Mrs. Ann Nwanyibuife Agomeze sought the ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for Ebonyi South Senatorial District. Her legal battle with the then governor of Ebonyi State, Chief David Umahi, ended at the Supreme Court.
She speaks on the Bola Tinubu Presidency, the current economic hardship in the country, and the fate of the senatorial district following the emergence of the occupant of the seat, Umahi, as minister designate, among other issues.
Your party, APC under President Bola Tinubu has again mounted the saddle at the nation’s affairs. What’s your impression about the government?
I’m very happy to be associated with the party at the helm of affairs. Asiwaju Tinubu is a man we know his track record, and we still appreciate all that he did in Lagos State, as governor. Before he came in as President, a lot of things had already gone bad. Currently, a lot of things seem not to be in order but we are very confident that in a short while, things will improve in the country.
What’s your take on the fuel subsidy removal?
I very much agree with the Federal Government on the removal of fuel subsidy. Recently, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said something striking about the fuel subsidy removal, and for us it was just a means of siphoning money meant for the public. So, the government removing subsidy is in the right direction, even though we had expected that measures would have been put in place to cushion its effects. But we believe in Mr President, we are confident in his advisers. I’m sure they know what to do in this regard. Yes, there was a plan to pay N8,000 each to 12 million households, which was kicked against because some people said it would not get to the target beneficiaries; while others are saying the money should be used to acquire buses in order to ease the burden of transportation on the masses. All these are plans. But we believe our leaders know the appropriate thing to do.
So far, could you rate the performance of your party in the state under Governor Francis Nwifuru’s watch?
For me, Governor Nwifuru has done well within the shortest period he came into governance. I have not been very much around, but there are certain things he has done to ensure that there is peace in the state. There were people who were not happy for one reason or the other before now. The governor, I learnt, sent people around to talk to them so that everybody can come under one ‘house’ to support his administration. Like I said, you can’t really compare anything now, because he still has a case at the tribunal which naturally should be taking his attention away from time to time. But he’s doing well. So far, he has appointed permanent secretaries which didn’t obtain previously. And he has good advisers who will help him achieve the desired goal. He’s doing well presently and I believe he will do better as time goes on.
You contested the Ebonyi South Senatorial ticket at the primaries, which was enmeshed in legal tussles. What was your experience at the courts?
I want to put the record straight. You know I didn’t win the primary election. It was won by Austin Umahi, and remember the brother (David Umahi) had already gone for the party’s presidential ticket at the same time. So, Austin now stepped down for the brother. Now, if there are two persons in class and one person leaves, the class will be left with one person. And as far as we all knew, INEC said the May 28, 2022 primary election remained the authentic one. For me, I believed I was the one to fly the party’s flag in that zone and that was why I continued in that legal battle. And the former governor Umahi insisted he would have the ticket. It wasn’t an easy journey, because it was tough. Remember it’s not easy to contest a ticket with a governor that has enormous powers and with huge state’s resources at his disposal. But we were able to take it to its logical conclusion at the Supreme Court. At the lower courts, I was declared the authentic holder of the ticket but as we went up, the decision was no longer the same, it was upturned. At the apex court, we were told we came late. But whether I agreed with that or not, I don’t want to talk about that.
Could you please briefly tell why you went to court?
I went to court because the former governor, I mean Umahi after contesting for the presidential ticket and failed, came back for the senatorial ticket. Then he went to court and sought that his name be included in the INEC list, because his name was not originally there. So, when I heard that, I sent my lawyer to write that I should be joined in the matter. That was how I was joined in the case at the Federal High Court, and the journey continued through the Court of Appeal and up to the Supreme Court.
Going by Umahi’s nomination as minister by President Tinubu, the Ebonyi South’s senatorial seat becomes vacant at the Red Chamber. If a bye-election is ordered in the zone, aren’t you going to contest?
That’s an interesting question. But I don’t think the seat is vacant at the moment, even though the former governor has left the seat. Remember there was an election, which involved other parties, and as we speak, the case is still at the tribunal. The much I know is that there must be a ruling on that matter. I’m thinking that it’s only when APC is declared winner of the Ebonyi South senatorial election in the tribunal, that the seat becomes vacant. But if not, any of the other parties which is found worthy as winner of the election, takes over the seat. At that point then, APC won’t retain the seat. However, if the seat is declared vacant at any point, I don’t really know what would happen but until it happens, then we see what happens from there. Therefore, let’s watch and see what happens.
Advise Nigerians in the face of current teething challenges in the country
I advise Nigerians and families to be calm and remain hopeful, even though the economy is biting and the road is rough. It’s my candid belief that very soon, we will get out from where we are currently. Also, people should engage in agriculture no matter how small even if it’s on self-sustenance. Plant agricultural crops around and within your neighbourhood so you don’t go buying even vegetables to cook soup. I equally advise Nigerians to love one another, do the best you can to extend helping hands to one another. The rich should remember the poor. But I’m so confident our party is going to come up with measures to ameliorate the sufferings of the masses. Things will be fine.