomorrow he did not clinch the ADC ticket, it does not mean he cannot play another role better. I also want to remind the Obidient Movement that they have the capacity to make it happen because in politics, it is all about number and being present. So, I believe that the Obidient Movement should have learned from what happened in 2023 and I think people like Aisha Yesufu have started correcting those mistakes. Because she said she has never been a card-carrying member of any political party. And I know a lot of people who were involved in that naïve idea that they don’t want be involved in politics are at the forefront. Rather, they only want to support who they think is a credible candidate, but they forget one thing that politics is about structure. What happened to Peter Obi’s vote in 2023 was that Labour Party has no valuable structure that could defend the massive votes that was cast for him. In fact, Labour Party benefited from Peter Obi and Peter Obi did not benefit from LP. This is a party that has never won any position at the federal level. But in 2023, because of Peter Obi the party won governorship election of Abia State, some seats in both Senate and House of Representatives and state Houses of Assembly. Anybody who wants to tell himself or herself the truth must admit that it was all because of Peter Obi’s popularity that LP became a household name.
What is your general assessment of federal roads especially in South-East currently, going by the promise made by Minister of Works, David Umahi in August last year that rehabilitation works around the Benin Bypass would be completed before the yuletide season?
Definitely, no because everybody knows that he didn’t deliver on his promise. But let me correct an impression, it is not only the roads in South-East that are bad, but roads in all parts of Nigeria are in bad condition. This is so because politicians have seen that there is no consequence for failed campaign promises. They don’t even come either to apologise or to explain that it was because of this or that they could not fulfill their campaign promises. They don’t care because to them ascendance to power does not depend on how they perform. One of the greatest tragedies in our so-called democracy is the situation whereby the people have no power or no input in determining who is going to rule over them or to run their affairs. Take for instance what is going on in Rivers State now where people are saying the former governor and Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike supported President Tinubu in 2023. No, he didn’t support him by campaigning for him, he didn’t support him by telling the people to vote for APC, he supported him by turning the vote of another candidate in favour of Tinubu. And the fact that all the people felt unconcerned is what is making me feel a little bit uncomfortable about this our so-called democracy. Because the power always rests with the people in other countries because politicians are afraid of what the people are thinking or what the people feel about them if they manipulate the result. But in Nigeria, the politicians feel already assured that the people would do nothing. And they have succeeded by dividing the people to the extent what they people see is the difference in tribe and differences in religion. So, going by the oppressed people of Nigeria there is no way we can have unify talk on how we can redeem themselves.
