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From Ogbonnaya Ndukwe, Aba
Abia State Labour Party (LP) Chairman, Ceekay Igara, sees rescuing and pushing Abia, back into socio-economic and industrial growth and development, as enormous tasks the incoming government of Dr. Alex Otti will have to surmount, and calls for prayers for the governor-elect to succeed.
How really prepared is Dr Alex Otti and by extension your party, for the enormous tasks ahead in Abia?
I want to start by thanking Abia people for choosing Labour Party as the party that will rescue Abia from 24 years of maladministration. Let me state, however, that we should not be expecting miracles, rather a gradual process of transiting from and changing the wrong system that had been our lot in these past years. Abians should pray for the Governor-elect, Dr Alex Otti, because the work needed to be done to rescue the state, is too enormous and cannot be achieved without divine intervention. It’s not easy to hand over your destiny to a group of people. That’s what Abians have done. I also thank God, who made it possible for us to win. I’m a lucky chairman, that we were able to win during my time. Abia is presently in a state of disrepair. I keep telling our people not to expect miracles.
The rot within the system, is enormous, but we’ll do our best to meet every genuine expectation of the people, by God’s grace. We need to clear the debris and lay a foundation, before we start building. It’s no longer going to be business as usual. Abians should uphold us in their prayers. The Governor-elect, has promised Abians that he’ll pay the salary arrears of government workers, before the end of the year. Once you push money into society, it’ll improve the economy. So, we need everybody’s prayers.
Otti has variously said prior to his election, that he was not being sponsored by any godfather, that his zeal was to return Abia to the path of good governance and democratic development. Can you remark on this?
Yes, one thing that is sure in the incoming Otti administration, is that it will not be a government of sharing money recklessly, as has been the case in the past. The government will be a very small one, where due process will be followed seriously. If you work, you’ll be paid. That’ll be the system. There’s no doubt about the capability of our Governor-elect. He has already started discussing with reputable organizations that will give us signs of a good life. So, we are going to have an infrastructural revolution. As at the present time, a lot of people from other parties are making inquiries with a view to joining the winning party in Abia. Labour Party is very much ready to handle the influx of many intending members. The party will set a standard that will ensure that everyone who is coming in, will be someone that will improve the party, not to pull it down.
As a matter of truth, almost every serious politician in Abia has reached out to us, and I don’t need to mention names. I saw the influx and the State Working Committee (SWC) ordered the stoppage of issuance of membership cards and returning all the party registers, to the State Secretariat and that’s what will happen today. I’ve said that we need to put up a system. A political party is like a church and everybody is welcome, but we’ll ensure that we know the intention of whoever is coming in.
Is it true that Otti had a hand in the freezing of the Abia government’s account by an Abuja Court?
The allegation is a huge lie as the Governor-elect has no reason for such.
Dr Alex Otti is a very sound person. He knows there’ll be propaganda, but the truth is that he has no hand in that and had explained through his media aide. I’ve escalated it all over the platforms that the issue concerning the account, has nothing to do with our Governor-elect. We all know he wouldn’t even want to do that. What’s the essence? He knows he’ll take over on May 29th. All we need to do is to work together, to understand what are our liabilities, up all the opportunities, and what’s left undone, so that when we come in, we hit the road.
We’re not distracted by such propaganda. It doesn’t change anything. We’re very focused. If the Governor-elect does anything, he always takes responsibility but whenever he tells you he didn’t do anything, take it for real.
The outgoing administration has proposed holding Local Government elections this month, will your party participate in the exercise?
We have not decided yet, whether to contest or not, though we are aware of plans by the Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC). We need to consult more with our members, and important leaders in the wider society, on the implications, before coming out with a final decision. A lot of our members are eager to contest, but we know that there will be no chance of a free and fair contest. But, some of them are saying that they should be allowed to contest, at least, to use it to popularize themselves. So, I said that, if that is the case, I’ll seek audience with the Governor-elect, and our legal team, to hear from them. It’s only when that is done, that we will know our position. I tell you, many people are eager to buy the forms today, but the party has not come out with a decision yet, because we need to do extensive consultations. We don’t want to waste time. We don’t want to get involved in what we don’t understand.
What do you know about the purported sack of your party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure?
The rumoured removal or suspension of the National Chairman, Chief Abure, is nothing to write home about, as those making such claims, never followed any due process. Let me tell you, if you want to suspend a National Chairman, there’s a laid down rule. The State Working Committee (SWC) will do that. Unless his ward does that, we don’t know those faceless people, who did whatever they said. So, our chairman remains our chairman; I believe the right thing should be done. We’re aware of what is happening. It’s just a deliberate and desperate attempt by some unscrupulous political actors, using some faceless and transactional elements to distract the LP from seeking to retrieve the people’s mandate from political rogues.
Here in Abia, in Ukwa East, and Bende areas, people have suspended some members without due process, and I said it was null and void, because the process was wrong. We’re going to set a system of fairness. So, we don’t take the issue of our national chairman and the rumour, seriously. It’s nothing to write home about. Take it from me.
