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•Says people will resist use of govt security outfits during election
From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Dr George Moghalu is the Labour Party (LP) candidate for the off-cycle Anambra State governorship election to be held on November 8, 2025.
Moghalu has served as a political party administrator with both All Progressives Party (APP), All Nigerian Progressives Party (ANPP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the course of his political journey.
The former Managing Director of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) while fielding questions from the Sunday Sun, said he has bright chances of winning the governorship poll.
He appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to redeem its battered image during the off-cycle election, and urged the security agencies to live above board. He spoke on other issues.
Looking at the governorship election, what is your assessment of the situation? And what are your chances of winning the election?
To be very sincere with you, the feedback I have gotten so far is quite encouraging. There is that clamour, across board, for a change in the leadership in the state. I am very much encouraged by the responses we are getting and we need to sustain it until the election is conducted. The Bible advises that before you go for a war, you should take an assessment of the strength of your opponent.
What are your fears concerning this election?
I don’t have fears for now because I know that power belongs to God. He gives to whom he pleases at His own time. What we are doing is to make ourselves available for the will of God to manifest. That is exactly what we are doing, but as for the decision on who will lead Anambra state, it is in the hands of the people. We are only marketing ourselves, presenting ourselves to the people to assess and take an informed decision as we get nearer to the D-day.
Is contesting against the incumbent not supposed to constitute fear to you?
Why should it constitute fears to me when incumbents have been defeated before in Nigeria and even in Anambra State particularly? Yes, it is going to be a herculean task, but it is something that is possible. It is doable, and we will do it again this time.
You have always said that this election is not a do-or-die affair. Do you still hold on to that mantra?
That has always been my position in everything I do because I know that we must not remove the God Factor in whatever we are doing. If I say that it is do-or-die, supposing I die before the date, what will happen? Will it stop the process? The answer is no because life will continue to move on.
I am very sure that you won’t downplay the crisis in your party, LP. How has it affected or helped you?
I have no problem with the crisis in the party. The truth about the crisis is that it is about national issue. It has nothing to do with us in Anambra State. We are stable, we are united, we are formidable as LP in the state, and we are going about doing our campaign. I, being an experienced party administrator, have been fully involved in campaign processes. Everybody is involved. We are focused on achieving success.
What are those messages of hope you are taking to the Anambra electorate to convince them to vote for you?
I have already assured and reassured our people that Anambra shall be well again. What it implies is that we are going to change the narrative and things will certainly be better again.
We are bringing in programmes that will help our people to recalibrate, rejig the entire process, and then come out with something better that will make our state great again.
We have a programme and plan to address the issue of insecurity, which is of major concern today in my state. We also have a package in agriculture, education, health, infrastructural development, power, and quite a lot of other things like youth empowerment. We will engage the women and get them involved in the electoral process, realising how critical their input are.
It is a total package. Our action plan is contained in our manifesto where we have made promises, the contract we will enter with the people, which we intend to judiciously follow. We are fully prepared, and will start from day one if it pleases God for the will of the people to prevail.
Looking at the journey so far, what will you consider the most teething challenges you have encountered so far, probably during the campaign or elsewhere?
It is certainly the insecurity. It has always been the major problem, and it cuts across every facet of the state. For me, it remains the major problem. You see, a situation where you have to go with a retinue of armed men. It does not really sink well with me because of who I am as a man who prefers a very simple lifestyle. I prefer to be on the quiet side. I prefer people having unhindered access to me.
But I cannot take that risk with the security situation now. So, we have to move about fortified, and move about fully prepared to be able to face the challenges as they come. For me, that is the major challenge. I hope and pray that the local security outfit the state government assembled, which all of us know is political, will not be deployed for elections because we will resist them.
What about funding? Or is it not a challenge?
Funding has always been a challenge because even to eat in the house is a big challenge. Funding has always been a challenge, but it is not an insurmountable one. However, it is not about how much you have but about how much confidence the people have in you. Funding has always been a challenge in everything we do, especially in this era that the costs of things are on a very high side.
The people in leadership today have successfully monetized and weaponised poverty. They have made it a weapon that people now see electioneering as a period to extort money from people who have it and unfortunately for those of us who don’t present money as an issue.
One area often referenced in this Anambra election is the issue of claims of endorsement by President Tinubu, but why are you not talking about such endorsement, or could it be that your antecedent with the APC is haunting you?
No, no, no. I have a good relationship with President Tinubu. I made that point very clear, and I am sure that Mr President has nothing against me. The President is not a voter in Anambra State. He has no vote in the state. The best any of us can get from him is to wish us well. I am sure the President, being a democrat, will not want to be involved in this electioneering process. So why do I have to worry about his endorsement?
But why are you not dropping his name like others?
Why should I have to drop his name? I should rather drop my name because I am a brand. I can also drop Peter Obi’s name because he comes from the state. He is a voter in Anambra state.
How has your relationship with Obi helped you so far in the build-up to this election?
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It has been very positive, and he has contributed immensely. If we must be honest with ourselves, Peter Obi is a very big brand; particularly in Anambra State where I come from. So, you can only ignore him at your own peril. But the question is, why should I ignore him? Why?
What informed your decision to choose a female as your running mate?
I hinged my decision on gender balancing, coupled with the fact that she has the capacity. She is a very experienced teacher, a retired Principal, the President-General of Association of Anambra State Town Unions (ASATU) Women Wing.
She is also playing in the high league in the Anglican Communion and I am a Catholic. We needed to balance the ticket by getting the women involved. Let them be part of what we are doing. I have actually gotten what I was looking for in a running mate.
She is an asset and she is contributing very positively. I told you her pedigree and I would not have asked for any other credential than what she has.
What is your take on the alarm INEC is raising against political actors jumping the gun in early commencement of campaign for the 2027 general election?
For us in Anambra, we are not jumping the gun because we are working in line with INEC’s timetable and schedule of activities for the state governorship election. But for the 2027 presidential election, while I don’t have anything against people going on private consultation, we should strictly follow the rules.
When we follow the rules, it saves us a lot of problem and explanation even in normal life. When rules are made, they are meant to be obeyed. We must obey the rules because it saves us a whole lot of problem. Why would I want to break the rule?
It is a greater sign of impunity, even if you are at the advantageous position. Why do we have to break the rules? We don’t have to. That thing we want to start doing now, can still be done at the appointed time and still achieve the same desired result. Why then do we have to be in a hurry?
Why has it become difficult for the Anambra billionaires to endorse you openly or is it that you are not in their good books?
No, you must not rule out the fact that people may decide to say what they want to say either to please the establishment or to be seen as working with the incumbent. People are afraid of take risk and you must understand that. For me, I don’t get angry because I have unguarded access to these big shots you are talking about.
They are also my friends. Do you know what they tell me? You don’t know. They could hinge their reasons for doing that to please the society, and to guarantee, probably, their contracts.
They may be doing that for various reasons, but most importantly, they are in a position to express and exercise their rights. And if exercising their rights means coming out in public to endorse a candidate, why not?
As somebody who usually claims that you have God as your godfather, does it mean that you don’t need their support?
No, it is not that I don’t need their support. No, I am visiting them. I am consulting them just like I visit to consult every critical stakeholder in the state. I beg for their support. I give them reasons why I want to be governor. I want them to key into my vision. They can do something different outside. They do something different inside. Do you know whether some of them have told me not to worry? Let them tell the governor what he wants to hear. The governor is incumbent and they might have one commitment or the other with the government.
We must understand. I have been in public service. I understand how it works. Nobody dies for anybody, nobody. It is only Jesus Christ who died for all of us. They may support you, do everything you want privately, but in the public, they paint the picture that they are with the governor, even when they may not be. I am sure the governor will not allow himself to be fooled, believing that they have endorsed him.
How much trust do you have in INEC regarding the conduct of this election?
For me, it is not about trust. I have said it time and time again that INEC has opportunity to redeem its image. As we speak, the image is at a very low ebb. Anambra State governorship election provides INEC with another opportunity for them to redeem itself. The commission must do what is right, follow the rules it made. We didn’t make the rules for INEC. It made the rules for us to obey, it must follow the rules, play according to the rules it made so that it can win back the confidence of the people.
I have said it, and let me repeat that an average Anambra man has lost confidence in the process. That is why we have over two million registered voters and we elected the governor with 112,000 votes. It goes to show the level of apathy. It goes to say, we don’t believe in this system. We don’t trust the commission.
It is incumbent on INEC to change this perception, whether it is real or not, they need to change it. They need to do things so that people will say, ‘Now INEC has changed, my vote will count, I must vote, and I must determine who will lead me.’ The moment we get to that stage, the electoral process will be smooth.
For me, I pray for them, I beg them that whatever may be the inducement, ignore it for the sake of the greater good of the people. Whatever may be the inducement, whatever may be the promise, they must ignore it and deliver for the benefit of our people. History will judge them right. They will be remembered. God will bless them because they have families.
God will never forgive you to come to Anambra State, because of pecuniary gain, to mortgage our four years. You will pay somewhere. But when you come and offer honest and sincere service for the benefit of the people, even if man did not reward you, God will reward you.
There is something I wrote in my conference room in Anambra. It reads that power is a sacred trust given to man by God for the benefit of mankind, that whatever action or however you use this trust, you will account for it, if not here then in the world hereafter.
Still bordering on trust, what about the security agents? Do you trust them?
It is the same thing with the electoral commission. Let the security agencies not compromise standards. Let them do what is right. They should not allow anybody to use them. They should not allow any politician to use them for pecuniary game.
How much will they collect? How long is the money they will collect last? How long is it going to last for them? And they must not mortgage the future of a generation for four years because of a pecuniary gain. God will never forgive anybody who does. If they do that which is right, if man refuses to acknowledge them, God will acknowledge them, bless them and reward them in a manner that will surprise them.
I am so much a believer in the judgment of God. Some of the rots people are passing through today are a consequence of their actions or the actions of their parents.
Have you taken comparative analysis of the candidates of other parties in the race with you?
Of course, yes and why not? I should. That is the least I can do. On a daily basis, I look at the candidates; look at their performance, their history, and the politics on the ground. I set up opinion poll machinery across the entire state, to look at the results they bring in weekly. It helps us in looking at the mileage we have gone and where we need to do more work.
Where is your confidence coming from?
My confidence is coming from God. It is coming from above. My confidence is coming from the people of Anambra State. The people know and trust me and they know that I will not betray their confidence.
