By Dickson Okafor
The National Coordinator of Take Back Nigeria Initiative (TBNI), Mr Abumchukwu Okoye, has said that Governor Hope Uzodinma was re-elected because he vowed to ensure the state adopts the dusted Imo Charter of Equity in the 2028 governorship election.
He said that was why the electorate re-elected him in the November 11 off-cycle governorship election, adding that Uzodimma had also restored their hope in rotation of power among the three Senatorial Districts in the state.
The lawyer commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its impartial conduct of governorship election in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states on November 11, which he adjudged to be free and fair.
Okoye also disagreed that Nigerians have lost faith in the judiciary because of Supreme Court judgment which confirmed President Bola Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election, saying instead the judgment has strengthened Nigeria’s democracy.
He eequally condemned the attack of the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Joe Ajaero in Imo State, but blamed Labour for waking up late to protest the removal fuel subsidy, which was removed from this year’s budget by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
He welcomed the call by Atiku Abubakar for the opposition parties to merge, but expressed fear that it may be another strategy of the former vice president to be the sole candidate in 2027. He spoke on other issues.
There are more knocks for INEC because of the November 11 off-cycle governorship elections in Bayalsa, Imo and Kogi states just as many have lost trust in the commission, isn’t that a setback for Nigeria’s democracy?
Democracy has come to stay in Nigeria and the duty of every citizen is to join hands and upholds our democratic norm. Democracy is government of the people, by the people and for the people. Therefore, going by this definition, democracy is work in progress and on course. The present political dispensation which began in 1999 has been sustained through power rotation. Democratic rule has been upheld since 1999 through rotating the presidency among the North and South. So, the knocks for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after the just concluded November 11 off-cycle governorship election in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states does not mean that the electoral umpire did not do a good job. The candidates that lost will complain and blame INEC when they did not win. I am satisfied with the outcome of the November 11 elections and I’m also pleased with the outcome of the last general elections, especially the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections. Like I said earlier, Nigeria’s democracy is in progress and very soon we will get it right. INEC has renewed the hope and trust of Nigerians in the commission with the successful outcome of the last elections and in the future. In every contest you don’t expect the same reaction from the people hence the reason for knocks and kudos. We must continue to promote and sustain democracy by being patriotic and shun irregularities in our electoral process. So, what took place in the November 11 election shows that Nigeria’s democracy has come to stay.
Again attention has shifted to the court as aggrieved gubernatorial candidates that contested the Nov.11 governorship elections and lost have approached the judiciary, seeking legal remedies to ensure that they realize their ambition of becoming governors, do you foresee any of the election result being upturned by the court?
I don’t see any of the results being upturned by the judiciary even though the judiciary is the last hope of the common man. It is also the last avenue for political parties and candidates to seek redress whenever they are not satisfied with election results declared by INEC. Sometimes the electoral umpire may not be exact in some election results it declared and that is where the judiciary comes in as an avenue where aggrieved candidates run to for justice. That does not mean that the nation’s election winners are being determined or decided by the judiciary. I have confidence in INEC and in the Nigeria judiciary. The judges at the lower court and the justices of the Supreme Court have proved that the judiciary is indeed the last hope of the common man and the last hope of candidates who were shortchanged.
The opposition candidates in the November 11 election in Imo State have rejected the result declared by INEC, which gave Governor Hope Uzodimma victory, did the people of Imo actually re-elected Uzodimma for a second term?
Yes, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State won the November 11 off-cycle governorship election with massive love by the people of Imo State because he has transformed the state within four years. Again, he vowed to ensure that the state adopts the Imo Charter of Equity, an unwritten code which provides for power rotation among its three senatorial districts. As I said earlier, those whose candidates did not win election always reject results declared by INEC or court judgment to that effect. Remember, before the November 11 governorship election, some people in Imo State tagged Governor Hope Uzodinma, ‘Supreme Court governor’. But with the re-election of Uzodimma their mouths have closed. What gave Uzodimma victory mainly was because he agreed to adopt the Imo Charter of Equity. In the charter of equity, there was an agreement that power must rotate among Imo East (Owerri zone), Imo North (Okigwe zone), and Imo West Districts (Orlu zone). Unfortunately, the agreement was truncated when Senator Rochas Okorocha emerged as governor of the state in 2011 under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and left office in 2019 after his second term. By so doing the Charter of Equity was reneged when Okorocha who hails from Ogboko, a community in Ideato South Local Government Area in Orlu zone defeated the sitting governor, Ikedi Ohakim. His emergence disrupted the zoning arrangement, which had favoured the candidate from Okigwe zone to continue being governor to complete the zoning cycle. Alternatively, the Owerri zone would have been favoured to take their shot at the governorship to keep the zoning arrangement alive given that the previous governor hails from Orlu zone. So, Uzodimma who has served for four years in office hails from Omuma, a community in Orlu East LGA within the Orlu zone. Regrettably, Orlu zone has served as governor of the state for 20 years since 1999. Therefore, the victory of Uzodimma meant that the figure would jump to 24 years after the governor’s second tenure in January 2028. Clearly, Okigwe zone has served for four years while Owerri zone served as governor for about seven months given that Emeka Ihedioha, who hails from the zone, was sacked from office by the Supreme Court on January 14, 2020, which declared Uzodimma as the validly elected governor. Meanwhile, before November 11 governorship election, the Imo Council of Elders had endorsed Uzodimma for a second term, with an agreement that Orlu zone should be allowed to complete their turn before handing over power to the next zone hence next governor will come from Owerri zone. So, Governor Uzodimma was re-elected because he vowed to uphold the Charter of Equity in the next election in the state if he completes his second term. According to him, the equity is intended to remove acrimony, tension, high-level insecurity in the state and that was the arrangement that made the people to vote massively for Governor Uzodimma.
Are you saying there were no rigging, manipulation of figures and violence in the November 11 governorship elections in the three states with the attack on the President of NLC, Joe Ajearo few days to election which we all saw took place?
In every contest or competition there must be lapses, but that does not mean it won’t be successfully conducted. INEC did its best by conducting free and fair governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states on November 11. Even in the United States of America and other European countries were democracy is deeply rooted usually have cases of electoral lapses. If it could happen in developed countries, then we should not expect a perfect conduct of elections. But be that as it may, during the November 11 governorship election INEC and security agents did all they could to prevent rigging, manipulations of figures and violence. There could have been some degrees of violence, manipulation in the previous elections, but the November 11 elections were transparent. I want to use this medium to condemn the attack on the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajearo few days to the election in Imo State by some hooligans. Ajearo was in Imo State for NLC protest for non-payment of salaries by the state government when he was attacked. It was an insult and injustice on the labour leader. But thank God the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu said some of Ajearo attackers have been arrested and will be prosecuted soon. However, violence during election can be minimized if the majority of our youths are educated. The high level of illiteracy in the country is the cause of rising of violence in Nigeria. If government invests more on education, it will bring down the rate of illiteracy and the army of unemployed youths would be refined and violence will be reduced in Nigeria. Today, there is violence in all parts of the country because of low level of education. Secondly, if there should be an improvement in the economy it will also reduce electoral violence. It’s important President Tinubu should exhibit high level of transparency in government, promote patriotism and never allow inflammatory statements from his appointees. These are some of the factors government should look into.
Before now, the expectation has always been that the Supreme Court will come to the rescue when the lower courts err in law, but after the apex court judgment that confirmed President Bola Tinubu as winner Nigerians have lost hope in the judiciary and to them, the judiciary is no longer the last hope of the common man, do you share the same view?
Except me because I have confidence in the Nigerian judiciary as lawyer and I have been there to know some of the judges and justices of the lower courts and Supreme Court. These things some people are posting in the social media sometimes they don’t know what exactly happened except it were brought to their notice. I’m not saying that there are no bad eggs in the judiciary, but the Nigeria Supreme Court justices are men of honour and integrity who sometimes don’t have time even for themselves. Do you know that they carry the conscience of the nation on their shoulders? Some of these justices walk through their gardens or through the library looking into the space wondering what will happen concerning the judgment he or she is about to deliver and what will it give in the next 10 years. They consider a lot of things before giving judgments. We hear some people accuse judges of being corrupt in their social media comments. They criticize and allege that judges collect bribe to give judgments which is false and shouldn’t be accepted or believed by a right thinking Nigerian. I give the present judiciary and the Supreme Court 90 per cent of being transparent and it is indeed the last hope of the common man. I have sat down at Supreme Court and observed the rigorous processes the justices follow before arriving on a judgment. In some cases you may raise up a point and the justices will disagreed with you, but when they are writing their judgments they will agree with you. There are certain matters lawyers are bringing to the tribunals that may end up in the courts after the apex court had decided on it, yet you see them bringing the same matter to the same court. Another vital issue the Supreme Court put to rest was the 25 per cent vote in the Federal Capital Territory, which many believed that if a presidential candidate scores 25 per cent in the FCT he should be declared winner. But they forgot that as far back as 2003 the Supreme Court had held that when it comes to the issue of this nature that Abuja could be treated as a state and if it should be treated as state, why should Abuja have greater power or greater honour to the dishonour of the other states? Why should it be that if a contestant did not score 25 per cent in Abuja as a presidential candidate and scored such figure in over 25 states you said he has failed? And as it stands now the Supreme Court has once restated in its final judgment on the matter, stating that Abuja is now to be treated like other states. As I said earlier, so many questions that are being brought to the court have been treated. Therefore, it is not right to say Nigerians have lost hope in the judiciary since the Supreme Court affirmed President Tinubu’s victory in the February 25 presidential election. So, the judgment delivered by the Supreme Court has strengthened Nigeria’s democracy.
Again, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) suspended its nationwide strike after three days over non-payment of N35,000 salary award by FG, can the government meet the demand of Labour and to lessen economic hardship face by Nigerians?
Again, I condemned the attack on Joe Ajereo in Owerri, Imo State by some hooligans. However, NLC woke up late. They didn’t start on time to protest against certain government decisions and policies right from the reign of former Muhammadu Buhari. When fuel subsidy was removed in this year’s budget by the Buhari administration and the ban of 43 items by President Buhari many expected NLC to declare nationwide strike. These are some of decisions and policies of the government that NLC would have opposed earlier. Meanwhile, government policy must have human face because there is hunger in the land and that was the reason NLC went on indefinite nationwide strike which lasted for just three days and was suspended when the government assured them that it will attend to their demands. Government must tackle poverty first and foremost because this is not the time to share N5,000 as palliative for fuel subsidy removal. Also, the distribution of palliative to vulnerable Nigerians must be direct otherwise it won’t get to the people. What is the essence of our bank accounts if government cannot transfer the amount to the people through their banks? What the government needs to do is to call the Bankers Committee and direct them to pay the money into the bank and transfer the cash into the accounts of vulnerable Nigerians. They don’t need to pay it into either the accounts of the governors, ministers or any ministry, departments and agencies because the money will not get to the people. President Tinubu should fulfill his promise to the NLC and also directly give Nigerians what his administration promised and through that government will alleviate the sufferings of the people.
Atiku has called for united opposition through merger of the opposition parties to wrest power from APC in 2027 and also to avoid the nation sliding into one party state, can this move bring about a stronger opposition?
It is a very good idea to sustain Nigeria’s democracy and to stop the nation from sliding into one party state through stronger opposition. As you can see the opposition parties are trading words with the ruling APC, rather than facing the real issues that are affecting the people. The imbalance in our political culture has come to play hence Atiku is on track. My fear is, I hope Atiku Abubakar is not plotting to get the opposition parties together to form alliance which he will use to present himself as a sole candidate against President Tinubu in 2027. If that is his plan, it is dead on arrival. I call it political conspiracy and it will not fly because with the acceptance of Peter Obi in the February 25 presidential election, Southeast won’t support such plan. Peter Obi won’t step down for anyone from the North in 2027 to confront Tinubu in the presidential race. So, the best option for Atiku is to unite the opposition political parties and support a credible and competent person to fly the flag of the alliance. If the opposition fails to come together and elect a credible and competent candidate to square it out with President Tinubu in 2027, APC won’t have a stronger opposition to contend with. The nation has to find a solution fast to the challenges facing the country because history teaches that democracy needs economic development, literacy, a growing middle class and political institutions that support citizens with a favourable economic environment to survive. And this can be achieved by the ruling party if there is a strong opposition.