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From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Prince Benjamin Benedict Apugo is a national Caucus member and also a Board of Trustees (BoT) member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview in Umuahia, Abia State with a select group of journalists, he advised President Bola Tinubu against joining issues with President Donald Trump of the United States of America over the latter’s accusation of Christian genocide in Nigeria and threat to attack the country. He equally spoke on why it is wrong to accuse APC of trying to turn Nigeria into a one-party state, and other national issues.
Excerpts:
What’s your comment on the recent threat by President Donald Trump of US to strike Nigeria if nothing was done to stop the alleged Christian genocide in the country?
Look, we don’t have to fight America, its better for us to look deep down into what America has said and immediately rush to amend it. There is no need for anybody to think of engaging America over this because they can stay in their offices in Pentagon and strike you here in Umuahia. So, there is no need for anybody to think of fighting America.
Those things they (US) accused us of, if they are real, we should try to amend them. If they are not real, we have to inform America that these things are not real by showing them proof. I don’t support anybody saying we are sovereign nation and therefore America should go to hell. If something goes wrong and you are a sovereign nation, it does not mean that thing is no longer wrong. Sovereignty does not make things that are wrong to be right. So, if it’s not right, it’s not right.
Do you think what America accused Nigeria of is real?
I’m not an American, what I know is that there are a lot of terrorists in Nigeria and these terrorists don’t have barrier. They are killing Christians and Muslims. What happened in Okigwe some weeks ago, were they not terrorists? They went there and killed a lot of people; they are called terrorists.
Do you think the country has done enough in checkmating the activities of these terrorists?
Look, even if the country has done enough and it appears what it has done is not good enough, it has to do more to save the lives and property of her people.
Sometime ago, the deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Benjamin Kalu accused Governor Alex Otti of not doing enough with the allocation he receives from the FG. Was the deputy Speaker, right?
Hon. Ben Kalu is in my party, party where I have the same qualification with Bola Tinubu. Tinubu is a member, National Board of Trustees and member, National Caucus. Prince B. B. Apugo is equally a member, National Board of Trustees and member National Caucus. I have the same right, the same qualification with Tinubu, the difference is that he is the President of Nigeria.The deputy Speaker is trying to bring himself to complete nullity because he hasn’t done anything. This is Bende Road; he is from Bende. Has he been able to convince (Dave) Umahi to do the road? He can’t do that, nobody takes him seriously, he is not a serious person.
Your party, the APC, is harvesting a lot of Governors to itself by doing so, democracy is being undermined. How do you react to this?
Democracy is freedom of movement, freedom of expression, what we are lacking presently is security. Those defecting are exercising their freedom of movement from one place to another as enshrined in the constitution and I cannot say it’s APC people that are forcing them to join the party. Have you seen any APC people with rope tying anybody on the neck, dragging them to the national secretariat of the APC? The answer is no, we are observing what is happening. People say APC wants to make Nigeria a one-party state, its not true, are they forcing you?
If you are a realist and a responsible human being and you see that you are right in what you are doing, won’t you stay there? But if you see you have committed a lot of falsehood within you, you are trying to enter where maybe you think you can have shelter, it is your duty to go there.
Are you saying APC is shelter for those who have looted the nation?
It depends on the belief of the person who is joining APC, it is not APC that is forcing them to join. If you are realistic and you know you are doing well with your people, do you need any other party?
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You have been in party politics for a long time; how do you consider what happened then and now when people are being fused into a one party?
You can’t compare when I started politics and today. At that time, all the positions I held – constituency Chairman, senatorial chairman up to the party deputy chairmanship position in Imo State, I contested and won them, I won men of standing. Based on that I was appointed the chairman of then NNPC, the following two days, I wrote a letter and announced my rejection of the appointment. God so kind I rejected it because as I’m in oil and gas today, it would have looked I gave it to myself. The same cannot happen today in Nigeria and that’s why I said you cannot compare then and now.
Governor Alex Otti’s party, the LP is not suitable now, as a man that has been in politics and close to the governor, when will you advice him to join APC?
I don’t know how you people look at it, if there is democracy in the country today, nobody should be talking about politics now because we are still in 2025, we still have 2026 to talk about politics. If you talk about person joining any party now, what I will ask is, is it too late for someone to join any party in Nigeria today? The answer is no; it is not late. So, why do we need to rush? I wouldn’t advice Otti today to join any party. Let us wait and see how the amendments will go because there must be electoral amendments before the next election.
From your own point of view, has Governor Otti fulfilled some of his electoral promises, particularly in the areas of building Airport and befitting stadium for Abia State?
The governor has done that of the Airport, even though it is not located in Umuahia where I had expected it to be, but we have the stadium, as I tell you, but for the delay by the four foreign designing firms of the project, work could have long started there.
I am looking at Otti as very serious minded. There may be bureaucratic bottlenecks. I believe that he is doing well although everything is mostly in Aba, Aba people are enjoying, our own enjoyment, we in Umuahia, will be the stadium. I have confidence in his government and I know Otti cannot play with the building of the stadium.
My support for Otti is not based on what he will give me. Since he came into office, I have not asked him to give anybody appointment nor for any contract, I don’t need them, I’m only out for the good of Abia State.
There is rumour that some land donors have not been compensated and this could delay the take off of the stadium?
All donors for the project have been fully compensated.
What’s your assessment of the person representating Ikwuano/Umuahia at the House of Representatives, Hon Obi Aguocha?
He is a man who has chosen what he wants to do and I cannot stop him. Anyway, his people want him to bring dividends of democracy as others are doing, but I have not seen any from him.
You have been at the forefront of the call for those who looted Abia funds to be brought to justice. EFCC has finally arraigned some people. How do you react to that?
Yes, I know that the former Governor T.A Orji was arraigned and his case is coming up on December 8, or so. He was taken to court by EFCC, but before then, he sued me in court that I called him a rogue. Now that he has been formerly charged to court, let’s see what comes out of it.
The agitation for the creation of more states in the country is on. In Abia, there is the quest for Aba. What’s your take on this?
That is presumption, which is hoping against hope. In the first place, no one state is going to be created in the whole Nigeria. In the second place, when you people ask me about Aba State, it annoys me. What is Aba, what’s the population of Aba? It is now that we know that we old Bende people are two times the population of Aba State. It is before when documents were faked that some people are making noise about the population of that area, but now, things have changed and we know their true population. Even in Aba North and Aba South, the 40,000 votes Otti got from there during the last election, are all from stranger elements -people from old Bende here, Imo and Anambra.
So, what I’m saying is that, it’s not always good for us to continue to talk about this Aba State. After all, during the time of states creation, Aba State movement prepared their documents and took them to Abuja and Abia State did the same. I was the person who carried the Abia documents to Abuja. If Aba was so important, the then Supreme Military Council could have given Aba the state capital.
