By Dickson Okafor
Matthew Omegara who represented the Okigwe/Onuimo/Isiala Mbano Federal Constituency of Imo State in the 5th and 6th National Assembly, has that the All Progressives Congress (APC) government is the best Nigeria has ever experienced, citing policies like Ebonyi State increasing doctors’ salaries significantly. In this interview, he dismissed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), describing it as a “dying horse” which engages in propaganda and predicting that the APC will retain power in 2027.
He also speaks on the relationship between the Executive and the Legislature under the 10th National Assembly, led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, as a key factor in the government’s ability to deliver the dividend of democracy.
What positive impact has the 10th National Assembly made to strengthen democracy and the rule of law in Nigeria within two years?
The 10th National Assembly has successfully built a more harmonious relationship between the Executive and Legislative branches. You must realize that President Bola Tinubu himself was a Senator, so, when he won the 2023 presidential election, he understood the crucial role of the legislature in stabilising the government.
We are witnessing the benefits of the present National Assembly’s role in ensuring that the government started smoothly, even though it began on rough ground from day one when President Tinubu announced that fuel subsidy was gone. It took time for the government to find its footing. The removal of fuel subsidy was initially difficult for every Nigerian, with fuel prices jumping to N1,500 per liter.
In the typical Nigerian context, everyone expected that once prices go up, they would never come down again. But thanks to the harmonious relationship between the National Assembly and the Executive, it didn’t take long for the benefits of fuel subsidy removal to manifest. Fuel prices started declining, and inflation and the dollar exchange rate, which had risen to N2,000, began dropping.
Considering the wave of defections by opposition members to the APC which indicates Nigeria is slightly drifting toward a one-party system, doesn’t this pose a danger to the nation’s democracy?
I disagree that Nigeria is sliding into a one-party state. When the current political dispensation began, it was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dominating, yet there was no talk about Nigeria drifting into a one-party state. If you examine the APC, it comprises people from the PDP, ACN, and CPC. Unlike America, where people belong to two major political parties, Democrats and Republicans and remain in their party whether they win or lose, that’s not what we practice here.
It’s the people who make up the party. When you have many good people in a political party, you see that party winning. When you have many bad people in a party, there will be an implosion, and when there’s an implosion, the opposition wins. That’s what brought APC to power. Most of us started with PDP, but now we’re in APC. Like myself, I was in the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and was the first and only politician from Imo State to win an election on the ACN platform. Today, I’m in APC.
A political party is a vehicle through which politicians win elections, and after winning an election, you may not show much loyalty to the party, based on what we’ve observed, because the party plays little or no role in your victory, unlike in advanced countries. Nonetheless, we will gradually understand the role of parties in helping to win elections and holding people accountable so that whether you win or lose an election, you must remain in the party.
It’s wrong to be loyal to any political party without a clear ideology, which is what some Nigerian politicians are doing. So I don’t see Nigeria having a one-party system. People have the right to join any political party of their choice, and they will either win or lose if they decide to contest elections in their chosen party.
Why did you step down for Senator Patrick Ndubueze?
Governor Hope Uzodinma insisted that in Imo North Senatorial District, Okigwe Local Government has not produced a Senator and advised that Okigwe should be allowed to produce one. I expected him to give the Senate ticket to me because his 2019 campaign started at my house. Instead, he preferred to give the ticket to Senator Patrick Ndubueze, who had contested for the seat three times and failed. He was sympathetic to the man.
However, for Senator Ndubueze to get the ticket while I was contesting against him, I had to reach an agreement with the Governor. Since both of us are from Okigwe LGA, we agreed that he would serve for four years and I would serve for four years, so I stepped down for him. This is a gentleman’s agreement, and every gentleman should keep his promise.
I expect Senator Patrick Ndubueze to do everything he can within four years to attract Federal Government projects to Imo North Senatorial District. I respect Governor Uzodinma for that decision because if everyone had been allowed to run in the Imo North Senatorial primary, Okigwe would have lost the ticket to any other local government. We in Okigwe shouldn’t be fighting among ourselves, that’s why I stepped down for a man who wasn’t even an APC member when Governor Uzodinma was contesting for the governorship position. If this were about me, it would mean making money, but since it’s about the people, it means serving the people.
The majority of Nigerians would disagree that the APC government under President Tinubu has performed well because of the high level of hunger and hardship they face. The ruling party has been judged as the worst political party to rule Nigeria since 1999. What is your reaction?
That is not true. The APC government has been the best so far, particularly in terms of transparency. Look at how the economic policies of this administration have been yielding positive results. This is the first time we’ve seen 33 out of 36 state governments announcing that they are no longer borrowing to carry out projects; instead, they are repaying debts. How can you classify the APC government as the worst?
When PDP was in power, they were borrowing constantly, that was the worst government. They were borrowing and stealing, but now, governors are telling us they don’t owe workers. Governor Uzodinma is among the governors who said they don’t owe civil servants. He was conferred with an Infrastructure Development Award by The Sun Newspaper because he has transformed Imo such that you can now travel from Orlu to Okigwe, Owerri, or Umuahia in less than one hour.
Recently, the Ebonyi State government increased doctors’ salaries from ₦150,000 to ₦500,000 as a result of the President’s economic policies. You can see that PDP is like a dying horse, so they will say anything that can bring them back to power. But I assure you that APC will retain power in 2027.